CAMBRIDGE — One night time each summer season, the Oldtime Baseball Game takes over a diamond at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge, Mass., to play ball in genuine uniforms and lift cash for good causes.
It was these outdated uniforms that piqued Fred Lynn’s curiosity when the Red Sox reached out and requested if he’d be the marquee visitor for the twenty ninth annual occasion on Thursday night time.
“They said it was ‘Old-time baseball,’ and that got my attention right away,” Lynn informed the Herald. “They said it would be flannel uniforms, and I thought, who’s wearing that?”
The uniforms are a staple of the annual summer season recreation. Thick, heavy woolen materials bearing the names of groups lengthy gone, and the numbers of gamers lengthy retired, together with an genuine Ted Williams outfit.
Lynn didn’t go well with up, however different former Red Sox stars who’ve joined the sport in related roles did, together with Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens. But Lynn, who underwent double knee substitute in the course of the winter, was content material to handle and interact with followers, together with one keen to indicate him a photograph they’d taken collectively many years in the past, when she was a small little one.
The 1975 American League Rookie of the Year and MVP hasn’t worn a Red Sox uniform since 1980, however he stays deeply linked to the group and its followers. He responds to them on the platform previously often known as Twitter, and recurrently voices his opinions concerning the present state of the sport.
So, what does one of many best Red Sox outfielders of all time suppose of the present squad?
“I knew going into the season, they had some deficiencies,” Lynn stated. “Starting pitching was at all times going to be a query, if they’d sufficient, and if they’d sufficient energy, if they’d a real centerfielder. We didn’t find out about (Jarren) Duran then, so it was a query mark.
“But you know what? It’s been surprising to me how many runs they’ve scored. They’re kind of old-time, they score runs without hitting home runs. It’s a cool thing to do in today’s game.”
“Now, if they can play a little defense and continue to hit, they got their work cut out for them, some tough teams to pass to get to the playoffs, they could hang in there,” he assessed. “Fenway Park is a place where hitters love to play, but you gotta play defense. You can’t give the other team extra outs, it will work against you in the end.”
“I know they’re gonna hit, I think they’re gonna continue to hit, but you gotta tighten up that defense,” the four-time Gold Glove winner stated.
Lynn is again on the town for the weekend. After serving as one of many managers for the Oldtime recreation, he’ll be in Fenway Park’s Legends Suite this weekend, watching the Red Sox host the Los Angeles Dodgers and welcome again Mookie Betts for the primary time for the reason that notorious February 2020 commerce.
Few are as certified to talk to how Betts will really feel on this homecoming. The Red Sox traded Lynn to the Angels earlier than the 1981 season.
“I know what it’s like to do that, to come back,” he stated.
“It’s gonna be very emotional. He doesn’t know, he really doesn’t. He thinks he does, but when he walks up there,” Lynn’s voice trailed off.
“I know fans are gonna applaud him, and then they’re not, because he’s the enemy,” he stated with a smile.
Source: www.bostonherald.com