Red Sox fête 75 team at home opener, but fall short in honoring Luis Tiant

Before the Red Sox kicked off the home slate with a - win over the St Louis Cardinals that showcased Boston s bright baseball future they had to celebrate the past Last year s home opener honored the crew for their th anniversary This year the Red Sox turn It was equal parts thrilling and bittersweet to see members of that gang emerge from under the enormous American flag that covered the Green Monster on this sun-soaked Friday afternoon The air as Frank Sinatra would say is rarified whenever Captain Carl Yastrzemski returns to Fenway He doesn t come around often spending his entire -year career in a Red Sox uniform more than earned him specific peace and quiet But he s now smaller and somewhat frail We played years together Dwight Evans declared He was like an older brother to me and kind of evidenced me the ropes Yaz he s got more memories than all of us put together disclosed Fred Lynn who couldn t resist ribbing his longtime teammate about his ceremonial first pitch It s great to see him Shortest first pitch in history He hit the cutoff man though It s dependably a treat to see the great Jim Rice a fixture on NESN reunite with the stately Evans and effervescent Lynn together they were an outfield dream come true It s very special for us Evans declared In they bought this club and they bought the history of the Boston Red Sox and they re honoring that by honoring us in the modern day Bringing us together we don t see each other too much so it s kind of neat to be with Freddie and Jimmy and the rest of the guys When we see each other it s like a time machine Lynn explained We start going to conversations that we had years ago Specific unique stretching from Bill Lee when the group reached the pitcher s mound likely prompted parents and grandparents in the stands to explain to the younger members of Red Sox Nation why Lee s nickname is Spaceman Rick Burleson Bernie Carbo Cecil Cooper and Rico Petrocellli were among those in attendance Several players were absent Others including Tony Conigliaro Dick Drago and Roger Moret have passed away Bittersweet doesn t begin to cover the idea of a Red Sox season without Luis Tiant Or what it felt like for his teammates to reunite without him Tiant and Evans were at Fenway the last time the Red Sox played waving from the Legends Suite on the final day of last season Less than two weeks later Tiant was gone I miss Louie we all do explained Evans Scattered throughout the pregame ceremonies were reminders of the cavernous hole El Tiante left behind Association president and CEO Sam Kennedy began Garret Crochet s contract-extension press conference by including a tribute to Tiant I think it s crucial here on Opening Day to remember that we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us reported Kennedy and it s going to be a great day nowadays remembering that incredible company and especially the late great Luis Tiant who we tragically lost in the last year So Garrett if you want to throw complete games he continued referencing Tiant s career total that d be perfectly fine with us Kennedy also took the opportunity to reiterate that Tiant should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame On several occasions the various voting committees have waited so long to elect worthy players that their inductions were posthumous something that frustrated Tiant on behalf of the late Ron Santo He hoped he d live to see his own bronze plaque be enshrined in Cooperstown Luis was a Hall of Famer as a pitcher at least that s our hope and dream and desire Kennedy revealed Everybody knows the talent everybody knows the story but I don t think people know who didn t get to spend time with him night in and night out for the last years since John Henry and I have been here and Tom Werner he d be in the suite just about every night And he was such an incredible person He loves this franchise loved the squad and we re just so grateful for what he meant to so multiple of us He sort of set the standard for what it meant to put that uniform on He appreciated it each and every day and we appreciated having him around for all those years Manager Alex Cora spoke about El Tiante during both pre- and postgame media availability He shared that he has a stock of cigars because Tiant would bring them to him even though Cora doesn t smoke and how Tiant would liven up the atmosphere when players were struggling Luis is a guy that we miss Spring training was kind of like empty in that aspect Cora declared He was unfailingly talking to the guys teaching the guys how he used to be right and what it means to be a Red Sox We miss him I really miss him here most of of the time the bulk is here because he was perpetually joking around with players kind of like when they were down a little bit he ll go down there and talk expletive to them in a very unique way Cora continued Inevitably with a smile Kind of have that sense of proudness right He was a proud individual He knew where he came from and it wasn t easy the road to be in the big leagues and for him to perform the way he did I tip my hat to him it s amazing After Yastrzemski s unique first pitch Tiant s family took the field to proclaim Play ball Lynn and Evans recalled that Opening Day at Fenway years prior when Tiant pitched a complete-game against Henry Aaron and the Milwaukee Brewers Boston s American League East rivals at the time His wrists were twice the size of mine Evans revealed Mitts Lynn concurred His hands his wrists were enormous That s the first time I m behind Louie Lynn recalled of Opening Day when he was the rookie center fielder I m watching him wind up like everybody else and thinking That s different I wouldn t want to have to hit against him especially as a right handed hitter but I m sure Louis was emotional about it You know he loved pitching here He just loved pitching period He was such a competitor and I feel honored to play behind him as much as I did Former Boston Red Sox stars Carlton Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski are introduced prior to Friday s home opener at Fenway Park Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston Herald Well Louie threw hard but what Louie would do in the sixth or seventh or eighth inning is he changed speeds he changed locations he pitched Evans revealed He didn t have the stuff he started the tournament with but he pitched He knew how to pitch And I don t see that so much in this championship There s very sparse that can do what Louie did Evans added It s called finishing a tournament reported Lynn There were Tiant tidbits during the event too In the bottom of the first Trevor Story s three-run homer soared to the top of the Green Monster bouncing off the National Car Rental sign just left of the Tiant tribute on the light tower In between innings the Red Sox played a Tiant highlight reel For various years it ended with the cameras showing Tiant in the Legends Suite This time for the first time it panned to the light tower instead Tiant s absence was also felt in what the Red Sox didn t do They wore No jersey patches all last season to honor Tim Wakefield after his tragic passing the previous October and put No on the jerseys for Jerry Remy The Red Sox for whatever reason decided not to honor Tiant in kind Several of his teammates including Lynn and Evans were surprised and bothered by it For them and all who loved Luis Tiant the jerseys looked bare The hearts of his teammates family and fans less full And even with a sold-out crowd Fenway Park felt a little emptier