One last chance for Lowe to feel fans' embrace

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

COLUMN: Steve Solloway

BOSTON - All it took was one savvy Red Sox fan to herald an arrival that wasn't meant to be noticed. Derek Lowe wanted to slip through the huge crowds gathered at Fenway Park, not make an entrance.

He was here to hug his former teammates, collect his World Series ring, wave to the crowd and make his getaway. Quick. Neat. Easy.

This man's afternoon was anything but. On a celebratory day filled with emotions, his were more poignant, more conflicted.

Baseball returned to Fenway Park on Monday, with the presentation of World Series rings, the unveiling of championship banners, and a new season's home opener against the New York Yankees. That the Red Sox also beat the Yankees proves again that reality delivers better endings than the imagination.

Derek Lowe was more responsible for the celebration than some. He was the winning pitcher when it mattered most. Clinching win in the American League Divisional Series, clinching win in the American League Championship Series and then another win in the last game of the World Series.

His critics said he pitched too much with his heart on his sleeve. Last October, that's exactly what the Red Sox needed. Then they refused to offer him a new contract for the money he thought he deserved.

Now he pitches in Los Angeles for the Dodgers. He will never find in Southern California what he had here. He knows it, too.

"I never wanted to leave Boston," said Lowe after the ceremony. But he wasn't asked to stay.

He arrived at Fenway Park late, a passenger in an SUV. The entrance to the players' parking area was blocked, so Lowe hopped out. The tall man with the beach blonde hair, a shell necklace and a pained grin was identified immediately and a cry went up.

"It's Derek Lowe! D-Lowe is here!"

The object of this sudden burst of attention waved his hand and walked quickly into Fenway Park.

"I've always loved the fans here," said Lowe. "There were some bad times and I heard about it. But there were good times, too."

He didn't pitch consistently well in 2004, and by late summer Red Sox management had lost faith. Contract negotiations had been contentious and the man with the heart on his sleeve didn't react well to that, either.

Until he was given a second chance in the playoffs.

Monday, the World Series rings were handed out in order of years of service with the Red Sox. Tim Wakefield, with 10 years, was the first player to step out of the dugout and into the welcoming cheers of the huge crowd.

Trot Nixon followed. Jason Varitek.

Then it was Lowe's turn. Some say the cheers were loudest for him. He turned, drinking in the noise, capturing one more scene he will never forget.

"You'll have to poll the fans to find out why they did that," said Lowe. The words sounded cryptic, but give him the benefit of the doubt. It was the bitterness mixing with the sweet.

The flight that would take him back to the West Coast was waiting. He would probably be somewhere over the Great Plains by the time the Red Sox beat the Yankees.

He was here long enough to witness a day like no other. Red Sox fans are among the toughest, most cynical in sports. But they know how to appreciate.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz heard loud cheers. So did Dave Roberts, who joined the team late in the season and stole the base against the Yankees in the playoffs that Red Sox fans will never forget.

Loud cheers for Dr. Bill Morgan, who helped get Curt Schilling and his misplaced ankle tendon back to the mound. Loud cheers for Johnny Pesky, the ageless Red Sox who was last to be introduced.

Want tears? The sight of U.S. military men and women, back from Iraq, including two in wheelchairs, who delivered the World Series rings for presentation to Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner was moving.

Ortiz and Pesky, each with his arm around the other, walked across the outfield grass to where the new World Series banner was raised and another emotional chord was plucked.

Then there was singer-songwriter Terry Cashman paying tribute to all Red Sox players, including one special verse. "This (the World Series win) is for Billy Buckner. It's alright. It's alright. It's alright. It's alright."

But it's not alright. Not until Buckner gets the apology he deserves for nearly 20 years spent in hell after a ground ball went through his legs in another World Series the Red Sox lost.

Smiles? Carl Yastrzemski wore a big one for a change as he and Pesky tugged at the lanyard that raised the banner. Mariano Rivera's smile was bigger, yet, as the crowd applauded loudly his introduction before the start of the game.

This after they booed Randy Johnson. But Rivera has been unable to check Red Sox hitters lately when he faces them, and the crowd wanted him to know how much they appreciate that.

Smiles all around for the sight of Tedy Bruschi of the New England Patriots as he walked with teammate Richard Seymour, and Bobby Orr of Boston Bruins fame and Bill Russell, the former Celtics great.

All four threw out ceremonial first pitches. Seymour wore his Patriots' jersey, but Bruschi wore a Red Sox shirt with manager Terry Francona's No. 47.

The two embraced. Both have been hospitalized and each has learned how fragile life can be.

Francona said his meeting with Bruschi was "probably a little more emotional than I wanted it to be. But he knows I'm pulling for him."

Derek Lowe watched it all. Memories? For a lifetime.

He looked at his World Series ring again. "I like the words on it. 'Greatest comeback in the history of baseball.' "

He was part of that. He completed it.

"Hopefully, when people say my name, they'll remember the playoffs and what I did. I guess that will be my legacy.

"I'm thankful I played here. It was the best place to play."

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at: ssolloway@pressherald.com

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