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Red Sox president Sam Kennedy ‘so relieved’ MLB lockout is over
"It would've been horrific for our game had we not reached an agreement."
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With a new collective bargaining agreement in place, Major League Baseball will be back for the Boston Red Sox and the other 29 teams in the league in relatively short order.
Few people are happier about that than Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy. During an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Friday, the Sox executive talked about the return of baseball, which he said couldn’t come soon enough.
“It would’ve been horrific for our game had we not reached an agreement,” Kennedy said. “Those of us who have been in the game nearly 30 years really felt the pressure here and were so relieved this morning.”
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With the newly ratified CBA in effect, baseball teams will now commence Spring Training immediately and prepare for an April 7 Opening Day, a week after the originally intended start date. While that’s happening, teams will also take part in an accelerated free agency period as they set their rosters for the season.
But despite the ensuing chaos and the publicly aired acrimony between league ownership and the players union, Kennedy stressed the positive: “We got baseball back on the field.”
The Sox executive also touted the unstated role Red Sox owner John Henry played in baseball’s return as a member of MLB’s Labor Policy Committee, saying “a lot of local people don’t know” how important Henry was in bringing baseball back.
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“[Henry] was a voice of reason in these negotiations,” Kennedy said. “He kept the big picture in mind, and he also pushed for rule changes which are going to make the game better, more exciting.”
The Red Sox themselves will begin the season on the road with three games each against the AL East rival New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers. Boston then returns to Fenway Park for its home opener Friday, April 15 against the Minnesota Twins.
For those turned off by the currently listed 7:10 pm first pitch time, Kennedy broke some good news on the show.
“We’re going to schedule [Opening Day] for 2 o’clock on Friday the 15th,” he said. “It’s an important, busy day for many reasons. It’s Jackie Robinson Day, One Boston Day, it’s Passover…it’s unusual to have so many things occurring on the same day, but it will be a great, great day in Boston.”
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