Jerry Remy Has Passed Away

JOBU

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Sep 22, 2021
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Orsillo and Remy made baseball fun. When they cracked up together, I cracked up with them. Some of the most contagious laughter and chemistry I'll likely ever encounter on a sports broadcast team. I'll miss him.
Exactly. I never truly understood the hate in the game threads during the giggle fits. There are 162 games. The games sometimes tend to drag on. It’s a long season. The broadcast needs to appeal to the general audience. Not the SoSH .0001 percent. Sure there were times I preferred them to focus on the game rather than some stupid fan interview or whatever. But the giggles made Rem and Orsillo relatable.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Losing Tommy and Remy in the same year really does feel like the closing of an era. Really, they couldn't be farther apart in terms of their personalities - Tommy was by all accounts warm and gregarious; Remy was mostly standoffish and hard to get to know; Tommy was bombastic, and almost serious to a fault; Remy was reserved and the master of the subtle dig - but they both were such die-hard fans of our teams that it almost made it feel okay to be super fans, too.

Sometimes, when my kid comes downstairs wearing his full Celtics or Red Sox or Pats regalia to watch the game I feel a little bit ridiculous indoctrinating him into these weird cults, but it also just feels really good to have him feel a part of something that I've always felt a part of because of my dad and everyone I grew up with. And to have guys like Remy and Tommy, who made these teams their very life's work, seems to lend some validation to that feeling.

It's been sad to watch the transitions over the past couple years, as wannabes have trudged through the booth. I just don't believe them in the same way. Maybe I never will.
 

Yo La Tengo

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I really enjoyed the Remy/McDonough combo but at that stage of my life I primarily followed the Sox on the radio and from afar. Later, I didn't always love some of the staged silliness and, toward the end, I felt like the Orsillo pairing had run its course. But to his credit, Remy continued to work to improve at his job. In my opinion, his time with Eck was the best output of his broadcasting career. He will never be replicated and will be greatly missed.
 
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54thMA

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Man, hard to forgive NESN for breaking up that team. I am feeling for Don Orsillo and DOB today. As well as all the NESN crew that worked with the RemDawg every day during the season. A lot of broken hearts in that family.
Agreed, such a stupid and foolish thing to do.

Idiotic on so many levels.
 

MuppetAsteriskTalk

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I'm not sure how a light hitting kind of slow for a "fast guy" that played second base on a team stacked with stars was my favorite player as a kid, but he was. RIP.
 

JoePoulson

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Just devastating. I loved Remy and Orsillo more than any other broadcast team ever, and while I'm super-thankful we got them for 15 years I'll always be sad we didn't get 6 more. RIP Jerry. One of my favorite pieces of Sox memorabilia watches over me while I work:

46037
 

sheamonu

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RIP Jerry. Someday, when I am hopefully still around to explain to my grandchildren why the old fart is so crazy about the Red Sox, I'll tell them about how the games used to be broadcast on television (way before you could view it in virtual reality vision from the shortstop perspective), and there was this guy, whose tooth fell out, and he reconstructed a pizzassassination on air - or the time he fell over playing air guitar. That he was a second baseman, like I had been. That he made watching the game fun. Thanks in advance for those stories Remdawg.
 

FisksFinger

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Oct 23, 2013
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I’ve been sort of processing this since I heard about it yesterday morning. Hit me hard then but bringing me to tears now after reading all the amazing and thoughtful stories everyone has shared here. Jerry was such a big part of so many peoples lives in this subtle and amazing way. I’m old enough to remember him playing in 78 against the Yankees and all the amazing memories from his broadcast career, thankful for all those memories.

Fuck, this sucks.
 

Sprowl

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I'll never again be able to write Travis Shore without a tear in my eye.

My favorite memories of Jerry will be of the few dozen games that he broadcasted with Eck and OB in the improbably successful spring of 2021. It was the best broadcasting I've ever heard. They were sharp, funny, wisecracking, balanced (Eck did pitching, Remy did fielding and baserunning, and nobody could do hitting), and full of mutual respect. Truly Hall-of-Fame material.

It’s pronounced pizzer
It really should be pronounced wicket pissah.
 

brs3

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May 20, 2008
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My favorite memories were him and Eck sharing stories of their time in the big leagues. RIP Jerry, you will be missed.
View: https://youtu.be/Rfuqqy9CTto
I remember this when it happened. 68 is too young, because I feel like Remy & Eck were just beginning to scratch the surface in telling stories from their playing days. Their stories always seemed to come from two different perspectives, which was so interesting. I feel we lost so many future shared experiences. He will be so missed.

I think it was Norm McDonald who lamented people saying someone 'lost' their battle with cancer, since cancer dies when the person dies. Many people beat cancer one time or two times. Jerry Remy went 7-0 against cancer.
 

Wallball Tingle

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Jul 16, 2005
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Damn. I have cried several times over the past few days reading this thread and the associated videos and memories from colleagues. Mystic Merlin hit me first with that initial "Buenas noches, amigo". Then Orsillo ended his Twitter outpouring with "I am lost". Most recently, it's McDonough almost breaking down with his voice cracking as he recalls Remy saying that he loved him recently. Fuck, man.

I'll miss you, Remy. Opening Day is gonna be incredibly sad.
 

Van Everyman

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I really enjoyed the Remy/McDonough combo but at that stage of my life I primarily followed the Sox on the radio and from afar. Later, I didn't always love some of the staged silliness and, toward the end, I felt like the Orsillo pairing had run its course. But to his credit, Remy continued to work to improve at his job. In my opinion, his time with Eck was the best output of his broadcasting career. He will never be replicated and will be greatly missed.
I think an incredibly underrated part of the Jerry Remy story is how he recommitted to really serious and insightful baseball analysis very late in his career. We all know that during a lot of the 2010's Don and Jerry were so comfortable with one another they could get really silly. Some fans loved it, others didn't. Personally, I didn't hate it and I get why people are sentimental about that era of them broadcasting together -- but I didn't love it.

Less well known was that about a year or two before Orsillo left, Jerry got serious again about his analysis. Not sure if it was NESN who pushed him or something else. But it was noticeable enough that my dad and I spoke about this at the time. And, yes, that extended to when was put in the booth with Eck and DOB, where--as noted by @Yo La Tengo--Remy did some of the best analysis of his career. Regardless of why he did it, it's pretty rare for someone to put that kind of work in in the twilight of their career.
 
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Earthbound64

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It's been sad to watch the transitions over the past couple years, as wannabes have trudged through the booth. I just don't believe them in the same way. Maybe I never will.
I really enjoyed the Remy/McDonough combo but at that stage of my life I primarily followed the Sox on the radio and from afar. Later, I didn't always love some of the staged silliness and, toward the end, I felt like the Orsillo pairing had run its course. But to his credit, Remy continued to work to improve at his job. In my opinion, his time with Eck was the best output of his broadcasting career. He will never be replicated and will be greatly missed.

These sum up my experiences and thoughts very well.
 

TrotWaddles

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1978 I was 9 and living in Quincy near Squantum in some crap house. Games were on TV38. The Sox infield was forever cemented for me in Boomer, Remy, Burleson, and Hobson. I played second base and wore the number 2.

This one is leaving a mark.
 

Koufax

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I sometimes wondered whether his descent into silliness was a function of the trauma that he must have been going through with his son's legal problems. Perhaps it was too much for him to be serious about baseball at the time and he needed his own form of escape. Regardless the reason, I was glad when it ended and we got the old Jerry Remy back, the one who mixed fine baseball insight with good cheer and humor. he had a long, outstanding career. We should all be so fortunate.
 

Kliq

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Public visitation for Remy at Brasco Funeral Home in Waltham tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
 

Skiponzo

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I’ve been a Red Sox fan for the better part of 40 years and since I, like the rest of us, am such a big baseball fan I tune into portions of at least 150 games a year. That means in my lifetime Jerry Remy has been in my living-room somewhere around 5000 times. When you spend that much time listening to someone recant stories and explain the game you love, you grow to feel like they are part of your family. “The Remdawg” was def a part of ours.

Red Sox broadcasts will never again be the same for me or really anyone who has been a fan for a good amount of time. You’ll be missed Jerry. Thanks for all the awesome memories. Godspeed to your family. Buenos Noches Amigo.
 

HangingW/ScottCooper

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Two of my favorite clips were as follows:

Don Orsillo explains how a Lunar Eclipse works and Jerry breaks out the telestrator to show how wrong he is. I haven't been able to find this one anywhere.

The other is Jerry mispronouncing names...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4Rfzvc9i0

Another funny Remy line was him joining Eckersely in the booth after one of the prior rounds of cancer treatments. He was done for the year but made an appearance to say he was coming back the following season. The line to Eck was "I see the traded Masterson for you..."
 
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soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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Two of my favorite clips were as follows:

Don Orsillo explains how a Lunar Eclipse works and Jerry breaks out the telestrator to show how wrong he is. I haven't been able to find this one anywhere.

The other is Jerry mispronouncing names...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4Rfzvc9i0

Another funny Remy line was him joining Eckersely in the booth after one of the prior rounds of cancer treatments. He was done for the year but made an appearance to say he was coming back the following season. The line to Eck was "I see the traded Masterson for you..."
It seems like NESN scrubbed that video from existence which is a shame really. (
View: https://twitter.com/mike_petriello/status/1123965892461772802?s=21
 

section15

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It's a bit presumptuous, but at some point in time in the future, the Hall of Fame committee will likely nominate Jerry Remy as a candidate for the Ford C. Frick award.

Yes, he should be honored - but so should Ned Martin and perhaps Ken Coleman. But once the cloud of his passing occurs, Jerry Remy will arguably be regarded as the best color man ever to inhabit a television booth.
 

joe dokes

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It seems like NESN scrubbed that video from existence which is a shame really. (
View: https://twitter.com/mike_petriello/status/1123965892461772802?s=21
Wasnt that followed up by Remy encasing little Wally in tin foil, since Orsillo's version had the Sun ending up between the Moon and the Earth, IIRC.


EDIT:
Every regular viewer has a favorite example, like the time Remy mentioned an eclipse was coming, and Orsillo replied, "A lunar eclipse is when the sun crosses in front of the moon, right?" Remy waited a few beats before saying no. "We wouldn't be around here very long if that happened." As Orsillo began to convulse, Remy said, "I don't have a lot of schooling, but I'll tell you what -- oh my God -- even I knew [that]."
http://brothersjuddblog.com/archives/2009/04/you_know_youve_struck_broadcas.html
 

Van Everyman

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Another missing video is one I've mentioned this on the board a few times was an interview Remy did with Pedroia back in 2015 or so on NESN where Pedey ticked off the THIRTY-odd things he checked before each pitch as a second baseman in the field.

I was struck by how Remy, himself a second baseman, was in awe of it at the time -- and what it said about Pedroia's work ethic. But it also really demonstrated the connection Remy had with the players and how he could get them to share things about their approach to the game.
 

Fratboy

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Two of my favorite clips were as follows:

Don Orsillo explains how a Lunar Eclipse works and Jerry breaks out the telestrator to show how wrong he is. I haven't been able to find this one anywhere.

The other is Jerry mispronouncing names...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4Rfzvc9i0

Another funny Remy line was him joining Eckersely in the booth after one of the prior rounds of cancer treatments. He was done for the year but made an appearance to say he was coming back the following season. The line to Eck was "I see the traded Masterson for you..."
If you're not a native and want to know how to speak in a New England/Boston accent, all you have to do is listen to Remy say "Carlos Baerga" and that basically teaches you everything.
 

djbayko

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Can we rename the Media forum in his honor, at least temporarily?
It seems this hasn't really gained a ton of traction outside of maybe one or two replied in this thread. I have a ton of sympathy for Remy due to his battle with cancer and the tragedy of his son. But I'd have a hard time supporting such a change - at least permanently - when we also just lost Tommy within the last year. Yes, this is a Red Sox board first and foremost (is it really anymore though?). And yes, Remy was the voice of my sports-watching childhood and that of many here. But so was Tommy, and possibly even more so and for a longer period of time.

I'm not sure what the right answer is, but just wanted to put that out there.
 

fieldslikebuckner

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So, I’ve been thinking about Jerry and his impact. On me, specifically. I’m in my 50s, so getting older.
For the last 25+ years I’d go to sleep listening to Jerry and whomever his partner was, though mostly Don. It was very comforting to hear a familiar voice as I went to sleep.
Prior to that, in the 80s, it was Joe Castiglione and Ken Coleman (until NESN was on every cable station) on the radio. Again, it felt like I was hearing a bedtime story. Though Ken Coleman’s death didn’t have nearly the impact as Remy’s.
But in short, getting old sucks, and this is terrible reminder.
RIP Remdawg
 

Leskanic's Thread

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It seems this hasn't really gained a ton of traction outside of maybe one or two replied in this thread. I have a ton of sympathy for Remy due to his battle with cancer and the tragedy of his son. But I'd have a hard time supporting such a change - at least permanently - when we also just lost Tommy within the last year. Yes, this is a Red Sox board first and foremost (is it really anymore though?). And yes, Remy was the voice of my sports-watching childhood and that of many here. But so was Tommy, and possibly even more so and for a longer period of time.

I'm not sure what the right answer is, but just wanted to put that out there.
Re-name the media forum for Remy and transfer ownership of the Port Cellar to Tommy?
 

donutogre

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Re-name the media forum for Remy and transfer ownership of the Port Cellar to Tommy?
Those both seem like good ideas. I’ll all for naming the media thread after Remy. This is a Sox board, first and foremost, at least in my estimation of it and historically. Just because we have Yankee threads and NFL forums doesn’t mean that the Sox aren’t number one here. Again, at least how I interpret things.
 

Curtis Pride

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We've been fortunate enough to have some fabulous sports announcers in this town - this year we've lost Tommy, Jerry, Johnny Pierson, and Bob Neumeier. But lest we not forget Curt Gowdy, Johnny Most, Gil Santos, Bob Wilson, Ned Martin, Ken Coleman....
The media forum should be renamed Where Have All The Good Ones Gone?
 

MtPleasant Paul

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We've been fortunate enough to have some fabulous sports announcers in this town - this year we've lost Tommy, Jerry, Johnny Pierson, and Bob Neumeier. But lest we not forget Curt Gowdy, Johnny Most, Gil Santos, Bob Wilson, Ned Martin, Ken Coleman....
Glad that you mentioned Curt Gowdy and Ned Martin. I spent so much of my childhood and teenage years listening to the genial Gowdy that he seemed almost like an uncle to me. Someone said he sounded like everyone's favorite brother in law. He had the bad luck to broadcast during the desert of noncontention between 1951 and 1966, before being called up to NBC just before the Impossible Dream year.

And Ned Martin was a classy guy. When things fell apart on the field with one mishap after another, he quoted Hamlet: "When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in batallions." He had a crazy streak too. He began the broadcast of a meaningless late season game on a bleak day before a minimal crowd by tapping the microphone and saying, "Hello...Is anybody there?...Is anybody there?"

And while Jerry and Orsillo were a great team, some of us remember the wonderful rapport between Martin and Jim Woods on radio from 1975 to 1978 before WITS fired them for their disdain for having to read too many commercials.
 

Bergs

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Glad that you mentioned Curt Gowdy and Ned Martin. I spent so much of my childhood and teenage years listening to the genial Gowdy that he seemed almost like an uncle to me. Someone said he sounded like everyone's favorite brother in law. He had the bad luck to broadcast during the desert of noncontention between 1951 and 1966, before being called up to NBC just before the Impossible Dream year.

And Ned Martin was a classy guy. When things fell apart on the field with one mishap after another, he quoted Hamlet: "When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in batallions." He had a crazy streak too. He began the broadcast of a meaningless late season game on a bleak day before a minimal crowd by tapping the microphone and saying, "Hello...Is anybody there?...Is anybody there?"

And while Jerry and Orsillo were a great team, some of us remember the wonderful rapport between Martin and Jim Woods on radio from 1975 to 1978 before WITS fired them for their disdain for having to read too many commercials.
This is a lovely post. It was all before my time (some of it barely so), but it does serve as an argument against naming the media forum after Remy (who I loved as a player and a broadcaster).
 
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Adirondack jack

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A dozen or so years ago, it seemed, most of the forum wasn't the biggest fans of The Orsillo and Remy (giggle like school girls) connection. It seems that with a little hindsight, we on the whole, have changed our tune of the silliness from the duo with an appreciation of what it was.

In its simplest form baseball is fun, oftentimes funny and we were all fortunate to learn from The Remdawgs insights and his love of the game. I think he changed us all a little bit and will always hold a spot in our hearts. And because of all of that, I think renaming the media forum to reflect this could never be a mistake.
 

section15

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The media forum should be renamed Where Have All The Good Ones Gone?
I concur. In this town, in baseball - Remy, Martin, Coleman, Gowdy - were all the high priests of baseball broadcasting. And for a far too-brief period - Jim Woods. I can never forget my wife's uncle, sitting on the porch in Caroga Lake, NY, listening to the Sox on WTIC - the voice of Jim Woods = "and it's a long fly to left , and it is ... UP THERE for a home run! Number 25 for Mister Rice"....
 

runnels3

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I concur. In this town, in baseball - Remy, Martin, Coleman, Gowdy - were all the high priests of baseball broadcasting. And for a far too-brief period - Jim Woods. I can never forget my wife's uncle, sitting on the porch in Caroga Lake, NY, listening to the Sox on WTIC - the voice of Jim Woods = "and it's a long fly to left , and it is ... UP THERE for a home run! Number 25 for Mister Rice"....
Guy had an amazing run. His partners over the years were a who's who of mostly HoF broadcasters. Mel Allen, Red Barber, Russ Hodges, Jack Buck, Bob Prince, Monte Moore and Ned Martin. And he died way too soon at 71.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I like that patch. It's understated and really nice looking.

I hope that they do something different than retire his number. It would be cool if they retired his microphone and had some sort of plaque underneath the broadcast booth window.