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| Remy (L) With '92 Fantasy Team |
Believe it or not, the legendary
Jerry Remy turns 60 today. Few ex-players have become as beloved as Remy since he hung up his spikes in May of 1984. As a broadcaster, President of
Red Sox Nation and all-round mega-celebrity, Jerry in one of the true faces of the Boston baseball franchise. On a personal level, I will forever be grateful to Jerry—who served as my manager on a 1992 Red Sox Fantasy Camp team in Winter Haven, Florida (see pic). He was patient, encouraging and kind to a bunch of wanna-be Red Sox who
thought they knew something about playing baseball. In our first day of batting practice, Jerry looked at me standing in the left-hand batter's box and calmly informed the team, "OK, I know how to get this guy out". He let loose a nasty down and in fastball that I whiffed at pathetically. Then he taught me how to hit that most tantalizing pitch for lefty hitters. Remy had a fantastic playing career for the Red Sox and Angels—a .275 lifetime batting average and stellar defensive play over 10 seasons in the bigs. For years, he was part of the "Hoot And Scoot" 1-2 punch at the top of the Red Sox order along with
Rick Burleson. Here's wishing the
RemDawg a very happy 60th!
