The Boston Red Sox finally return to Fenway Park and they’ll be kicking off their home opener with a ceremony to celebrate the 2018 World Series Championship.
After what felt like a nightmare road trip that would never end the Red Sox finally make their 2019 debut at Fenway Park. With the allure of a friendly home crowd and the familiar confines of Fenway Park ahead of them it won’t all be business.
Before first pitch today the Red Sox will be honored with not only a new banner hanging high above Fenway Park but also they’ll be given their World Series Champion rings. In what can only be described as a disappointment of a season so far, Boston will be looking to use the return to Fenway as a spark to ignite their title defense.
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Having gone just 3-8 through their 11-game road trip it will be a major test once Boston finally gets a chance to play some home games. Red Sox Nation will get to see whether it was just the effects of the road trip on the squad or if larger issues are lurking in the shadows. Today starts that journey and we’ll all witness what the 2019 Red Sox are capable of.
For the fourth time in 15 years, the Red Sox will get to open Fenway Park by raising a banner and getting some jewelry. I had to stop mid-sentence and let that sink in just a bit. It took 86 years for Boston to finally break The Curse and win a World Series in 2004. Since that historic night, there have been some ups and downs but that championships haven’t stopped arriving at Fenway.
Decades, hell even generations passed between Red Sox World Championships. Now Boston is a city so accustomed to winning between the recent success of the Red Sox and the Patriot dynasty among championships from the Celtics and Bruins. But it’s often the Red Sox that bring the city together like a rising tide raising all ships.
The 2019 squad is comprised of most of the team that won the championship back in October less Joe Kelly, Craig Kimbrel, and Drew Pomeranz. But the core of the team has remained intact and they’re geared up to get home and deliver for the Fenway Faithful. This homestand is exactly what the Red Sox are in need of to shake the ghost of the road trip that started their 2019 season.
We all know about how awful the team looked during the West Coast run that began the title defense so there’s no reason to rehash that, but there is hope. Having the World Series ceremony and the receiving of the rings prior to today’s Opening Day at Fenway Park could be the spark that lights the fuse.
There’s something magical about Fenway Park, and I’m sure everyone feels that way about their team’s home field. I’ve been to several games in other parks/stadiums and nothing matches that feeling of Fenway Park. Chris Sale will be taking the mound for the Red Sox looking to forget his previous two starts and begin a new season.
With the first weeks of the season in the rearview mirror, Boston will be looking to correct the course of the title defense ship and begin the march towards October. With the pomp and circumstance ready for the ring ceremony, and what is sure to be a ruckus Fenway Park crowd prepared to cheer on the squad, I imagine today will be a hell of a day. The World Series celebration kicks off at 1 p.m. followed by first pitch at 2:05 p.m.