From David Ortiz’s impassioned speech to the 617 jerseys and hospital visits, the 2013 Red Sox found inspiration in the way their city responded after the horrific act of terrorism during the 2013 Boston Marathon.
While the Red Sox were an inspiration for a city that had to begin the slow process of healing and moving forward, those on the team drew motivation from the way the city and its residents responded.
As Boston united and the community supported all of those affected by the tragedy, the Red Sox were involved in aspects on and off the field. Their impressive play and eventual World Series victory was one way the team helped the healing process.
But it’s what they witnessed from Boston that helped spur the Red Sox through their incredible season.
“It not only helped us and pushed us through tough times,” third baseman Will Middlebrooks said to FOX Sports David Whitley, “it helped the city a lot. It’s sort of hard to talk about, but it’s one of the things we wanted to do for the city.”
The Red Sox might have won the World Series anyway — “Please don’t hang a win-loss record on how we felt,” slugger Jonny Gomes said — but the lessons they learned from Boston’s reaction to the bombing and its citizens’ resiliency helped unite the entire community.
Gomes played with a bat that had victims’ names marked into it. Players made multiple hospital visits. They continued to play great baseball, and wounds began to heal. So when the duck boat parade made a detour to visit the Boston Marathon’s finish line, the city, its team and their people were able to cross it together in tribute for those who died and as a way of moving into the future “Boston Strong.”
