As Cabrera gets 24

August 15, 2023

Note: This piece was written over the course of a few days. Please take that into account over my verbiage used throughout the article. -Rick

     The dude looked at me entering the elevator. Can you stare any harder, I thought to myself. A couple floors up, he turns and looks back as he exits. “Red Sox”, he utters before adding, “I have a lot of their merchandise.” Before the doors completely shut, he says, ‘maybe we can talk about them later.’ 

     He seen me wearing the new Red Sox t-shirt I had boughten yesterday. It is white. I got it because the shirts I had brought were mostly colored. Color attracts heat and it had been hot since my arrival on Thursday. 

     Yesterday’s game (Saturday) roasted me. Not by any comedian, but by the heat and humidity. Had it been by a comedian, I would’ve preferred it coming from either Sarah Silverman or Chelsea Handler. Maybe both. They’re my favorites.

     I doubt I’ll run into him again, as I’m leaving for my real home tomorrow, Monday. But if I do, I’ll utter back ‘Tigers. I have a household of their team merchandise.’ And I will stare harder. My team. My trip. My continued journey. I may love Boston, but I’ll always love Detroit. I may want Boston to be my home, but Detroit will always be home. It’ll always be ‘Detroit vs Everybody’ in my book.

     They see it too. The game. But it wasn’t about the game to them. It was the dream. The magnetism of Fenway. The magical powers it exhales to every baseball fan on the planet that draws them nearer, it’s incurable. That’s why they’re here. Oh, and a retiring Miguel Cabrera too.

     But they’re not Detroiters. They’re Pirate fans. Don’t recall meeting anyone from Pittsburgh before. But here they were. Walking in front of me after the game. Now them, I talked to as we walked on. Unlike the man in the elevator who was all about the Red Sox and what he has. Or doesn’t, for all that matters.

     I didn’t see them at the game. But here they were walking through the Fenway Victory Garden afterwards. I needed to ask a location question, so I did. They answered the best they could. 

     My phone’s battery was dying. I quit recording but we continued to talk. I forgot his wife’s name. Unusual as she was doing most of the chatting. His name is Chris. Again, from Pittsburgh. We talked about Jim Leyland. His and her family ties to Michigan. Their ties to the Tigers and coming to Fenway. Then it was all Miguel and the ’24 Placard’ the Red Sox had given him before the start of the game. I hadn’t even found it odd; that we didn’t talk about the team’s 6-2 win over those Sox. It didn’t matter to them. Yet, it did to me. My first road win against the city I had fallen in love with. Yeah, it mattered and always will. 

     That’s one of the things I like about sports. They bring people from all walks of life together. But just don’t ‘stare.’ Staring is rude and makes overthinkers. like myself, question your motives. 

     Just ask the Red Sox pitchers who stared at Kerry Carpenter too long on Saturday, giving up two home runs to the Tigers right fielder. Or the two more homers hit by Eric Haase and Spencer Torkelson. Staring’s a doom and gloom business. Longer to think gives your opponent more time to think, too, on what to expect. I sure don’t think, Boston thought, what I was thinking, and I have thought it over more than once. They apparently hadn’t.

     It turned out to be a great day at the ballpark, as I was even able to catch this BoSox fan favorite from Neil Diamond‘s collection…

… ‘Sweet Caroline,’ for Caroline Harris (@carohartharris) • Instagram She’s one of the sweetest souls you’ll ever meet. Happened across Caroline some years back while she was kicking a Russian girl’s ass all the while trying to reel in a shark. Perhaps she’ll allow me to tell that story in the future. Until then my next piece on the Boston Harbor will be in the works as well as a piece on singer / model / Personal trainer/ Pilates and yoga teacher Annmarie Murray ☘️ 🇺🇸 (@i_am_annmarie_) • Instagram 

     Until then be kind, love one another and say hello to a stranger as it could be the only words, they hear all day!

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