Red Sox Road Trip

The weekend before the start of ticket sales for the 2012 season, the Red Sox held their annual road trip, taking the World Series trophies and ticket vouchers to locations around New England.  This year the schedule worked well for me so that I didn’t have to drive to New Hampshire or Maine, heading instead to the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough, MA.  In past years, the event gave us the chance to have our picture taken with one of the World Series trophies and get a voucher for a pair of tickets in a pre-sale during the coming week.  This year the vouchers allowed up to four tickets, and the event also contained a display of Red Sox memorabilia and appearances by players.

I got to meet Mike Aviles.

I got to the mall early, so I was up near the front of the line.  After filling out a form for a raffle of an Opening Day VIP package and picking up my ticket voucher, my first stop was the autograph table where Red Sox infielder Mike Aviles was seated.  While he served in a backup role last year, even seeing some time in the outfield, the news had broken the night before that Marco Scutaro had been traded, meaning unless there was another move soon, Aviles would likely be the team’s starting shortstop.  I brought along a photo I had taken from behind home plate before a game last year.  Before he signed, he paused and said, “This is a really good picture.”  I knew that he had joined the team at the trade deadline last year, and that the picture was from a game in August, so I told him, “That was from the game with the triple play.”  It cracked me up when he answered excitedly, “Oh, the triple play?  I was at that game!”  He had posed with several people in front of me, and the line was moving slowly because it took everyone a while to fill out the raffle form, so I asked if he’d take a picture with me, and he obliged.  I think I’ve got a new favorite player!  (Yes, I know they’re all in my top 25, but he just shot up in the ranks.)

Bill Mueller's Yankee-killing bat.

Next was a table containing Red Sox memorabilia from the Fenway Park Archives display at the ballpark.  Among other things, they had some bowling pins from the bowling alley that used to be under Fenway, the bat used by Bill Mueller when he hit the walk-off home run off Mariano Rivera in the game with the Tek/A-Rod brawl in 2004, the jersey worn by Carl Yastrzemski at the Ted Williams memorial tribute in 2002, and a 1999 All-Star Game ball signed by Pedro Martinez.

The 2007 World Series trophy was on display.

The final table held the 2007 World Series trophy.  (The ‘04 trophy was on a different leg of the road trip.)  The whole time we were going through the line people were singing the National Anthem as an audition for the “Sing your way to Fenway” contest.  After I finished, I went up to the second floor to get some pictures from above.  I waited around a little while longer, because Rich Gedman, the former catcher who’s now a coach in the minors, was also supposed to be appearing, but he didn’t end up showing while I was there.

When the Red Sox returned from their west coast road trip, I heard that David Ortiz was going to be bringing the trophy he earned when he won the All-Star Home Run Derby to his Framingham restaurant, Big Papi’s Grille.  He was going to be there in person on Friday morning, and the trophy would be on display all weekend.

I wanted to go on Friday, but an ill-timed flat tire prevented me from getting there.  So I dropped by Saturday afternoon instead.  They didn’t have any of the prizes or specials that they had advertised going on, maybe because the 4:00 game time was not the most popular for a meal, but I did get to see the trophy displayed on a counter behind the bar.

Big Papi displayed the trophy he won in this year's All-Star Home Run Derby.

I was bummed that I had missed seeing Big Papi himself, but I’ll be keeping my eye out for future appearances at his restaurant.

Red Sox Team Store’s Fan Appreciation Day

During the week I received an email from the souvenir store across the street from Fenway (I’ve always called it by its original name, Twins, but in recent years it’s changed to the Yawkey Way Store and most recently the Red Sox Team Store) about their Fan Appreciation Day event on Saturday.  They were offering 20-30% discounts in the store, the ‘04 and ‘07 World Series trophies would be on display, and various Red Sox alumni would be available for autographs throughout the day.

Once I saw the guest list, I knew I wanted to head in.  In the afternoon, Bill Lee and Lou Merloni would be there, and while it’s always cool to see them, I’ve gotten both their autographs in different places in the past.  It was the morning that seemed coolest to me, when Jim Lonborg, Brian Daubach, and Sam Horn would be in attendance.  I have a photo of Fenway that I’m saving for Red Sox legends to sign (Jim Rice, Johnny Pesky, and Jerry Remy are on there already) and it would be nice to get 1967 Cy Young winner Lonborg on that.  And then there’s my favorite piece of 2004 memorabilia.  It’s a photo of me with the World Series trophy, which I printed off and brought to Spring Training for a few years, getting autographs of as many members of the ‘04 team as I could.  Daubach was on the team that year; he had rejoined the team after a year with the White Sox and got into 30 games.  Dauber was one of my favorites during his first stint with the Red Sox, a scrappy “dirt dog” whose clutch hitting could carry the team for a week at a time, so I was excited about getting the chance to add his autograph to my trophy picture.

Brian Daubach returns to Fenway to sign autographs at the souvenir store.

I got to Fenway early and was happy to find a free parking spot on Lansdowne Street.  The area was surprisingly busy, considering the team was on the road for the weekend.  At one gate people were setting up for the Great Urban Race, and on the other side of the park they were getting ready to host Northeastern University’s Family Day.  Meanwhile, ballpark tours were departing from the souvenir store all day long.

The souvenir store had a roped-off area in the back, but no one was there yet.  I took advantage of the discounted prices to pick up a new Red Sox hat, since I had to retire my previous one after getting Jonathan Papelbon’s autograph on it at last Sunday’s game.  When I got in the line I heard from a staff member that Lonborg had cancelled and Horn was running late, but right at 11:00 Daubach showed up.  I got him to sign my picture, and then had another photo taken with the World Series trophies.

I always love seeing the trophies that Brian Daubach and his teammates helped win for me.

Red Sox Road Trip

Last year the Red Sox started a Red Sox Road Trip on the weekend preceding ticket sales.  They took the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies across New England giving fans the chance to get their pictures taken and pick up vouchers good for two tickets in a pre-sale this week.  This year, most of the locations close to me were scheduled for weekdays, but Sunday brought the road show to L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine.  The friend I go to most of my games with and I both grew up in Maine, so we decided to make the trip up for the day, even though it’s a 2½-hour drive from where I now live.

Some things never get old!

My friend brought a bunch of family members along, and we got there early enough to get in line indoors as it snaked up and down aisles between clothing racks, up the stairs, and out the door well before the event started.  The trophies arrived shortly after 4:00.  We got our pre-sale vouchers, plus stickers and a “Fenway Park 500th consecutive sellout” commemorative baseball, before getting our chance to pose with the World Series trophies.

A close-up of the trophies' bases.

The 2007 (in the front) and 2004 World Series trophies.

It’s always fun to see the trophies again, and thanks to the vouchers we’ll be getting a head-start on the ticket sale next weekend.  But one of the best parts was that coupled with yesterday’s trip to Rhode Island for the PawSox Hot Stove Party, it made for a fun, baseball-filled weekend in the middle of winter, even if it did mean about 380 miles of driving!

This weekend the Sox were doing a Red Sox Road Trip, where they brought the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies to malls around New England and distributed vouchers for this week’s ticket pre-sale.  My friend and I headed to the Nashua, NH, stop on Sunday afternoon.  It’s about an hour’s drive for me, and we got a bunch of snow on Saturday night, so I allowed extra time for travel.  The highways were actually somewhat clear by the time I left in the afternoon, and we ended up getting there very early, before they were even set up.

When the line formed, there were about 10 people in front of us, so we had no trouble getting the ticket vouchers (good for 2 tickets each).  They also had stickers, posters, and the chance to enter a drawing for a VIP Opening Day package.  The 2007 World Series trophy was available for pictures.  So was Wally, but luckily he was 10 minutes late, so we were able to get our pictures taken without him.  (I can’t stand Wally; the very idea that the Red Sox need a mascot still makes no sense to me.  Leave that for the teams that can’t sell tickets any other way.  The Sox sell out every night and have fans who are willing to drive 50 miles in a snowstorm just for the chance to buy 2 tickets… and it’s certainly not to see Wally!  I just believe that in Boston, it’s supposed to be all about the baseball, not the gimmicks.)

Here are a couple of pictures I took:

A nice front view of the trophy.  I like how the flash makes the word “CHAMPIONS” that’s engraved on the base reflect on the table in front of it.  (Just ignore the tubby green guy in the background.)

Cool top view of the trophy, taken from the second floor.

The trophy-viewing line at Pheasant Lane Mall.  For more on the Road Trip stops in Warwick, RI, and Waterford, CT, see Jere’s pictures at A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory.