“It’s wonderful to see, and we need to do more of it. “I’ve been so impressed with the Red Sox organization and everything that they are trying to do to really make sure that there’s healing in our city, to make sure that we are righting wrongs of the past," said Janey, who also took part in the pregame ceremony. The ballclub did not field a Black player until Pumpsie Green in 1959 - more than a dozen years after Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier.įormer Boston Mayor Kim Janey, who was the first woman and the first person of color to hold the office, said the team has come far since then. Haith had heard the stories about how the Red Sox gave Jackie Robinson a sham tryout and also opted not to sign Willie Mays. (His aunt's husband was named June - “the name stuck with me,” Haith said.) He lived for a time in Connecticut and followed the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants, and after moving to Boston never felt the pull of the Red Sox. The occasion was especially poignant for Haith, who learned about Juneteenth while growing up in Virginia. Louis fans buying a special ticket package received a Nationals Juneteenth T-shirt, and $5 from each of those sales will be donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Nationals will mark the occasion on Monday with a special matinee start for their series opener against St. The Mariners celebrated on Saturday with “Salute to the Negro Leagues” day, wearing jerseys from the Seattle Steelheads from the 1940s. The Buffalo Soldiers, an African-American Army unit formed after the Civil War at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, presented the colors. The Diamondbacks marked the occasion by hosting a workshop featuring former Arizona outfielder Scott Hairston, pitcher Steve Randolph and infielder Junior Spivey for 34 high school baseball players. “Lift Every Voice” was also performed in Oakland before the Athletics’ game against the Phillies and in Friday's game between Arizona and Cleveland. WWE announcer Samantha Irvin performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black National Anthem, as well as the “Star-Spangled Banner.” On Monday, an exhibit from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, “Barrier Breakers: From Jackie to Pumpsie,” will open at nearby Emerson College. The last team in the major leagues to integrate their roster, the Red Sox were among the teams marking the June 19 holiday this weekend. “But things have changed and it’s like a miracle.” He’s not shying away from the struggle, though.“It wasn’t always comfortable for me to come to Fenway Park, because sometimes I would hear people called names,” said Haith, who designed the red-and-blue Juneteenth flag with the exploding white star that was first raised in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury in 1979. He’s in another one of his valleys, and is struggling with mental health after a disastrous World Baseball Classic. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)įormer Sox pitcher Daniel Bard has had about as up-and-down a career as you can imagine. Michael Wacha did, too, and he sounds confused about how he ended up there. Jat 8:18 AM 5 min read Red Sox manager Alex Cora has sounded hopeful tones about his team possibly turning a corner after an up and down first half. Xander Bogaerts isn’t the only player from the 2022 team who ended up with the San Diego Padres. Triston Casas isn’t a hometown player, but he is a vitally important homegrown one, and he needs to start figuring things out at the plate. For the Red Sox, a relief pitcher in Portland named Luis Guerrero is the team’s next-best hope for a Boston-raised player. Would this be a roster construction disadvantage for teams from the Northeast? It sure would! But baseball is supposed to be romantic, damn it, and there’s nothing more romantic than a kid playing for his hometown team. There should be a rule that every Major League Baseball team have at least one local player on the roster at all times. Bloom’s been reluctant to trade for Major League talent and it’s extremely rare for trades to happen at this point in the season, regardless. With the team’s up-the-middle depth already being tested, will the Red Sox try to trade for a big league piece? Almost certainly not, frankly. The Boston Red Sox pounded the New York Yankees, 15-5, on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series at Fenway Park.
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