La Vida Baseball

History, rings and legends at Fenway and two new citizens in Cleveland

By Tab Bamford

Boston’s Big Day

The Red Sox received their rings on Tuesday, and the legends came out for the show. Pedro, Big Papi and Manny were all on hand to share in the festivities.

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Puerto Rican History

Rings being handed out wasn’t the only news in Boston. The game marked the first time two Puerto Rican managers have faced off in a major league game. The National Baseball Hall of Fame was there for the historic occasion as Álex Cora and Charlie Montoyo shook hands before the game.

New Citizens

Francisco Lindor invited fans to join the Indians in celebrating Hanley Ramírez and Carlos Santana becoming United States citizens. Ramírez, 35, has been in the big leagues since 2002. Santana, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on April 8, made his major league debut in 2010.

Fan Post of the Day

A little old school beisbol love on Instagram. The timeless game lives through photos like this.

Pro Post of the Day

This might also be the winner of our first caption of the week. A number of Dominican players have been playing well lately, so MLB’s Dominican twitter account shared the “fayia.”

OTD

2015 – Xander Bogaerts scores the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts in the top of the 19th inning as the Red Sox defeat the Yankees 6-5. The game ended after 2 a.m. EST and included a 16-minute delay caused by a power outage in the 12th inning at the new Yankee Stadium.

2006 – Freddy Garcia strikes out five and limits the Tigers to five hits in six innings en route to his 100th career victory, a 5 – 3 White Sox win in Detroit’s home opener.

2006 – David Ortiz agrees to a four-year, $52 million contract extension with the Boston Red Sox.

1997 – Florida pitcher Alex Fernandez comes two outs away from a no-hitter at Wrigley Field. Dave Hansen broke up the no-hit bid with an infield hit off the pitcher’s glove. Fernandez settles for the one-hitter in the 1-0 win.

1980 –Sixto Lezcano hits a grand slam in the 9th inning, giving the Milwaukee Brewers a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day at County Stadium. Lezcano also opened the 1978 season with a grand slam, becoming the first player in major league history to do it twice on Opening Day.

1962 – Roberto Clemente hits a game-winning grand slam on opening day for the Pirates.

Happy Birthday

Alberto Reyes (b. 1970)