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New Red Sox manager had ‘never been on Fenway Park field’ before home debut Friday
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- New Red Sox manager had ‘never been on Fenway Park field’ before home debut Friday
BOSTON — Chad Tracy’s home debut as interim manager of the Red Sox came with another milestone Friday. It also marked the first time he has ever stepped foot on the Fenway Park field.
Tracy, who never played or coached in the majors before being promoted Saturday in the wake of Alex Cora’s firing , took an opportunity to take in his new office Friday, arriving at the ballpark around 11:30 a.m. for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
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“It’s cool,” Tracy said. “It’s everything I thought it would be.”
Tracy has managed at Triple-A Worcester since 2022 so he has lived locally for a few years. Still, that position didn’t allow him to spend much time at Fenway over the years. He came to the ballpark for some onboarding tasks when the Red Sox first hired him away from the Angels organization in December 2021 . He also made a trip to Fenway Park at Cora’s invitation on a WooSox off day a couple years ago but rain ruined some plans.
“Before today, I had not stepped onto the field,” Tracy said. Came a few years ago. Alex had invited me down to come on a Monday for a series and it ended up raining all day long. We were playing the Yankees. I never actually go on the field. It has been cool."
The 2021 visit included a tour of some of the other parts of the historic venue.
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“Came here, met with a lot of people, was in the front office,” Tracy said. “They took me on a walk on the concourse and got to stand up on the Monster. That was the first time I was here.”
After arriving home with the Red Sox late Wednesday after a matinee series finale in Toronto , Tracy spent part of Thursday’s off day at Fenway Park. He assembled his office in the home clubhouse and did some other things to get settled.
“Honestly, I didn’t do much,” Tracy said. “I just dropped my backpack. My wife had ordered me a sportcoat so I unpacked that out of the thing. I didn’t have one with me. I unpacked a few things I had and that was it.
“I tried to enjoy and detach a little bit but at the end of the day, you’re still preparing for a major league series the next day.”
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Tracy has lived within walking distance to Polar Park during his time with Worcester but said it’s “too far of a drive” to continue living there on a full-time basis. For now, he’s in a Fenway-area hotel with the Red Sox only home for a three-game homestand before traveling to Detroit on Monday. Logistics of a more permanent home will be figured out in the coming weeks.
For Tracy, who is 2-2 since taking over the big league club, the whirlwind of his first week in the major leagues is starting to die down . Still, the manager’s home debut is an important milestone — and one he recognizes fully.
“As you can imagine, it (has been) crazy,” Tracy said. “Especially the first handful of days. Dealing with all of it, with the players, getting to know (the media), there’s a lot that comes with it.
“It’s starting to settle. This is a different thing, right? I did everything on the road and now you come back and you’re at Fenway for the first time. There’s more people here, so dealing with that and getting through that. Just taking it one step at a time, one foot in front of another. The most important thing is the guys out there and making sure I’m on the same page with them and in lockstep with them.”
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