A brand new yr of baseball started on Monday, and with it, an opportunity to like the Red Sox once more.
Since 2003, Truck Day has served because the unofficial first day of the Red Sox season. 20,400 baseballs, 1,100 bats, 200 batting gloves, 200 batting helmets, 320 batting apply tops, 160 white sport jerseys, 300 pairs of pants, 400 t-shirts, 400 pairs of socks, 20 circumstances of bubble gum, and 60 circumstances of sunflower seeds are headed from Fenway Park to the Red Sox spring coaching amenities in Fort Myers, Fla. within the succesful arms of Al Hartz, who’s making the journey for the twenty seventh consecutive yr.
Perhaps, stowed away someplace within the 53-foot car, is just a little little bit of hope, too.
Because even after watching the Red Sox trudge to back-to-back last-place finishes (three over the past 4), followers nonetheless confirmed as much as stand exterior on a frigid February day to ship a truck on a 1,480-mile street journey. According to a workforce worker, an estimated 50 to 75 folks braved the chilly. That’s removed from the packed crowds of happier Truck Days previous, however it’s not nothing.
“Red Sox fans come out in the freezing cold to see an equipment truck go off to Florida, and it’s a reminder of what really matters, which is our fans and how much they care about this team,” workforce president and CEO Sam Kennedy informed the Herald.
They know the place they stand with their followers, although. “The hate comes when you don’t get it done on the field,” Kennedy stated frankly.
When it involves sports activities fandom, the fantastic line between love and hate is usually blurred, and ceaselessly crossed. Fans can go from loving their workforce to hating them and again once more, typically within the 9 innings of a single ballgame. Sometimes, from one at-bat to the following.
The prevailing fan sentiment nowadays could also be hate – or extra seemingly, frustration – however it’s actually not apathy. Neither love nor hate could be felt until one cares, and sports activities followers on this city can’t cease caring, even when they need to. The majority of Red Sox followers love to like their workforce, they don’t need to hate them. And even once they say they’re out, they’re all the time ready to be pulled again in.
During the lengthy offseason, there’s nothing to do however discuss, stew, and watch for baseball. Its return annually brings with it infinite prospects, and due to this fact, hope that this season will probably be higher.
“We’ve had a really difficult couple of years, and we have a long way to go,” stated Kennedy of repairing the membership’s relationship with followers. “We have a lot of work to do, but hopefully, we’re gonna win their hearts and minds back.”
There wasn’t a cloud within the sky because the gear truck departed simply after midday. As the group dispersed, a household walked down Van Ness Street, their younger daughter waving a brilliant purple flag twice her dimension. On it, a baseball and the phrases “Believe in Boston.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com