In the world of Major League Baseball, goodbyes can be a strange thing.
There are the unexpectedly bizarre goodbyes, such as when the Red Sox’ ownership group gave Rickey Henderson a car on the last day of his illustrious 72-game career with the organization.
There are the feel-good goodbyes, such as when the Red Sox acknowledged a fan favorite’s last day as a big leaguer with Mike Lowell Day.
There’s the over-the-top extravaganza, as was the case with David Ortiz’s three-day to-do which ended up exhausting a playoff-bound Red Sox team.
There are the goodbyes that never come. See Mookie Betts.
"That would have been really sad," Betts said on CC Sabathia's Ringer podcast when asked about potentially having to say farewell if his trade went down during spring training. "This is going to sound horrible but I don’t mean it that way, I was at home and I didn’t have to say bye to so many people. It would have been literally everybody. So I guess it’s kind of fair said bye to nobody."
(As he pointed out just the other day, Jon Lester was in the same boat when being dealt in 2014.)
And then there was Jackie Bradley Jr.
Thursday represented the odds-on-favorite to serve as Bradley Jr.'s 432nd and final home game in a Red Sox uniform.
It was awkward, which was unfortunate.
This wasn't about saying goodbye to teammates. He will still have time to do that if he chooses over the weekend. It was the farewell to a place that Bradley Jr. left his mark like few before him. And because of the current crowd-less realities, that moment wasn't what it deserved to be.
There was a reason Carl Yastrzemski chose to high-five as many Fenway fans as possible while taking that lap on his last day. All those achievements were one thing, but the joy supplied by those in attendance was what truly made the moments.
The same could be said for Bradley Jr.'s existence as the best defensive outfielder the Red Sox have ever claimed.
Some will say attention paid by broadcasts and social media to Bradley Jr.'s (potential) final game as a Red Sox at Fenway was over-the-top. This was a .238 career hitter, they will say. Too many slumps. Too many strikeouts.
But the narrative really should have suggested it wasn't enough.
This was a player who won two world championships. He was the 2018 American League Championship Series MVP. He played 14 more home games as a Red Sox than Fred Lynn. And, just in case you missed it the first time, he was the best defensive outfielder in the history of the Red Sox.
“Pretty special guy,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. "We’ll see what happens after the season. I’ve sure had a great experience with him, coaching him and now managing him. He just goes about his business as professionally as you can get, he’s a great guy on the field and off the field. He does some great things for this club and the community. Hopefully, things work out. I can’t say what’s going to happen here."
Who knows what's going to happen going forward. But everyone, including Bradley Jr. and his family, understood what Thursday represented.
It was one of Fenway Park's most unique (potentia) send-offs for one of Fenway Park's most unique players.
