Projo Sox Blog

By DAN BARBARISI, Journal Sports Writer

Spring has finally begun.

While the weather may not show it, the unofficial countdown to Red Sox opening day began at 2:30 this afternoon, when the Red Sox equipment truck left Fenway Park, loaded with bats, balls, and sunflower seeds, and began the long drive to the team's spring training complex in Ft. Myers, Fla.

The massive 18-wheeler carrying the team's equipment led a convoy of trucks through the streets of Boston, including a flatbed packed with fans.

Eighty-nine-year-old Red Sox icon Johnny Pesky started the truck's engines, and the caravan took off, with fans throwing memorabilia to gawking pedestrians.

"See you at Fenway in April, Let's go!" shouted Pesky as he turned the truck's keys.

Fans stood in the cold for hours as the truck was packed, watching as computer monitors, boxes of athletic tape and other items were loaded.

Most said the cold was a small price to pay for witnessing what has become a rite of spring.

"This is my signal that spring has begun. Life is beginning again," said 23-year-old Josh Matloff, a Suffolk University law student, who waited for three hours to watch the truck depart.

The truck will arrive Sunday, and unpack Monday. Pitchers and catchers report on Thursday.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox

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