It was the 1975 team that made me a Red Sox fan, and specifically these two guys, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice (along with El Tiante and Bill Lee). I'd moved to the Boston area in August 1973 and was a National League and Mets fan. But two things appealed to me about the Sox, (1) everyone in Boston hated the Yankees, which was part of the baseball creed in which I'd been raised, and (2) late in the '74 season rookies Lynn and Rice joined the club. Of course, it helped they won the pennant in '75 and the greatest world series I'd seen, three games to four (don't forget Carlton Fisk and Bernie Carbo!). Freddie won the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, while Jim hit .309 with 22 homers before getting hit by a pitch and breaking his hand a week before the end of the season, causing him to miss the series.
It was also the season that the future Mrs THC and I attended our first Red Sox game together and saw Rice hit the longest home run I ever saw in person.
Here they are a couple of days ago in Springfield, Massachusetts; Jim at 70, Fred at 71, both looking good.
Twins reunion …Jimmy looks great. … stories flying. @MGMSpringfield #Soxwinterweekend @NESN @RedSox pic.twitter.com/eAE2Q1kyMG
— Fred Lynn (@19fredlynn) January 21, 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment