Just because the Boston Red Sox aren’t winning games at a historic clip this season doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned tradition.
As you might recall, manager Alex Cora hung a photo on his Fenway Park office wall for each of Boston’s wins last season, totaling 119 by the time the Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series to secure their fourth title since 2004. The photos from the “Win Wall” subsequently were auctioned to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.
For 2019, Cora wanted to keep the tradition alive but with a twist. He thus solicited the advice of his 16-year-old daughter, Camila.
Here’s more from a piece by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey published Tuesday:
“We got all these books with the (2018) pictures and all that, and I’m like, ‘We need to do something different,’” Cora said.
He turned to his 16-year-old for advice. Her idea? A photo of the jersey from the player who had the biggest impact on the win that day. The result is a mix of red, white, blue and gray jerseys tacked up on his wall surrounding the photo of Cora and Camila.
The manager often refers to his players as his extended family, so in a way, the new version of the Win Wall reflects that.
The 2018 “Win Wall” featured photos from Red Sox team photographer Billie Weiss that were taken in-game. The 2019 version requires a bit more work, as Weiss photographs the jersey of the player who had the biggest impact after each victory. Weiss then adds the score and the date before relaying the photo to Red Sox clubhouse manager Tommy McLaughlin.
“It looks good. It’s hard to top last year, but it looks good. It’s different,” McLaughlin told McCaffrey. “Guys like walking by and seeing their jersey up there.”
