Jerry Remy Has Passed Away

jcaz

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I hope that in his last days and hours, Jerry took some time to reflect on how much he contributed to so many people’s enjoyment of the Red Sox and, more generally, to their happiness.

A life well lived.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
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Jul 20, 2005
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one thing that should be done for Opening Day is put those shirts on every seat and ask fans to wear them. If only the weather could cooperate
The best thing they could do to honor him is execute a perfect hit and run during the game.
 
I am crushed. As an oncologist myself and someone who has lost my own father and grandmother to this disease, I certainly realize the power of cancer, and see its devastation every day in my work. Particularly when it happens in someone you know (or feel like you know and have watched the whole ride for), it hits on another level. I will forever associate Jerry as being the voice of the Sox, my adolescence, my college years, and beginning of my professional life. Jerry's voice played through the happiest of times, the lowest of times, and was always a source of comfort. You could be having the worst day of your life, but the moment the Sox were on and you heard Jerry wishing you a "Buenos noches" or announcing Dustin Pedroyer or Jash Bahd in the starting lineup, suddenly everything was OK, even if just for those 3 hours of the day (or 5 if it was a Yankee game). His constant playful banter intermixed with his know-how from having been a professional in this league spoke to the down-to-earth type of person he always seemed to be. Even though the majority of us didn't know Jerry personally, I have a sense that we all feel like we did. He was such a kind, relatable, and likable guy. It's crushing to see him go, but I am glad that he is finally at peace. RIP RemDawg, you will be sorely missed. My thoughts and heartfelt condolences to your family, friends, and loved ones.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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Most if not all of my favorite Sox memories had him narrating… I’m glad he got to see the championship runs of the past 17 years. We’ll all miss you Jerry. You can finally rest.
 

Harry Hooper

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I'm going to remember Remy as a guy who rose to the occasion in the 78 playoff game -- 2 for 4, with a ripped line drive ninth inning single off Gossage that kept them alive for Rice and Yaz, moving the tying run, Burleson, into scoring position. Also, a key double in the 8th and then scoring to get them back in the game.

You could not have really asked for anything more in one of the single most stressful and intense couple innings in Red Sox history.

Also a nice play in the field earlier in the game.
Good points. One of my favorite memories of Remy as a player was his digging in vs. lefty Andy Hassler with the Angels and getting a huge hit in the late innings of a game. Hassler was sort of Randy Johnson before Randy Johnson came along. Another memory was his hitting one of his few homers out in Oakland and being so excited that he sped around the bases, forgetting he had promised to do a Reggie-style slow strut if he ever hit a homer.
 
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amh03

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Damn…so sad to hear this news. Loved Remy & Orsillo’s broadcasts…
 

dirtynine

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RIP, Dawg. I feel like you covered up a lot of pain and hardship to make a lot of people you didn’t know (like me) happy. Thanks for being a part of my life. Hope you’re relaxing.
 

BigSoxFan

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This is one of those celebrity deaths that hit you a little harder than the rest. Very sad.
 

cantor44

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RIP Jerry Remy. A true New Englander, and a delight to all us. And he was an excellent broadcaster - a super smart man inside a down-to-earth blue collar guy. Amazing that you can feel affection for someone you don't know, but I do. Sad day.
 

jacklamabe65

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To lose Tommy Heinsohn and Jerry in the same year is so brutal to my generation of Boston sports fans. Both are synonymous with their teams.
Bullseye. Every time we drive from CT to the house on the Cape and we drive by the Somerset exit, I always think of Jerry and how fortunate I was to see him play in his prime and then hear him in his prime as a broadcaster.
 

DontTauntOrtizMe

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Jul 18, 2005
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Ugh, he has been the sound of my summers for more than 20 years. I passed him hurrying away from Fenway after a hot steamy afternoon game one time. He was clearly in a rush but was kind enough to stop, say hello, share a smile.

“Buenos noches, amigo. Disfruten el juego!”
 

bosockboy

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Jul 15, 2005
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Not a New Englander, but can’t imagine the tens of thousands of lives he touched and comforted nightly every summer across the New England states.
 

pk1627

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68? That’s young. Gonna miss this guy.

His final ride around Fenway must have been an incredible source of joy and difficult at the same time.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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It’s comforting that the last memory of him that most of us will have is of him smiling, cracking a joke to Eck while hooked up to oxygen, and throwing a strike at Fenway before the Sox eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs.

He had his demons and I’m sure the last decade or so has been filled with regret and second guessing, but he gave us fans a reason to smile every time he was in that booth. Can’t ask for much more than that.
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

Red-headed Skrub child
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Jul 21, 2005
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Fuck this stings. My childhood is official dead.

My best moments

1) Here comes the pizza!
2) Boob grab
3) “New wife smell”

What’s yours?
These were the first three that came to my mind too. The pizza one is the funniest goddamn thing I ever heard watching a baseball game and nothing is even close. The best part about the boob grab is you hear Remy with a little “oops” and then he’s pretty much silent for two minutes and you know it’s because he can’t speak because he’s laughing too hard. A baseball season is a long hard road. Remdawg’s ability to balance the “importance” of it with levity was truly special.

Going back to his playing days, my favorite photo is this one. I’d love to know what the story was here.
45980
 

Harry Hooper

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I think that ump is Tim McClelland, and maybe that's Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. That's all I've got.


Just found this:

Jerry Remy and Dennis Eckersley indulged in some wonderful repartee on Tuesday after NESN’s camera panned in on Fred Lynn waving to fans in the Legends Suite. “You know Eck, every time we see Freddie it just looks like he’s having a good time in life.”

“Yeah, that bothers me,” said Eckersley, drawing a laugh. “He goes back to San Diego without a care in the world. C’mon.”

The following night, the 5-foot-9 Remy reminisced about being tossed from a game by 6-foot-8 umpire Tim McClelland. “I was arguing with the guy’s belt buckle. I jumped up as high as I could and gave it to him as fast as I could.”
 
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Papo The Snow Tiger

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The most touching thing for me every year on Opening Day at Fenway is when the Red Sox recognize alumni who passed away during the off season on the centerfield scoreboard. It's going to be more than a little dusty at Fenway on Opening Day 2022. The Rem Dawg very successfully made the transition from a former player who went into broadcasting to a broadcaster who used to play. Watching Sox games on NESN will never be quite the same.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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These were the first three that came to my mind too. The pizza one is the funniest goddamn thing I ever heard watching a baseball game and nothing is even close. The best part about the boob grab is you hear Remy with a little “oops” and then he’s pretty much silent for two minutes and you know it’s because he can’t speak because he’s laughing too hard. A baseball season is a long hard road. Remdawg’s ability to balance the “importance” of it with levity was truly special.
Im pretty sure he admitted (and regretted) that "levity" was one thing he *never* brought to the game while he was a player.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
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I'm going to remember Remy as a guy who rose to the occasion in the 78 playoff game -- 2 for 4, with a ripped line drive ninth inning single off Gossage that kept them alive for Rice and Yaz, moving the tying run, Burleson, into scoring position. Also, a key double in the 8th and then scoring to get them back in the game.

You could not have really asked for anything more in one of the single most stressful and intense couple innings in Red Sox history.

Also a nice play in the field earlier in the game.
He was a very good fielding 2nd baseman with good speed on the bases. It's been a while and I may be misremembering however I recall him as among the best Red Sox bunt hitters in my lifetime. RIP.
 

Buster Olney the Lonely

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This sucks. For a guy who brought so much joy to so many people, his life feels like it was weighted down by sadness particularly in the last ten years or so.

This is how I'll remember him. In summer of 2004, my wife and I were up in New Hampshire for a wedding. We flew up to Boston and drove to Portsmouth. On the way back she surprised me by buying Red Sox tickets before we had to fly home to Atlanta. My wife's a southerner. Probably had little awareness of the Red Sox, their fandom or the surrounding culture until she met me. But she fell into it big time in the early aughts to the point where we got a cat and she insisted we name it Remy. The Rem Cat, haha, get it.

Anyhow, we go to the game. Sox beat up the Phillies and we had a blast. As we're leaving the stadium, I look across Landsdowne St and I see Jerry Remy in his SUV trying to navigate through the crowded street. As soon as I point it out to my wife, she says, "I have to tell him something." I'm thinking, "Please don't do this. It's fine, we saw him that's enough."

She runs up to his car (he's got his head out the window) and exclaims, "Jerry! Jerry Remy! We named our cat after you!"

He looks at her confused.

"We named our cat after you."

He smiles politely and nods, while offering the slight "Look the traffic here is a nightmare and I just want to get the hell out of the area" expression.

"Oh that's great... thanks" And drives off. We still laugh about that event.
 

Pitt the Elder

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Fuck, this was a gut shot. Remy was a couple years older than my dad, who passed away from cancer in 2010 at 54. Part of me always felt Jerry was a reflection of the kind of life my dad could have had if he had survived in the same way. Jerry gave himself and his family many more years that I think he made the most of. And as Norm Macdonald said, he fought cancer to a draw.

Thank you for everything, Remdawg. You will be missed. Rest in peace.
 

curly2

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Jul 8, 2003
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I'm going to remember Remy as a guy who rose to the occasion in the 78 playoff game -- 2 for 4, with a ripped line drive ninth inning single off Gossage that kept them alive for Rice and Yaz, moving the tying run, Burleson, into scoring position. Also, a key double in the 8th and then scoring to get them back in the game.

You could not have really asked for anything more in one of the single most stressful and intense couple innings in Red Sox history.

Also a nice play in the field earlier in the game.
He came up huge. The Sox had a bunch of hits of Gossage, but the only one who puled him was Remy, twice. Piniella stabbing at that ball he lost in the sun and actually picking it clean is the most painful play in Red Sox history for me. I can only imagine the incredible thrill that would have happened with pre-knee surgery Jerry Remy winning the playoff game with an inside-the-park homer.

The pizza was obviously the greatest, but I also liked "Jimmy Remy."

 

bankshot1

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I had never seen the "oops boob grab" before.

It's pretty funny that Remy just goes "whoops!"
I had never seen that and to hear Remy and Orsillo totally lose it and become silly high schools kids again was hilarious and is just a one more example how much fun those guys had in chatting about baseball and other stuff.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I think his personality and the levity sometimes tricked you into not realizing what an outstanding analyst he actually was. He rarely got into pitch selection stuff, which seems to be 80 percent of what color guys do now as though whether or not the curve ball is next is why we watch baseball. Some of that was because Eck plays that role really well. But mostly it was because Jerry took a more macro approach to analysis. He was more about situational analysis than platoon analysis, and he was great at it.

He seemed always to have really good insights into what was going on on the bench and with the players. His type of analysis seemed effortless but I am sure it wasn’t.

He was also as big a homer as you will ever see but had a way to make it so that it never really felt like a problem. He made you feel like he was one of us while also being respectful of the other players and talking about their strengths.
 

YTF

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The fact that we knew this day was coming doesn't make it any easier. For all of the hours he spent entertaining and educating us in a very public way, Jerry was a fairly introverted guy. I'm very thankful that he chose to share his baseball persona with us and appreciative that he was able to openly discuss his battles with cancer as well as depression. Rest in peace RemDawg.
 

curly2

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Bob Ryan is right: Sean McDonough was critically important in getting Jerry to loosen up.

Among his strengths as a broadcaster was that he didn't step on his play-by-play man. A lot of analysts do that, including Eck (who I love). Remy always came in at the right time.
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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Fuck this stings. My childhood is official dead.

My best moments

1) Here comes the pizza!
2) Boob grab
3) “New wife smell”

What’s yours?
Terrible, terrible news, as others have said, it literally feels like I lost a family member.

Here comes the pizza will forever be my #1 moment.

Also when he was dancing on a table and took a tumble or when he lost one of his chicklets on the air.

R.I.P. Rem Dawg.....................I wish I could go back in time to 1978 and change things;

"Line drive to right; it gets past Piniella....................Burleson scores..............................and here comes Remy, an inside the park home run and the Red Sox win it!!!"