The Boston Red Sox will kick off their season at Fenway Park on Friday, April 4, with Opening Day festivities scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. The Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers at 2:05 p.m.
The pregame ceremony will include the presentation of the World Series rings, the performance of the national anthem, a helicopter fly-over and the ceremonial first pitch.
The ceremony will also include a moment of silence in tribute to Lt. Edward J. Walsh and Firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, who died in the line of duty while fighting a nine-alarm fire in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, last week.
The singing of “God Bless America” in the middle of the seventh inning will be performed by the Boston Fire Department Quartet.
The Dropkick Murphys, along with members of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart, will perform during the ceremony, as well. Members of the Hanscom Airforce Base will line the length of the Green Monster as the American flag drops for the anthem.
To maintain the Opening Day tradition of a fly-over at Fenway Park, the United States Coast Guard will fly a single MH-60T helicopter, representing all of our armed forces, at the conclusion of the national anthem.
In honor of the 2013 championship, players will wear special gold-trimmed Red Sox jerseys with gold stitching around the World Series Championship patch on the left sleeve, and around the letters and numbers on the front and back of the jersey.
Fenway Park gates will open at 11:35 a.m., 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch. For the rest of the regular season, gates will open 1 1/2 hours before the game, except for season ticket holders and Red Sox Nation members, who may enter at Gate C 2 1/2 hours before each game.
As always, and especially during mid-week day games, the Red Sox urge fans to take the T. In addition to the familiar Green Line stops at Kenmore Square, the MBTA has also built the new Yawkey Station for its Commuter Rail service.
Photo via Twitter/@DugoutLegends
