As everyone knows, Pedro Jamie Martinez was inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday in Cooperstown, NY. As some of you know, Lefty and I were on hand to witness the pageantry and beauty of it all.

It was an early morning for your two heroes, leaving Boston at 7:45AM after returning to Boston from the South Shore at 1:30AM, but thanks to the AC and loud music, I was able to stay awake while driving and Lefty was able to stay awake while doing Saturday’s recap.

We got to the Cooperstown area around 11:50, which left us plenty of time to drive all around town to find the free “Red” parking lot, which of course was full by the time we got there. So we settled for an adjacent lot that was hawking fresh coconuts infused with rum and charged $20 to park. We walked into the village, I got a chocolate ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles and a hot dog, then we started the trek out to the big field where the induction ceremony took place.

Great seats! #HOFWKND #HOF #PedroHOF pic.twitter.com/kZgUQoKuMs

— LeftyandRighty.com (@AndRighty) July 26, 2015

Pedro’s induction and speech were last since they didn’t want a mass exodus of people after he was done, leaving a fraction of the crowd for the remaining inductee(s). Biggio, Smoltz, and Johnson all had fine speeches – Johnson’s was particularly interesting – but I think we would’ve enjoyed them much more had we been a little more prepared. It was mid-to-upper 80s and we were sitting in the middle of an open field without chairs or sunscreen. I’ve never rooted for cloud cover harder in my life. Biggio’s address, while heartfelt and emotional, was structured similarly to a high school graduation speech and seemed to last forever, but was widely praised, probably by people who watched it in a climate-controlled atmosphere. By the time he was done Lefty and Righty were both experts in predicting which way the clouds were moving and when there would be 5 glorious minutes of shade.

After a couple hours and my and Lefty’s bodies being 50 shades of red, it was Pedro’s turn to get inducted. His intro video gave me goosebumps and his speech, while a little disjointed and repetitive at times, was awesome. Enthusiastic, energetic, and an electric atmosphere, thanks mostly to the large Dominican contingent in attendance. It felt almost like a Pedro start, with drums, whistles, air horns, chants, and of course Dominican flags everywhere.

This atmosphere wasn’t just for Martinez’ starts at Fenway, either. One of my most vivid memories of a Pedro start was at Yankee Stadium. My family and I were sitting in the upper deck and I was about 12 years old, decked out in Red Sox gear, probably wearing my Pedro All Star shirsey (I was there for the ’99 All-Star game), so naturally the Yankees fans were twice as nasty because they knew I wouldn’t fight back. But sitting a couple rows behind us was a group of about 12 Dominicans with drums and whistles and an enormous Dominican flag. They were like our guardian angels, shouting down anyone who heckled us and going nuts every time Petey struck someone out (which I think was about 13 times). There was a bewitching, tangible energy in the ballpark, with Yankees fans hating Pedro and Red Sox fans loving him. Like all of Pedro’s starts it was one where you’d go to the bathroom when the Red Sox were hitting so you wouldn’t miss anything he did on the mound. I think the bullpen ended up blowing the game for the Sox (again, vintage Pedro), but it was something I’ll never forget.

The journey home was uneventful except for the exceptionally unexceptional McDonald’s we stopped at in Cobleskill, NY. We made a four mile detour to get there and it was evident that many who were at Cooperstown had the same idea. The staff was not prepared for that kind of influx of customers.

The Game:

Classic Papi Follow Through (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne)

It appears that the rumors of David Ortiz‘ demise have been greatly exaggerated. Once again Papi got off to a slow start this year, and people were saying this was the end of the line, he just can’t do it anymore and he’s finally aged. I would gently point out that he’s started nearly every season since 2009 this way, and it has always turned out ok. Last night Ortiz hit his 18th and 19th round trippers of the season and drove in a career-high 7 men, pushing his OPS back up to .800 in the process.

Xander added four hits to his total on the season, padding his lead for most hits by a shortstop in the big leagues this year.

Every Red Sox starter had a hit, and they piled up 20 in total.

Eduardo Rodriguez was the starter and went seven strong innings, a very nice bounce back start after a disastrous last outing against Los Angeles.

Eddie didn’t seem to be tipping his pitches in this one, and as Lou Merloni pointed out on WEEI, he even tucked his chin (the “tip” that something offspeed was coming) before buzzing a 97 MPH fastball in on Victor Martinez. Hopefully we can put that whole mess behind us now.

Notes:

-Some bad news: Brock Holt! had to leave the game after awkwardly rounding first in the first inning. He would remain in the game and even collect another hit before giving way to recent call up Jemile Weeks. Holt going down is the last thing this team needs.