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| Boston Red Sox's Jonny Gomes, second from left, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hold up baseball jerseys during a pause in their World Series victory rolling rally in Boston, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, to remember those affected by the Marathon bombing. They presented the jerseys to workers at two of the businesses at the bombing sites, including, second from right, Shane O'Hara and at far right, Dan Solo. |
BOSTON (AP)
-- From the Green Monster to the Charles River, the bearded champions
celebrated their improbable journey with another familiar sight in
Boston.
The World Series trophy.
For
the third time in 10 years, the Red Sox carried the prize through their
city in a "rolling rally" of amphibious "duck boats" as thousands of
fans lined the streets and the banks of the waterway that separates
Boston from Cambridge.
The most poignant
moment occurred early in Saturday's trip when the vehicles stopped at
the Boston Marathon finish line, near where two explosions killed three
spectators at the race on April 15.
Outfielder
Jonny Gomes placed the trophy on the line and he and catcher Jarrod
Saltalamacchia held Red Sox jerseys with the words "BOSTON STRONG" and
the number 617, the city's area code. A jersey with that message hung in
the Red Sox dugout throughout the season after the bombings.
On a mild, sunny day, noted tenor Ronan Tynan sang "God Bless America" and the crowd joined in.
"That
was an emotional moment," Gomes said. "To bring the World Series trophy
to the finish line, I don't think that the story was written that way,
but I was glad to be a part of it and put the exclamation point on it."
Before
the rally began at Fenway, manager John Farrell recalled that the Red
Sox had left after their 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays the day of the
Marathon for Logan Airport for a road trip. Along the way, they saw
emergency vehicles responding to the explosions.
"Knowing
that we were heading out of town, that's going to bring back a lot, and
a lot of uncertainty at that moment," Farrell said, "because no one
knew where to turn next. So we were fortunate to be part of maybe a
little bit of a healing process."
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia said: "We played for the whole city, what the city went through."
Boston's climb from last place in the AL East in 2012 to the top of the baseball world was stunning.
But
not to Pedroia, a gritty leader of a closely knit team that won the
title with a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 on
Wednesday night. It was the first time the Red Sox won the Series at
home in 95 years.
"The way we started spring
training, it seemed like everybody counted us out," he said. "We always
said, `One day closer to a parade.' It's here."
The
line score from the clinching game was still on the scoreboard on the
left-field wall as season-ticket holders gathered for a pre-rally
ceremony.
"We just wanted this group to win so
badly," general manager Ben Cherington told the crowd, "because we know
they wanted it so badly."
Then the team
boarded 25 duck boats of many colors - pink, yellow, maroon, lime green,
white and more - normally used for tourist trips.
Some boats even had light brown carpeting cut into the shape of beards attached on the front.
Players still had their beards, which some had grown all season long.
"Hopefully, we can all get together and shave them for a good cause," third baseman Will Middlebrooks said.
Some fans also were at rolling rallies after the 2004 and 2007 championships.
"This
may be the best parade yet," said Charles Butler, 48, of Boston, who
attended his third. "It is the best
thing that could have happened to
Boston right now. The bombing was a sad time, and now we have a reason
to come together and celebrate."
Anna
Mitkevicius, 24, of Medford, watched from near the finish line that she
never reached on April 15. She was stopped about one mile before the end
because of the explosions.
"It is still a
very emotional experience to come down here," she said. "I didn't know
if it would be too hard to be at the finish line, but I'm happy I came.
It felt really good to be here when everyone is celebrating and the mood
is good."
There was a very heavy police presence, with dogs and bullhorns.
Crowds
were about 15 people deep on both sides near the finish line on
Boylston Street. Many wore Red Sox gear, some with foam beards and
holding signs "Papi for Mayor," a vote for World Series MVP David Ortiz.
Farrell
said if Ortiz hadn't hit a tying grand slam in the eighth inning of
Game 2 of the AL championship series against the Detroit Tigers "we
might not be standing here today."
Steve
Horgan, the police officer who raised his arms in a "V" when Tigers
right fielder Torii Hunter tumbled over the bullpen wall in pursuit of
Ortiz's homer, rode in the lead vehicle with John Henry and other team
owners.
"A thrill of a lifetime," Horgan said.
When the vehicles slid into the river - another big splash for the Red Sox - spectators cheered.
The
departure from Fenway was delayed when a flatbed truck carrying
Dropkick Murphys, a band which had played at the ceremony, and heavy
equipment became stuck in the turf along the first-base line.
A duck boat drove up in front of it and, with a tow rope between the vehicles, pulled the flatbed out of the ruts.
Less than three hours later, the rally was over.
"We were ready to go another lap," Gomes said. "We didn't want it to end. It was pretty fun."
