NEW YORK -- The Red Sox and their fans are ready to celebrate David Ortiz's final regular-season weekend at Fenway Park, which will start Friday night against the Blue Jays.
In honor of their beloved slugger who has helped raise three World Series championship banners at Fenway Park, the Red Sox will hold ceremonies prior to all three games this weekend. All three ceremonies will be streamed live on MLB.com.
By Thursday, there was already a silhouette of Ortiz pointing his fingers to the sky cut into the grass in center field.
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There is a banner hanging high above Gate D on Yawkey Way that illustrates Ortiz with the caption, "Thank you, 34."
It will be the most ceremonious weekend for a retiring Red Sox player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1983.
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Fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. ET for the 7:10 p.m. games on Friday and Saturday, and by 2 p.m. on Sunday for the 3:05 regular-season finale.
The Red Sox urged their fans in a news release to arrive early and take public transportation to Fenway Park for all three games.
The ballpark gates will open two hours prior to each game, which is a half hour earlier than usual.
Fans can take the MBTA's Green Line to Kenmore Square, and also the commuter rail to Yawkey Station, which is just 511 feet from the entrance to Fenway Park. Yawkey Station is part of the commuter rail's Framingham/Worcester line, which runs from Worcester to South Station.