The Red Sox ran a contest late last year and my brother Phil won tickets to this year's home opener. He won because he told them how I took him to his first Red Sox game when he was a kid and now he wanted to take me to a game.
So yesterday Phil picked me up yesterday morning and we drove in to Boston. It was a cloudy day in the low 50's and very windy, but we both dressed warmly and were wearing the new Red Sox caps our sister Cheryl had given us for Christmas. Our seats were in right field and gave us a great view of the whole field. We took our seats about an hour before game time and had a conversation with a man sitting in front of us, who turned out to be the son of the great Sox third baseman of the 1950's, Frank Malzone.
Finally the pregame Opening Day festivities started. The giant flag came down over the left field wall and David Ortiz's 15 year old daughter sang the National Anthem.(The Red Sox had kept this a secret from him, so he was surprised.) She has a great voice and I suspect she is headed for a professional career.
Ortiz is retiring. This was his last Fenway home opener and the Red Sox had another surprise, this time for the fans; some of the all time Boston sports legends showed up to throw out the ceremonial First Pitch: Bobby Orr of the Bruins, Bill Russell of the Celtics, and Ty Law of the Patriots.
And finally it was time to play ball! The Sox took an early lead over the Orioles, lost it, took it back, and then finally lost 9-7.
But it was a good day out at the ballpark, and a good day out with my brother! Thanks Phil, for taking me out to the ball game!
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