Red Sox fans gave Dave Roberts a warm Fenway Park welcome
A rare round of applause for the opposing team's manager.
Before Game 1 of the World Series began, Red Sox fans at Fenway Park took part in an unusual moment involving the opposing team’s manager.
As the two teams were announced before first pitch, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts received loud applause.
Boston loves Dave Roberts. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/jwZ0T0qtSy
— MLB (@MLB) October 24, 2018
Given that Roberts is in Boston to try and help his Dodgers defeat the Red Sox in the World Series, it would seem an odd development to casual observers. Yet Roberts is a hero to Red Sox fans because of his role in the 2004 team’s World Series win.
More specifically, Roberts is famous because of his stolen base in Game 4 of that year’s American League Championship Series against the Yankees that helped jumpstart the team’s historic comeback.
Asked about Roberts’s steal before the start of the 2018 World Series, Red Sox manager Alex Cora – a former teammate of Roberts – said that he sent him a prophetic text afterward.
“He stole that base, and that night, I texted him,” Cora explained. “Right after he stole second base, I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen here, but if this happens, you’re going to become a hero.’”
