Thankful

[Sin Duda]

I am thankful for all obvious things: the four World Series Championships and great players such as David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, and Mookie Betts. And the history of Tris and Babe and Smoky Joe and Ted. And also the heroes who captured my imagination as a young boy - Rico and Dewey and Freddie and Jim Ed, and, of course, Yaz. But also the myriad of small things such as Joe Castiglione telling just-called-up rookie Daniel Nava to swing for the fences on the first pitch he sees because he'll never have another and Nava hitting a Grand Slam, thankful for the autograph I got of Fred Lynn while he still played for the Bristol Red Sox because my dad, a diehard Yankee fan, said he would a good one someday. I love that all my younger sisters became Sox fans because I revealed the magic of emerging from the concourse one bright July day and the amazing experience of taking in the lucious green of the Fenway diamond. I could go on and on, but I'll finish with my absolute gratitude of finding a host of friends in 2003 that have been with me every step of the way in my baseball experience since then. Thanks you, my SoSH siblings, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!

 

[chrisfont9]

Right back at ya! I log in here each morning over my coffee and am thankful for it all the time. This has been a tough year (boring health stuff, I'm fine) so I've gotten a lot of perspective on what I find meaningful. And sports are well below family and friends and such... but they are still on the list, especially the Red Sox. Whatever this team is, it's been part of my life experience for 50 years. So to have this community to do what we do, I'm very grateful.

 

[Sin Duda]

Taking the pulse of the board, it's revealing that there is one response to a "Thankful" thread and 74 to a "How much do you hate the Yankees?" thread. I hope we're in for some good news soon. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

 

[loneredseat]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And thanks for all your insights. I spend a lot of time on this site-

 

[Van Everyman]

Taking the pulse of the board, it's revealing that there is one response to a "Thankful" thread and 74 to a "How much do you hate the Yankees?" thread. I hope we're in for some good news soon. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

I’m thankful that I can share my hatred of the Yankees with a community of likeminded individuals.

Loved your post BTW, @Sin Duda.

 

[Skiponzo]

I too am thankful for this board and you folks who share this passion with me. It’s really a great community.

Happy thanksgiving to all!

 

[Otis Foster]

A wonderful website, packed with knowledgeable and opinionated commentators who leave the more casually informed (like me) in the dust. A happy Thanksgiving with family and friends for all, and with gratitude for keeping the flow of data going.

 

[Cassvt2023]

I have about 7 things bookmarked on my home IPad and another 15 or so on my work computer. SOSH is on both of them. I’m thankful for the people who maintain and monitor it. I’m thankful for all of the (mostly) respectful banter. I’m thankful for the people who acknowledge you when you‘ve posted som they liked. I’m thankful for all of the different poster’s knowledge and experience in so many different areas. And I’m extremely thankful when someone admits to being a longtime reader and builds the courage to make their first post. It can be an intimidating thing and I remember when I made my first few. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

[Al Zarilla]

I am thankful that I got to see Ted Williams play at Fenway in the 1950s. One particular day he hit two runs, the second of which was so many many many many rows above one of the bullpens I had to look up years later to see when the Red Seat home run was. That wasn’t it (the Red Seat one was in 1946). I wasn’t there for that one, LOL.

After 2003 I got depressed, thinking, maybe I’m gonna be one of the bazillion Sox fans that never gets to see a title. Thanks to Theo, Tito, Papi, Pedro, Derek, Foulkey, Wakey, all of them for blowing that feeling away the next year. And 07, 13, 18. This is the best board on the net too.

 

[Eagle3]

I am thankful that I got to see Ted Williams play at Fenway in the 1950s. One particular day he hit two runs, the second of which was so many many many many rows above one of the bullpens I had to look up years later to see when the Red Seat home run was. That wasn’t it (the Red Seat one was in 1946). I wasn’t there for that one, LOL.

After 2003 I got depressed, thinking, maybe I’m gonna be one of the bazillion Sox fans that never gets to see a title. Thanks to Theo, Tito, Papi, Pedro, Derek, Foulkey, Wakey, all of them for blowing that feeling away the next year. And 07, 13, 18. This is the best board on the net too.

Since you saw Ted in person, do you think the Red Seat is legit? Cuz I'd like to believe it's not exaggerated, but, that's a Looong way . . .

Thanks to all for the insightful, entertaining, and educational posts

 

[Al Zarilla]

Since you saw Ted in person, do you think the Red Seat is legit? Cuz I'd like to believe it's not exaggerated, but, that's a Looong way . . .

Thanks to all for the insightful, entertaining, and educational posts

You gotta believe, Bro. They say the wind was blowing out.

Here’s what he says.

 

[jacklamabe65]

Thank you for the team - and all of you. I loved the Red Sox as long as I have loved the Beatles - since third grade. You're All Fab Fourers to me.

 

[LogansDad]

I, too, am thankful for SoSH, which is essentially the only adult interaction I have outside of my wife and my OOTP online baseball leagues.

I think that says more about me than it does about you guys, though.

 

[TrotNixonRing]

Thankful to have engaged at the beginning of this season. This board is great for breaking news, opinion and game day threads. Scratch that, this board is THE BEST at those things.

 

[loneredseat]

The only news I'm really into is the Red Sox. If you try to get news on the red sox from out there you get a bunch of rediculousness from who knows who. So great to come here and get the real stuff. And if I have a question I can ask, and I get an answer! What's better than that?
I'm thankful for all you guys!
I'm a high school teacher and this year I have a student who is into the red sox at least as much as I am. He gets excited over the kids who are getting drafted. All he wants to do is talk about the Red Sox. I'm thankful to have him in my class!

 

[simplicio]

I live an isolated, liminal existence where I'm mostly responsible for my pubescent son with severe developmental disabilities about 19 hours a day. Y'all are my window, so thank you.

 

[chrisfont9]

I live an isolated, liminal existence where I'm mostly responsible for my pubescent son with severe developmental disabilities about 19 hours a day. Y'all are my window, so thank you.

The internet is a mixed bag but I’ve always appreciated that connectivity, particularly being old enough to remember life before all this. I’m glad it works in that way for you.

 

[TheDogMan]

Right back at ya! I log in here each morning over my coffee and am thankful for it all the time. This has been a tough year (boring health stuff, I'm fine) so I've gotten a lot of perspective on what I find meaningful. And sports are well below family and friends and such... but they are still on the list, especially the Red Sox. Whatever this team is, it's been part of my life experience for 50 years. So to have this community to do what we do, I'm very grateful.

The Sox are like a family to me. They are emblazoned in early memories some great,Yaz in 1967 and The Impossible Dream, some disappointing, Luis Aparicio falling down rounding 3rd. Agony and ecstasy , but a part of my life I am thankful for. Now to make me really thankful, sign Soto, Fried, Scott and Teoscar. Trade for another really good starter and get much better at developing youn pitchers.

 

[Awscrum5]

I am thankful for a few things. Firstly for Digital Equipment Corporation. I was born in the UK and lucked out by getting a job with DEC in the 80s. I was introduced to Fenway Park during my first business trip to Maynard and immediately caught an untreatable case of RSD (Red Sox Disease).

My youth sports were rugby & cricket, but my love of baseball grew quickly as (thanks to colleagues/friends who answered my incessant novice questions), I learned to appreciate the intricacies of the game. While baseball and rugby are obviously very different sports, what I love about both is their shared ethos of an `unwritten code’ of rules. Both sports teach you so much about what is and isn’t acceptable, and how to deal with those who cross the line – without the need for intervention by the officials (until/unless it gets a little too messy).

I was offered a job in DEC’s Lexington office, and my wife and I were even more fortunate to move to Mass in the early 90s. I vividly remember my first view of the Fenway turf, even though I was nearly thrown out for trying to give Wally a playful punch in the ribs (does Wally have ribs?) as he/her/it walked past my section. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to touch Wally, and it was only my English accent and the intervention of my more-savvy pals that saved my seat.

By 2004 I had left Boston for a job in San Diego, but I was even more lucky that a friend of mine had a spare ticket for Game 1 in 2004. I managed to fly across for the game and have never experienced a crowd like that before. From taking the T into Fenway, to drinking in the (forget the name, but very close to Fenway) bar before the game.

I even tried to give my ticket to a New Englander I met in the bar who had flown in from Minnesota with no ticket, but just wanted to be near Fenway for the game. Being a Brit, I felt like a cheat for having a ticket, while he was a ticketless native Bostonian. I’m in equal parts still guilty and (yet again) thankful for his refusal to accept it.

The thrill of Bellhorn’s 8th or 9th inning (can’t remember which) 2-run homer is imprinted in my brain. Us reserved Brits don’t usually go in for high-fiving, but my hand was sore for days afterwards as I found myself swept-up in the euphoria. Won’t ever forget that roar, or how the whole stadium seemingly rose as one when the ball left Bellhorn’s bat.

I was back in San Diego for the final game, and (wearing a Yastrzemski shirt I had picked-up from Filene’s Basement some years before). I left my apartment in search of a bar to watch the final few innings with (hopefully) some transplanted New Englanders. My last thankfulness is for Downtown Johnny Brown’s in the San Diego Civic Center Plaza, as I found a large crowd of Red Sox devotees within.

Despite my accent, I was welcomed into the fold and shared/witnessed the delirium at the final out. I felt equally privileged and envious as I saw how much it meant to them that the curse had finally been broken. I’ve experienced a few celebratory sporting moments in rugby, but none (previous or since) matched that one.

So I’m very thankful I caught Red Sox disease and that there’s still no cure.

 

[Pat Spillane]

I am thankful for the stack of Mike Greenwell rookie cards I have that 10 yeat old me thought I would retire on