Yesterday morning, before little Geoana and I left for school and work (respectively) she asked me if I knew of a baseball player named "Big Apfel" who played for the Red Sox. I said the name sure wasn't familiar to me and asked where she heard it. Turns out she was reading (Geoana is a voracious reader) a book titled Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume and this player was referred to by one of the characters.
Then I started to think some more. What Red Sox players do quickly jump to my mind? First is the obvious one, Ted Williams, even though he was way before my time. Who else? Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk. And that's about it. I'm thinking of players that will be associated with the Red Sox and no other team. That leaves out all of the current and just-recently-retired superstars.
And no, I will not make this entry a rant about how there is no team loyalty anymore, blah, blah, blah. Times have changed and I accept that.
But back to my mental wheels turning. I then thought about the 1975 World Series which led to images of Carlton Fisk's game-winning home run in Game 6. You know the one I mean--the famous footage of him waving his arms as if to coax the ball to "stay fair." If you haven't seen it, go here (the video clip link is on the lower right side of the page).
Then I recall having met the guy who threw Fisk the pitch, Pat Darcy. (This was years ago at a work-related event for my wife's then-employer.) I shared with him my being an Astros fan and he answered that he played for that very club before being traded to the Reds. I'll never forget his comment: "I went from a poorly-run team to a very well-managed one."
I can't argue that point, but having teammates such as Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Ken Griffey probably didn't hurt, either.
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