Jerry Remy
“Buenos noches, amigos.”
Last weekend, Jerry Remy, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer, died at the age of sixty-eight. Born in 1950s Fall River, Remy was a Massachusetts lifer, playing second base for the Red Sox and eventually becoming the voice of the team in the NESN broadcast booth. By all accounts, Remy was an earnest, loving man. My personal connection to him comes from the era in which he called games with Don Orsillo. It was really lovely to learn Orsillo was invited to the family-only funeral for Remy this weekend. Anyway, I wanted to share my tribute to Remy, as well as two clips that will always make me laugh.
“Here comes the pizza. Everything’s older all the time and growing up, it felt like some things were forever. School, birthday parties, the Boston Red Sox. All those April to October stretches, living and dying by how the Red Sox played. Whether they whiffed at the playoffs (2006) or won it all (2007), the special element of a baseball team is that you spend every day with them. Summer nights with the glow of NESN. Fall evenings with the anticipatory gleam. It’s special. It’s a really special sport. And while Papi and Pedroia retire & Lester gets traded & Jacoby signs with New York & Manny fucks off to Australia, the teams you grow up with dissolve into the hungry seagulls of adulthood and inimitable change. What makes them truly, transcendently special? When a voice anchors them all. For your entire life. Across all the teams — the good and the bad — because with Jerry Remy calling the games, they were all good. My formative understanding of baseball comes from Remy and Don Orsillo calling every Boston game. All 162. But they didn’t teach me the rules. Through every discussion about their meals, every insult against the opposition, every complaint about west coast hotel rooms, Remy showed the nation not to take it all so seriously. It’s sports. Just have some fun. Just enjoy the show. Jerry Remy is so special. Please watch these attached clips to have some amazing laughs. Baseball is never the same as when you’re nine years old. Buenos Noches, amigo.”
