11/23/2005
BOSTON -- Playing in the cozy confines of Fenway Park in front of perhaps the most passionate fans in baseball, the Red Sox are often the subject of gaudy numbers, be it offensive statistics or record-setting attendance.
But there are other numbers more worthwhile which you don't hear nearly as much about.
In fact, you probably don't hear about them at all.
Red Sox players, coaches and their manager, as of mid-November, had produced 243 community appearances in the calendar year of 2005. With the holiday winter caravan yet to come, the club record of 250 -- set in 2003 -- is all but certain to be surpassed.
Setting the tone, fittingly, is the captain of the Red Sox, catcher Jason Varitek. He led the entire team in community appearances with 21.
The only thing Varitek talks about less than his heroics on the baseball field are the many things he does to make a difference in the lives of children.
"When you take someone as rugged, durable and obviously committed as Jason Varitek is, and after signing a new contract, he goes and leads the way in the community, well, you see why he wears the C on his jersey," said Dr. Charles Steinberg, executive vice president/public affairs for the Red Sox. "He doesn't say a word. We have to try to chase him down to make sure we can tout him because he doesn't do it for the publicity; none of the guys do. But we like to champion what they do, we like to tout what they do, because it creates community momentum."
Like many Red Sox players, Varitek has programs of his own -- which doesn't even count toward the appearances tracked by the club -- in which he is putting smiles on the faces of kids, sick or not.
Ditto for veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who has been Boston's nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award the last six years and was recently honored as a "hero" by the Northeastern University Study for Sport in Society. Wakefield, among other things, hosts a group of patients at Fenway Park before every Tuesday home game, touring them around during batting practice and giving them souvenirs. The program is called the "Wakefield Warriors."
Back in September, Wakefield brought one girl to tears of joy simply by introducing her to her favorite player, Varitek.
"You look at kids like that, you see the struggles they're going through, and we think we have bad days here. It's not even close," said Wakefield, who has been with the Red Sox since 1995. "If we can put a smile on their faces and maybe make them feel good about themselves ... I've had doctors tell me that helps in the healing process. Self-confidence and laughter and happiness, I think [they] really heal the soul more than anything."
Red Sox ace Curt Schilling is legendary for the work he's done for ALS research, not to mention helping wife Shonda with her foundation (SHADE) that raises skin cancer awareness.
"We just get reintroduced to life's priorities, to what truly matters in the morning when you wake up, to what the real definition of a good day [or] bad day is," said Curt Schilling at his ALS reception in late October. "We get caught up in our own lives so much that we tend to lose focus, and we tend to not appreciate the truly cool things in life. We tend to overplay what we believe to be the bad days, and then you get in a room full of people like this, and you realize that the goods and bads are all relative."
When you consider that the team is likely to set a record in community appearances during a year which followed the franchise's first World Series championship in 86 years, it is a clear sign of the kind of tradition of good will that has been built within the offices of Yawkey Way in recent years, not to mention the clubhouse.
"What is essential is, when you win a World Series, that you increase your aggressive affection in the community," said Steinberg. "That you guard against softness, arrogance, comfort and retreat and instead you try to do more than you've even done before because you must never take fans for granted."
When the Red Sox won that World Series, they could have just reveled in their own glory. Instead, they used it as an opportunity to raise a sizable sum for the club's charity, the Red Sox Foundation.
Backed by the creativity of club chairman Tom Werner, the Red Sox conducted a ring raffle in which three lucky winners received authentic World Series championship rings.
As ecstatic as the winners were, it probably didn't compare to the satisfaction gained by the Red Sox, who raised $2 million in the endeavor.
"I think that was Tom Werner, who had the idea," Steinberg said. "He is often the generator of innovative and breakthrough ideas, and he partnered with Meg Vaillancourt on that. The $2 million that it generated is substantial revenue that could then go to four areas of focus, primarily, that the Red Sox Foundation benefits."
The first of those four areas is children's health, as the Red Sox have continued their more than 50-year relationship with the cancer-fighting Jimmy Fund. The second area is children's education, which is executed via the Red Sox scholars program, which funds 25 scholarships annually for financially challenged, academically gifted kids. Then there is the third area, which is community athletic programs. The fourth area is urban social issues, as the Red Sox partner with the Dimock Health and Community Center in Roxbury, Mass.
"That's not to say that all $2 million went there," Steinberg continued, 'but it certainly gave some momentum to this new, young and obviously dynamic foundation."
Not all of the community work raises money. Some of it simply raises spirits.
Take, for example, the day of Nov. 10.
Jordan Leandre, a five-year-old Jimmy Fund patient who has become an extended family member of the Red Sox the last couple of years -- he brought down the house more than once by singing the national anthem -- was getting cancer treatment that day. His parents decided that a trip to the ballpark on the way might just lift his spirits. Little did they know the type of magical moment they were about to set up.
"I happen to come up the steps to 4 Yawkey Way, and there's Jordan and his mom and dad with [Red Sox employee] Sarah McKenna. Sarah happens to be on the phone with Tiffany Ortiz, David Ortiz's wife," said Steinberg. "She tells Tiffany that Jordan is here, and Jordan is chirping about Kevin Millar and this player and that player.
"With that, Sarah hands the phone to Jordan, and you're watching this five-year-old as he puts the phone to his ear and he goes, 'Hello?' There's this pause, and he goes, 'Hi Papi'. And you're dying because you're watching the magic happen. This little boy who has struck such a chord with fans ... he is sitting right there in the lobby spontaneously getting to talk to David Ortiz, who is engaged in conversation. We're wondering, what is Ortiz saying? And Jordan is saying, 'Well, you tell Kevin Millar that I don't want him to strike out anymore; I want him to hit home runs.' It's unbelievable.
"There is a wonderful momentum that is created by this community activity. There's an expression that good deeds breed good deeds, and it's true," said Steinberg. "It's initiative. We don't say to Mike Timlin, 'How about doing a 5K race in memory of your mother in which your wife is going to run?' That's his initiative. We don't say to Kevin Youkilis, 'Come up with another avenue to help with Hurricane Relief.' He approached us. He said, 'How about if we do a clothing drive?' "
Never was the commitment of the Red Sox to civic duty more apparent then in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Ortiz teamed with Angels star Vladimir Guerrero to start a fund for the victims. He and Guerrero both contributed $50,000 and challenged every player in the Major Leagues to do the same thing.
For an entire homestand, select Red Sox players posed for autographed pictures with fans before games, with all proceeds going to Hurricane relief.
"I was amazed by the generosity of the fans, but I was deeply touched by the initiative that our players took to raise money," Steinberg said. "That our players came to us and said, 'How about if we go to Autograph Alley and pose for pictures?' That's Jason Varitek saying that, Doug Mirabelli saying that, Keith Foulke saying that. When your players feel it in the heart, everything goes better."
And it isn't just the current players making a difference. Steinberg noted that Red Sox alumni had made 272 appearances in the community this year as of Nov. 10, setting a new team record.
In addition, the Red Sox have continued to honor their vow of providing something to every nonprofit organization in the area that asks.
"If you're an accredited nonprofit organization in New England, we'll figure out some way to help you," Steinberg said. "Maybe it's a color picture of a player; maybe it's an autographed picture of a player; maybe it's a signed baseball of an alumnus. Maybe it's the experience of getting to be in the Green Monster for three innings. We'll do something."
The Red Sox reached out to nearly 3,500 nonprofit organizations in 2005. How is that possible?
"That is the diligent work morning, noon and night of three people in community relations," said Steinberg. "Vanessa Leyvas, Sarah Stevenson and Sheri Rosenberg. Those three manage all the player appearances, the Wally appearances, and all of the in-kind donations. A fourth person, Pam Ganley, manages the alumni appearances.
"They are invisible; they are quiet; they shun fanfare. You never see them on TV. They just work morning, noon and night doing all the logistics, packing up a picture that you're going to send to a Muscular Dystrophy Association in Vermont, or packing up a baseball and then fulfilling that experience with some child on the field next June. It's massive work, and it's awesome."
The goal for 2006, according to Steinberg, is simply to continue the quest to reach new heights in the community.
"It will be a challenge to come up with an item to raffle that is as electric as the World Series rings were," said Steinberg. "If we could come up with something so exciting to raffle, we're seeing that fans are happy to contribute. I think it's in part because they love the Red Sox, in part because of their faith in the good-heartedness of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino, and in part because they know that the money is going to legitimate causes with results that they can see."
Source: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/