Baseball returned to Boston yesterday.
In the wake of last Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings, the match up between the Red Sox and the Royals is another step in the return to normalcy for the city. Just watching the game on television, it wasn’t hard to get a feel for the intensely emotional atmosphere. Pre-game festivities included a slideshow of the events of the week, moments of silence and remembering, and a nod to the events in west Texas and China. The announcer’s declaration, “We will run another marathon,” brought cheers of agreement. Special guests to the game included Boston Marathon volunteers, law enforcement, Mayor Thomas Menino, and other political and public safety leaders of the area. And I don’t know about you, but I found the singing of the national anthem by the crowd to be particularly moving.
Then, of course, there was David Ortiz’s brief address:
It wasn’t just the Boston crowd that was touched by the ceremony. The Kansas City club, which wore the “B Strong” patches on their uniforms in support for the city, was also moved by the display. “It was special, it was cool,” left fielder Alex Gordon said. “I almost started crying at some of the points, so it was a special moment and we were happy to be a part of it.”
In addition to recovery from the events of the past week, yesterday also marked the 101st anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park. The Red Sox capped the days festivities with a 4-3 victory for the day, as starting pitcher Clay Buchholz went eight innings and improved his record to 4-0.
