In a new interview with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, NESN Red Sox color commentator Dennis Eckersley revealed he had COVID-19 in January.
Eckersley said he found out someone he had been around tested positive, and that he began feeling symptoms a couple days later and then tested positive himself.
“I had like a mild fever for 10 days and that’s all I had,” Eckersley told Shaughnessy. “It was annoying, but I couldn’t be annoyed because I didn’t have it that bad.
“It wasn’t pretty. I never felt right for a month. But I feel lucky. It can happen to anyone.”
Eckersley got his first vaccine shot last week and is now preparing for another season of Red Sox broadcasts. After broadcasting entirely from NESN’s Watertown studios during the 2020 season, Eckersley said they’re hoping to return to Fenway Park for home games this season.
Eckersley is planning to do 75-80 games this season, many of which will feature the beloved three-man booth with him and Jerry Remy both joining Dave O’Brien. He said they’re still unlikely to travel for road games this season, though.
“I have mixed feelings about it,” Eckersley said. “Thinking selfishly, not having to go on the road is not such a bad thing. But you don’t want to lose being at the ballpark altogether. You don’t. I have a feeling we may not go on the road again. It saves a lot of money and everybody’s doing it. Can the viewers tell the difference?
“It’s not a stretch to go to the ballpark for the home games. You’d think if they have fans at Fenway that we’d be in the booth. But I don’t know.”
