Alex Cora Making Home Opener Reminder Of Red Sox Legacy

BOSTON -- The 2024 home opener at Fenway Park marked a reminder of the legacy that the Boston Red Sox created and hope to refresh this season.

Alex Cora especially hammered home that theme as his young roster, with some players yet to play at Fenway Park, took the field after a 10-game West Coast road trip to begin the season. Boston's ballpark offers plenty of history, from the site of key moments to the connections to stars of the past.

That connection exists in relationships built during spring training, where championship starting pitchers such as Pedro Martinez and Jon Lester visited camp to give back to the organization. Stars of the past returned Tuesday with a celebration of the 2004 championship team, now two decades after the historic run. It all adds up to the Red Sox legacy in the sport.

Those qualities have been longstanding pitches to free agents and a general endorsement of the experience of wearing the Red Sox uniform. With the home opener starting the next wave of competition at Fenway Park, Cora emphasized what makes the Boston baseball tradition special.

"It should be packed." Cora told reporters at Fenway Park on Tuesday. "It should be a lot of emotions. That's how we do it here."

Cora continued: "There's something about this team, during the offseason and the season, that gets people going. It seems like everyone knows everything about the team. Everybody has an opinion about the team. We all have the same goal to win the World Series. It makes it so special. That's why I love it here."

The 2024 Red Sox feature plenty of youth as a new core emerges in Boston. Cora knows how important it is for them to follow the path set before them.

"For these kids, they have no idea," Cora offered. "They just show up and play. … This is a group that, whatever the season brings, people will fall in love with. They're going to play hard. That's what all those guys did. A bunch of athletes running around."

The Red Sox manager hopes that his 2024 group can reignite a staple of previous years and return to true winning ways at Fenway Park. The Red Sox finished below .500 at home last season, a trend that must change going forward.

"We pitch better than the way we did the last few years," Cora said. "We run the bases better than the way we did the last few years. We play better than the last few years, bottom line. We've just got to dominate here. Decision-making in this stadium is very important."

Cora added: "If we do that, the other thing is going to come with the fans getting into it. Not just singing ("Sweet Caroline") in the eighth inning. It's going to be loud and be that tenth man. That's on us. We've got to play better for them to perform."

The Red Sox started their home slate with a test of talent against the reigning American League East champions in the Baltimore Orioles.