Baseball will be played this afternoon at Fenway Park, but the Red Sox and the city of Boston knew by mid-afternoon yesterday that there would not be a game last night.
With Greater Boston in a locked-down grip of a chilling and expansive manhunt from morning till night, as law enforcement officials chased one of the two alleged Boston Marathon bombers, the idea that the Fenway neighborhood would host some 30,000 fans for a 7:10 game became increasingly absurd as the search went on and on.
Just before 3 p.m., the team tweeted that the game was postponed.
“When this situation didn’t seem to get any better throughout the day, it became clear it was going to be difficult to play a game, although we all would love to have the distraction and take our minds off of what’s going on,” said Red Sox COO Sam Kennedy yesterday. “We consulted with public officials — federal, state and local — and we were also in regular communication with the Boston Bruins (who postponed their game as well). We wanted to be on the same page with the Bruins, so that’s why we both announced right around the same time.”
Even though the manhunt finally ended last night when the suspect was captured in Watertown, the Red Sox did not immediately announce a make-up date for last night’s game. The Royals visit the Red Sox only once this season. If the teams play a doubleheader to make up last night’s game, tomorrow is a possibility. Otherwise, the teams could meet on a common off day, such as July 1.
Kennedy and the front office are used to having to make the call to delay or postpone games due to the weather. This was an entirely different set of circumstances.
Kennedy was called at approximately 6 in the morning and told to turn on his TV, starting a day-long series of conversations that began with team president and CEO Larry Lucchino, who had already spoken with Boston Mayor Tom Menino before he spoke with Kennedy.
The talks began then, but the decision-makers became spectators for the intense search that was unfolding on their TV sets and Twitter feeds.
“Like everyone else, we were watching TV and taking heed of our public officials who asked us to stay home and stay inside and lock the doors,” said Kennedy. A mass email went out at 9 a.m. to all stadium employees, as well as players, manager, coaches and medical staff to stay home and not come into the park.
Time eventually ran out, preventing the club’s plans to re-introduce itself to the fans who last saw the team on Marathon Monday.
Extra security, involving both additional personnel and procedures, is already in place. And, the club is putting on hold what Kennedy described as a low-key but respectful and moving pregame ceremony.
Hopefully, the ceremony, and then the games, can take place today.
“The sentiment is people want to play baseball, the front office wants to play baseball, the players, the manager, Major League Baseball,” said Kennedy. “We all want to play baseball but I want to be clear about this: This is not about us. We are a peripheral issue here and we don’t want to be a distraction for anything that law enforcement is working on right now.”