BOSTON -- Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said Thursday that he apologized to Dennis Eckersley soon after the Hall of Famer was the recipient of harsh words from lefty David Price on a team charter in late June.
With several teammates by his side, Price reportedly unloaded on NESN analyst Eckersley on the team flight for some critical marks he made on the air during Boston's 6-3 victory over the Twins on June 29.
"I can certainly give you my reaction and be crystal clear on the matter. Dennis Eckersley was owed an apology after what happened, clearly," Kennedy said in a radio interview with WEEI, the flagship station for the Red Sox. "Let me be clear, he received one less than 12 hours after the incident happened. He received one from me. I woke him up in his hotel room in Toronto.
"John Farrell and Dave Dombrowski were aware of that, we had conversations about that. I followed up with Dennis, and those guys did exactly what they were supposed to do, which was follow up with David Price, given it was a clubhouse matter and they handled that in private as they should. It was a regrettable and unfortunate incident.
"As an organization, you mentioned it happened a month ago, we've done our best to try and move on from it. Beefs between professional athletes and the media are as old as the game itself. It's unfortunate and regrettable when they get out in the public domain, but they do happen from time to time."
Price will start the opener of the upcoming homestand for the Red Sox on Friday night against the Royals.
As of earlier this week, Price hadn't apologized to Eckersley. Price has been tight-lipped on the matter, and with the Boston media in general, for the last couple of months.
"Standing up for my teammates," Price said after his start on July 4 at Texas. "Whatever crap I catch for that, I'm fine with it."
Red Sox manager John Farrell said that he has seen Eckersley several times since the incident, but confirmed he didn't apologize on behalf of his pitcher.
"After the incident, we obviously met with David," Farrell said Monday. "That was handled internally. Since then, I've had multiple interactions with Eck. My relationship with Eck is certainly professional, but we've moved on from it and we're focused on winning games."
Price is 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 starts after starting his season late due to a left elbow strain.