What a 24 hours it’s been for the city of Boston, the Boston Red Sox and those connected to the Boston Red Sox!
In their first home game since the Boston Marathon bombings, and just hours after the second bombing suspect was apprehended, Red Sox manager manager John Farrell led his team to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. A few hours later, Luke Farrell, John’s son and Northwestern starting pitcher, threw a complete game shut out over the Michigan Wolverines.
At the home of the Chicago Cubs, Farrell gave up just 3 hits in nine innings; striking out nine and walking none.
Luke Farrell is not only a great pitcher (he entered the victory over Michigan with an ERA of 2.23) but he has a tremendous backstory of overcoming adversity. And I mean real adversity, not the cliched “adversity” you always hear from the mouths of players and coaches in press conferences.
Obviously, this was a trying week for John Farrell, Luke Farrell and the Farrell family. Before the college baseball game tonight, Luke drew a B in the back of the mound to serve as a reminder for keeping things in perspective.
“Spending so much time there, and having so many things go on in my life there, with my Dad there, it definitely hit home,” Luke said postgame about the tragedy. Farrell also has a lot of experience pitching in the Cape Cod League.
“I think the Red Sox have kind of a responsibility to the city to kind of give them a break and something enjoyable during that time,” he added.
Last month, Northwestern and the Chicago Cubs announced a multi-year reciprocal marketing partnership that will enable the Wildcats to play at Wrigley Field in upcoming years; multiple sports including baseball, lacrosse and five Wildcats college football games.
And the camaraderie with Boston and the Red Sox was felt everywhere throughout America today. On the south side of town, the White Sox played the Red Sox signature song, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during the seventh inning stretch (video).
While Diamond wowed the baseball crowd with the microphone, the Farrell family owned the baseball diamond.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
Banks has appeared on Comcast SportsNet and the History Channel, as well as Clear Channel, ESPN and CBS radio all over the world. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@PaulMBanks)