Members of the 2018 Championship Team to Receive World Series Rings; 30 Air Force Recruits to be Sworn in at Fenway Park Before Home Opener
BOSTON, MA – The Red Sox open their 119th home season, and their 108th at Fenway Park, this Tuesday, April 9, starting at approximately 1 p.m. Fans are asked to be in their seats by 12:45 p.m. The team plays the Toronto Blue Jays at 2:05 p.m.
The pre-game ceremonies will include the unveiling of the 2018 Championship banner, the presentation of the World Series rings, the raising of the 2018 Championship flag, the performance of the national anthem, a fly-over, the Ceremonial First Pitch, and the call to “Play Ball.”
Hanscom Air Force Base military will line the length of the Green Monster wall as the American flag drops for the anthem. Musicians of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, led by Keith Lockhart, will perform both the Canadian and American national anthems.
Maintaining a long-time home opener tradition, the anthem will be punctuated by a fly-over of four F-16 jets from the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air National Guard.
The singing of God Bless America in the middle of the 7th inning will be performed by Springfield native Michelle Brooks Thompson.
In honor of the 2018 championship, players will wear special gold-trimmed Red Sox hats and jerseys with gold stitching around the World Series Championship patch on the hat and left sleeve of the jersey, and around the letters and numbers on the front and back of the jersey.
Before the home opener festivities, an Air Force swearing-in ceremony will take place at Fenway Park for 30 Air Force recruits at 9 a.m. on the warning track near “Canvas Alley.”
Fenway Park gates will open at 11:35 a.m., 2 ½ hours before the first pitch. For the rest of the regular season, gates will open 1 ½ hours before the game, except for Season Ticket Holders and Red Sox Nation members, who may enter at Gate C 2 ½ hours before each game.
As always, and especially on midweek day games, the Red Sox urge fans to take the T. In addition to the Green Line stops at Kenmore Square, the commuter rail is located just 511 feet from the doorstep of Fenway Park. Fans should be aware that effective today, Monday, April 8, the MBTA has announced that the Yawkey Station on the Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail Line will be renamed Lansdowne Station. For more commuter rail information, visit mbta.com.
