Remember when I was a little bitty baby, and you raised me up to the TV and said "This is Yaz. You're gonna like him."
Remember '86, when I woke up late at night just in time to see the ball roll through Buckner's legs?
Remember '88 when we got swept by the Oakland a's in 4?
Remember '90, when the same thing happened?
Well screw it. You were there in '67. Yaz. Tony C. Jim Lonborg.
You saw Ted Williams Play. Johnny Pesky. Frank Malzone. Jimmy Piersall. Pete Runnels.
Cy Young was alive when you were a kid. So was Smokey Joe Wood. And Harry Hooper.
You lived through the Yawkeys, John Harrington, Lou Gorman, and Dan Duquette.
Now you get to enjoy John Henry, Larry "The Evil Empire" Lucchino, and Theo Epstein
And Yaz.
You were there in '78. Bucky f****g Dent
Remember staying in a weird ol' Bed and Breakfast with Uncle Tommy, getting tickets for Yaz's induction into the Hall of Fame?
Remember taking Unk to Yaz's induction? Freakin UNK of all people!!!!! How weird was that?
Well, this is for all of that. Bite my butt, Babe. This is for '67. And for '75. Especially for '78. For '86. For '03.
And especially for '04.
I'm thrilled tonight. I'm thrilled for Curt "Red Bloody Sock" Schilling. I'm thrilled for Manny "You-See-I-Can-Play-A-Good-Left-Field" Ramirez. I'm thrilled for David "Who's Your Papi?" Ortiz. I'm thrilled for Mark "I-Suck-But-I-Hit-Good-Home-Runs" Bellhorn. And I'm crazy for Johnny Christ Superstar.
But most of all, I'm thrilled for you. For doing this longer than I have. For living through more of this than I have. For lighting the torch and passing it all on to me.