![This "team picture" of the 2004 World Series champs was taken during a 2005 congratulatory ceremony at the White House. By Paul Morse [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Boston_Red_Sox_George_W._Bush_2005-1-300x211.jpg)
This “team picture” of the 2004 World Series champs was taken during a 2005 congratulatory ceremony at the White House. By Paul Morse [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
One rare high point of the 2014 season was Fenway’s 10-year reunion of the 2004 champs.
See how the “Idiots” relived that glory.
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Trot’s wife deserved her own baseball card after 2004, too, raising money for reading programs!
During the 2004 season, Trot Nixon’s wife helped make autographs matter for young readers.
Enjoy this true tale from children’s author Matt Tavares.
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![The view from atop Fenway's Green Monster is great. The view from WITHIN? The on-field scoreboard operators get that rare perspective every game. By InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fenway_Park_View_from_Green_Monster_7186364942.jpg)
The view from atop Fenway’s Green Monster is great. The view from WITHIN? The on-field scoreboard operators get that rare perspective every game. By InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Brandon loved sitting by the Pesky Pole in Fenway, but he knew what was definitely the best seat in the house:
![In 2011, a fan got a peek inside Fenway Park's famed manual scoreboard. By C.S. Imming (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Checking_out_the_manual_scoreboard_in_the_belly_of_the_Monster.jpg)
In 2011, a fan got a peek inside Fenway Park’s famed manual scoreboard. Notice the dents from all the line drives! By C.S. Imming (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Fenway Park is prized as a vintage baseball relic.
However, the hand-operated scoreboard is a replica installed in mid-2001.
The whereabouts of the original fixture created a mystery.
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![During the 2008 season, Wally tried to persuade Fenway fans to recycle. By malo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/256px-Wally_the_green_monster.jpg)
During the 2008 season, Wally tried to persuade Fenway fans to recycle. By malo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
One of the veterans on the 2004 championship team was Wally the Green Monster.
The mascot debuted in April, 1997. Wally is our grandson’s favorite Red Sox.
Meet the executive who gets the credit (or blame) for the birth of a monster:
![Pumpsie Green's role in Red Sox history is examined by Howard Bryant. By Derek Green (PUMPSIE GREEN AND D. GREEN) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pumpsie_Green_2012.jpg)
Pumpsie Green’s role in Red Sox history is examined by author Howard Bryant. By Derek Green (PUMPSIE GREEN AND D. GREEN) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I’ve been enjoying ESPN personality Howard Bryant’s latest book, Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball.
Bryant is a Red Sox history expert, too. His book for adult readers, Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, is a revealing look at the team’s struggles with integration.
Here, Bryant talks about growing up in Boston (divulging how he could be a Yankee fan as a boy).
![Known by a variation of his middle name 'Trotman,' trotting was something this gung-ho Dirt Dog didn't do. By Carl Fredrickson (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Trotnixon-300x263.jpg)
Known by a variation of his middle name ‘Trotman,’ trotting was something this gung-ho Dirt Dog didn’t do. By Carl Fredrickson (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
He sported a Mohawk haircut. Since we often sat in the outfield, he was the player we watched close up.
The media credited him as the lead “Dirt Dog” in 2004, a brand of player willing to get dirty to win. Outfielder Trot Nixon missed part of that championship season due to injuries, but he made his presence known in the decisive game of the World Series.
In 2014, Nixon remembered what that epic year meant to him.
In Out of Left Field, Brandon treasures his souvenir Red Sox cap.
He would have been overwhelmed by the game-used BOSTON jerseys worn at the “Marathon Monday” home game April 20. The usual “Red Sox” jerseys were benched in favor of historic tops to honor the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
These autographed artifacts, complete with the B STRONG commemorative patches, are being auctioned to benefit the Red Sox Foundation charity. The auction closes May 8.
Watch the bidding soar here:
When one gay friend of mine (a successful playwright) read Blue Coyote, he decided to get a turtle tattoo just like the one on Tito’s shoulder.
I was astonished and flattered by his response to the story.
![Twins? In the 1960s "The Patty Duke Show," the story called both characters "identical cousins." Their fathers were identical twins. By ABC Television (eBay item front back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Patty_Duke_in_The_Patty_Duke_Show_-_ABC_Television_September_18_1963_The_French_Teacher.jpg)
Twins? In the 1960s “The Patty Duke Show,” Patty portrayed two different “identical cousins.” Their fathers were identical twins. By ABC Television (eBay item front back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In Blue Coyote, twins Alex and Rita Beekman seem to read each other’s minds.
Here’s one twin’s take on the science behind the possibility: