If These Walls Could Talk
Page 20
And he’s like, “Okay, I’ll try.” We got to the park and he got through that game. That night we flew to Tampa, I guess that morning is when he called Phoebe to come get him. So, it had reached its lowest point. I did not see Jerry for a month after that.
Regardless, Jerry is the strongest person I know. He has been open and honest about his struggles and overcome every one. He does not give up and has been a true friend to me over the years. When I learned in August of 2015 that I would not be returning for the 2016 season with the Red Sox, it was very difficult news. We found out our partnership was coming to an end after 15 years. When word got out during a game in Chicago and the writers began to gather outside the booth in the ninth inning, Jerry intervened on my behalf, so I could leave without comment. I still had to finish out the last six weeks of the season, and he helped me through my last 25 games and somehow got me through my last game and public farewell. For that I will be eternally grateful.
Through it all, we’ve been there for each other every step of the way. Jerry and I were close and remain so to this day, even though I’ve moved on and now broadcast San Diego Padres games and live across the country.
We talk often about everything. I will always support him and be in his corner because I know he’s done the same for me. I couldn’t be prouder of him. He’s a great example of someone who never gives up.
He’s my friend. And I’ll always cherish that.
Don Orsillo was the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN from 2001 to 2015. He is currently the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres on Fox Sports San Diego.
In Tribute to Nick Cafardo
Obviously, we were shocked by the horrible news that Nick Cafardo had passed away on February 20, 2019, during Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, Florida.
The day before Nick passed, he and I were talking on the phone about the book you’re currently reading. He sounded fine, totally normal, and his spirits were up. I was still at home at that time, but I was looking forward to seeing him when I got down to Florida.
Pam Kenn, the Red Sox’s vice president of community, alumni, and player relations, called me the following day and gave me the news. Nick had apparently suffered an embolism at JetBlue Park, and despite the Red Sox medical team’s best efforts, they were unable to revive him. Pam knew Nick and I were working on this book together, and she didn’t want me to hear about it second-hand. I was just in total shock and disbelief.
Because I was still up in Massachusetts, I was able to attend Nick’s wake and give my condolences to his family. I felt so terrible for his wife, Leanne; his daughter, Emilee; and his son, Ben, who followed his dad into the sports world and works at ESPN. It was very, very tough for all of us to accept what had happened.
Nick was incredibly respected by the baseball community. During his many years in the business, he had become someone who was known and liked nationally, not just in Boston. It wasn’t just other people in the media who admired him, either. Nick had the confidence of players, coaches, and managers, who knew he could be trusted with any kind of information. He probably had more contacts around the league than anyone I know. That’s part of the reason he was able to write that great Sunday column for the Boston Globe.
I had known Nick for a long, long time. He started covering the Red Sox for the Patriot Ledger in the 1980s, and then reported on them and the Patriots for the Globe starting in 1989. But it wasn’t until the last couple of years, when we started working on this book together, that our acquaintance developed into a friendship.
It’s so sad to see that this book has come out without him here to enjoy it, but hopefully it serves as a tribute to him.
—Jerry Remy
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Jerry Remy and Nick Cafardo
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books LLC, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Remy, Jerry, 1952– author. | Cafardo, Nick., co-author.
Title: If these walls could talk : Boston Red Sox : stories from the Boston
Red Sox dugout, locker room, and press box / Jerry Remy and Nick Cafardo.
Description: Chicago, Illinois : Triumph Books LLC, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2019005303 | ISBN 9781629375458
Subjects: LCSH: Boston Red Sox (Baseball team)—History. | Boston Red Sox
(Baseball team)—Anecdotes.
Classification: LCC GV875.B62 R459 2019 | DDC 796.357/640974461— dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019005303
This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization. For further information, contact:
Triumph Books LLC
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
(312) 337–0747
www.triumphbooks.com
Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN: 978-1-62937-545-8
eISBN: 978-1-63319-998-9
Design by Amy Carter
Page production by Patricia Frey