This Wasn't Just Another Father & Son Game...
Years ago, we used to joke around and ask our friends and family what items were on their bucket lists. At the time, none of us believed we were anywhere close to kickin' the bucket, but like everything else in life, we're always closer than we think…
I had a bizarre and varied bucket list, containing some serious items as well as some not-so-serious items like "having a blonde, busty, good-looking midget use me like a human trampoline." Never happened. Probably never will. But you never know. (I work for Barstool)
One of my more serious bucket list items was becoming a member of the Fenway Park Grounds Crew after I retired. I told Susan it would only be 81 days, and I'd get to be at Fenway, manicuring the field, and watching my favorite sports team play. Maybe get to meet some of the players.
I've been a Red Sox fan since 1961, which was a great year to enter into the MLB fandom. Teddy Ballgame had just retired, and a rookie named Carl Yastrzemski took over in left field. I was only five years old, so I enjoyed watching Roger Maris break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record that year, 61 in '61.
My hatred for the "Evil Empire" came later. But after living in Connecticut as a teenager, where some of my best friends were diehard Yankee fans, and watching a game in old Yankee Stadium with them and seeing Mickey Mantle there as a coach, I eased up a bit. Now, because we're currently in a Wild Card race with the Yankees, it has amped up to a fever pitch… (Yankees SUCK! Yankees SUCK!)
When my wife was home and I was her 24/7 caregiver, when I finished doing wound care at 9:30 pm after a long, intense day, Susan would tell me to grab a snack and go into the living room and watch the rest of the Red Sox game. She knew how much I loved the Sox and the therapeutic effect it would have on me.
On the way to the old Norwood Cinema one evening when we were dating, I told Susan that the Red Sox needed catchers, and I was gonna go to Winter Haven and try out for the team. And if I made the roster, during the season I'd only be home for 81 games, but it would be worth it because I'd be making good money. She got very quiet…
Once we were seated inside the theatre, and all the trailers were finished, and the main feature was about to start, I leaned into her and whispered, "I was only kidding about trying out for the Red Sox…"
Without hesitation, using the point of her elbow, she gave my ribs a bang that still hurts…
When we were both going to college and living in Boston in '79, I would occasionally hijack Susan to a ballgame against her will. Fortunately, she loved Fenway Franks and ice cream served in mini batting helmets, or it could've been a relationship deal breaker. Some of her friends warned her that I was a "Jock", like that was something bad.
Baseball has always been a part of our relationship, and she was accepting of it. She knew that as a kid, I used to go to a ton of games with my Uncle Mike and cousin Arthur. We'd always get to Fenway early so we could watch batting practice and field preparation. Uncle Mike would buy three small, brown paper bags full of peanuts, which at the time were only twenty-five cents, and we'd sit in the stands, Bob Uecker-style, and enjoy watching BP.
After Susan passed on May 9th of this year, my only legitimate distraction from the grief has been the three B's: blogging, bicycles, and baseball. I try to watch every Sox game, and it seems MLB is making it more difficult on us old guys who have trouble finding Apple TV+, FSI, MLB Network, and The Roku Channel. NESN, FOX, ESPN, no problem. The most difficult thing I did as a kid tuning in the game on TV 38 involved adjusting the rabbit ears on my parents' 16" black 'n' white that sat on a wobbly, rolling stand, and waiting for my father to yell, "That's good!"
My youngest son, Dylan, and I recently revisited my bucket list, and being part of the Fenway Park Grounds Crew came up. Without my knowledge, he messaged Big Cat, who got in touch with Jared Carrabis, who put the ball in play…
Susan understood me better than anyone, and I knew she would want me to be part of the grounds crew and knock that off my bucket list. And maybe even crack a smile for the first time in over four months. (Grief SUCKS!)
Dylan stayed in close contact with Jared (Super Fan) Carrabis, and as gameday neared, I was starting to believe it was actually gonna happen. I was getting excited.
I was hoping for a short rain delay so I could help roll out the tarp, which had always been one of my favorite things to watch as a kid. That and the relief pitchers catching a ride from the bullpen to the mound in a baseball-domed golf cart, which Jared said was still running and parked inside Fenway. I'd love to do a couple laps around the warning track in that at high speed! I just added that to my revised bucket list, if anybody's listening…
Down two games to none in the 3-game series against the Yankees, the Sox could ill afford to get swept. This was a very important game for multiple reasons. We were there to shoot part of a documentary my daughter-in-law, Lexi, and son Dylan were creating about finding happiness while experiencing grief.
While Lexi, Dylan, and I were driving in, we talked about where we were gonna park. For weekend games, Dylan and I always parked at Brigham and Women's Hospital because it's only $12 for the entire day. Over the last two years, I parked there daily to be with my wife, sometimes after making a 9-1-1 call and chasing an ambulance from Norton into Boston. I was afraid PTSD would set in, so we drove past Brigham and Women's parking garage and hunted for a space closer to Fenway.
We ended up parking in a small lot very close to the ballpark, and all I can say about the price is, "Ouch!" But it was a great spot and well worth it.
Jared told us to text when we arrived, and he'd come down to get us. We waited at Gate D for Fraser MacMannis, another member of our camera crew, to arrive.
To be continued…