Red Sox Stars in Awe of Pregame Ceremony, Thankful Team Legends ‘Paved the Way’
Chances are he was on the Fenway Park outfield grass or infield dirt this afternoon prior to the Red Sox-Yankees afternoon tilt. And you're not alone, as members of the current Sox roster were right there with you, mouth open and eyes widened.
In typical Fenway fashion, the stars came out for one of the biggest bashes this city's sports scene has ever seen. Turning 100 doesn't happen often, so the club invited every living member that's ever rocked the white and red on the Fenway Park field to come celebrate.
"That was fantastic, they did an amazing job putting this whole day together — first class everything. I wouldn't expect anything less out of the Red Sox, obviously. What a special day for everyone," first-year Sox outfielder Cody Ross said after the game.
Although Ross is a newcomer to the club and grew up thousands of miles outside the Boston city limits, he was still in awe at the pregame display of legendary Sox stars.
"There was more than one point, there were quite a few points where one guy would walk out and I'd think 'wow he was one of my heroes' and the next guy would walk out and I'd think 'I really liked him, too,' and it just kept going and going," he said. "It was just a great day."
One of the Sox' biggest stars on the roster stood in awe, too. Adrian Gonzalez was not only thankful for a front-row seat to the festivities, he was thankful to those who were honored.
"It was great to get to say hi to all those guys at first base," said the Sox resident one-bagger. "They paved the way for me to be here so that was special.
"The ceremony was awesome," he added. "To have all the guys that have played throughout the years — it's pretty incredible being able to share the field for me it was really special to say think you to you the guys who paved the way at first base."
While hundreds were honored, Gonzo was unable to pick one or two legends he was excited to see and thrilled to share the Fenway pitch with.
"It’s always great to see the greats, Yaz [Carl Yastrzemski], Jim Rice and those guys – there’s a long list of Hall of Famers. Those are some guys that have done great things, like Mo Vaughn."
"I was out of the bullpen watching it, it was pretty cool seeing all those guys who have played before me and have paved the path of this game for us," said Jarrod Saltalamacchia. "It's tough to believe [Fenway Park] has been around for that long but being here for the past three years, I wouldn't have it any other way."
Every single person that has ever stepped foot in the baseball shrine would likely agree.
