“They won…For the respect of baseball and for the respect of the Red Sox organization, you’ve got to be there. After 86 years, I think they deserved to win one. And why not celebrate it as (much) as they could? That’s okay. I have no problem with that.” Mariano Rivera (N.Y.Daily News)
As good as Opening Day in the Bronx felt for Yankee fans, yesterday’s home opener at Fenway Park was even sweeter for Red Sox Nation. The Sox received their World Serious rings before the game and then proceeded to knock the stuffing out of the Yanks. Mike Mussina was not sharp, Alex Rodriguez made a key error, and Tim Wakefield baffled New York once again.
For their part, the Yankees watched the pre-game ceremonies from their dugout, applauding at times. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by the Red Sox. The Bombers clapped when Johnny Pesky was given a ring. According to Mike Lupica:
The Yankees were all class yesterday, led by their classy manager, right there on the top step for every minute of the ring ceremony yesterday, and the raising of the flag. When Terry Francona came out first to get his ring, he stood near first base and the first thing he did was point across the field at the Yankees. “We were curious,” Torre said. And maybe, just maybe, for this one day, everybody on the field, both sides of it, both uniforms, knew what Pesky has known his baseball life, long before the sides were even, about why this rivalry has always mattered the way it has.
