Where does the time go? It’s been 18 years since the Red Sox reversed the curse, ending an 86-year World Series drought in heroic fashion (Dave Roberts, bloody sock … you remember). World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, three-time Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez, recent Hall-of-Fame inductee David Ortiz and All-Star Keith Foulke, who recorded the final out of the 2004 World Series (which Doug Mientkiewicz tried to pocket as a keepsake), are all fathers now with sons playing for the Brockton Rox, a local summer-league team competing in the FCBL (Futures Collegiate Baseball League).
D'Angelo Ortiz, an incoming freshman at Miami Dade College, continued his hot start to the 2022 season Sunday against Worcester (.364 AVG in 33 at-bats), contributing two hits and an RBI groundout scoring Manny Ramirez Jr. from third base.
Ortiz (who, unlike his father, hits right-handed) and Ramirez were joined in the starting lineup by Georgetown sophomore Jaden Sheffield, son of nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield, who played for the Yankees when they lost to Boston in the 2004 ALCS, becoming the first team in MLB postseason history to blow a 3-0 series lead. Pedro Martinez Jr., a 5’9” outfielder entering his senior year at Lynn University, and lefty reliever Kade Foulke did not appear in Sunday’s game.
It’s too early to tell if any of these up-and-comers will make the big leagues, playing at Fenway like their dads did in the early 2000s. But if you’re nostalgic for the ’04 Sox, Brockton is the team for you.
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