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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Monday afternoon, January 13, The Medfield COA played host to Dick Flavin, the famed poet laureate of the Boston Red Sox, and longtime Red Sox relief pitcher and member of the 2007 World Series Champion team, Manny Delcarmen.
Flavin was the first to speak and began by discussing his longtime love affair with the team, as well as the ballpark in which they play. While they’ve since lightened things up, Flavin talked about how, as a child when he first went with his father into the stadium, he thought “he had taken me into a dungeon” until the moment he saw the field. “Like the scene in the ‘Wizard of Oz’ when it goes from black and white to technicolor,” he remarked. With this memory in mind, he then read his read his ode to the ballpark, “Long Live Fenway Park.”
Flavin became a poet after finding “Casey at the Bat” in the third grade and memorizing it. “I spent the next fifty years reciting that poem to people, whether they wanted to hear it or not,” he told the crowd, before showing the assembled hat he still knew it by heart with another performance. Flavin ended up on a road trip to visit Ted Williams with Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio, and made a Fenway park version of the poem to justify why he was there with them on the trip, which he called “Teddy at the Bat.” Flavin recited that version, as well.
“I don’t have any poems,” was how Delcarmen began his portion of the day, before recounting his biography that saw him rise from Hyde Park to the Major Leagues. Delcarmen’s dad played minor league baseball, but never made it to the MLB, so when Delcarmen got the call up to Fenway, “my dad cried more than I did.” After discussing what a dream it was to play for the Red Sox and giving a brief rundown of what he’s been up to since he retired from baseball, Delcarmen spent the better part of half an hour answering questions.
Noting his work with NESN, Flavin asked Delcarmen: “Since you’re an analyst now, what are your thoughts on this year?”
Delcarmen answered: “Hopefully it’s better than last year,” and talked about how since he had to cover the bullpen, there were lots of injuries he had to talk about, which wasn’t especially fun.
When a fan asked who was the toughest batter to pitch against, Delcarmen said “I don’t want to talk about it,” before admitting (to the groans of the crowd at the mere mention of the name) that it was actually Carl Crawford. “He killed me in Tampa Bay,” he declared, “and then didn’t do much for us in Boston.”
Flavin piped in with his own take, adding: “In Tampa Bay, he did a bunch of damage to the Red Sox. And then as a Red Sox, he did a whole lot more.”
When someone noted that “You look like you could still play,” Delcarmen shot down he idea of a comeback, instead insisting: “I’m on TV now, and the camera adds ten pounds. So, I’m in the gym every day.”
Delcarmen answered that the best player he played alongside was Manny Ramirez, who he said, despite the antics, was an incredibly hard worker who would show up to the building before the pitchers would and was “ripped like a GI Joe.”
A couple audience members wanted to talk about the sign-stealing scandal, but Alex Cora had not yet been fired, so Delcarmen only noted that he was praying Cora wasn’t involved. Other talk revolved around the history of MLB players from Massachusetts, with Delcarmen talking about how he played alongside Milton’s Rich Hill as a Washington National.
This discussion led to another aspect of what Delcarmen is doing these days. Outside of his work with NESN, he is trying to give back to the community by creating a baseball academy that would also have tutors helping kids with their academics, as well.
With questions done, Delcarmen was swarmed for autographs, selfies, and was happy to let people try on his World Series ring with the warning: “Don’t try to run with it, though, because I will catch you.”
Nobody tried. After all, it was a senior center, and Delcarmen’s still in the gym every day.
