This past Saturday, I had an opportunity to go and cover the Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown, NY.
It's a great event in which each team (mostly) sends a recently-retired representative out to play in a fun game.
While I didn't have time to talk to 25-30 different players, I elected to go find as many guys with Boston Red Sox ties as a I could. There ended up being three players there that I spoke to including Pokey Reese, Josh Reddick and Ryan Lavarnway:
Ryan Lavarnway: Lavarnway actually represented the Red Sox in this game, so it was great to see him in the Red and White again. He talked about how he got selected, his memories of playing with the 2013 championship team, his broadcasting work with the Colorado Rockies and much more, including playing in the World Baseball Classic with Team Israel.
He spent part of 10 years in the big leagues with the Red Sox, Orioles, Braves, Athletics, Pirates, Reds, Marlins and Guardians. He had nine career home runs.
Josh Reddick: Reddick spent parts of 13 years in the big leagues with the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, Astros and Diamondbacks. He helped the Astros win the World Series in 2017 and talked about his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2009.
He also discussed the situation in Oakland regarding the team's possible relocation to Las Vegas.
He hit 146 career home runs.
Pokey Reese: Reese was a member of the 2004 Red Sox that ended the curse and came back from 0-3 down against the New York Yankees. He spoke briefly on that, and on playing with Ken Griffey Jr. in Cincinnati.
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