Garrett Whitlock is our 2023 @RedSox Jimmy Fund Captain! As a part of Garrett’s welcome to the team, he sat down for a phone call w/ Blair, 5, a @DanaFarber patient.
“Like all players in MLB, I am aware of the strong partnership and rich history between the Red Sox organization, the players, and the Jimmy Fund,” Whitlock said in a statement. “I am honored to be asked to serve as this year’s Jimmy Fund Captain. I look forward to meeting patients and their families and helping to raise awareness and funds for all the amazing work that is being done at Dana-Farber.”
As Jimmy Fund captain, Whitlock will “attend fundraising events, visit patients, build support and raise funds for cancer care and research at Dana-Farber.” The 26-year-old hurler will also be responsible for acting as an ambassador towards “Dana-Farber’s research and care mission.”
The Jimmy Fund, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, was first established in Boston in 1948. The Red Sox have been partners with the organization since 1953, making it the longest and most charitable partnership in professional sports.
With the exception of 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic), the Red Sox have hosted an annual radio-telethon at Fenway Park each summer since 2002 to raise awareness and funds for pediatric and adult cancer care/research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Last year, more than $3.5 million was raised at the 20th WEEI/Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon, bringing the cumulative total since 2002 up to approximately $65 million. The 21st installment will likely take place at some point in August.
For more information about the Jimmy Fund, click here. For more information about the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, click here.
“I am thrilled to continue serving as this year’s Jimmy Fund Captain as it is a role that I am honored to have. I was fortunate to participate in last year’s WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and met many families who were so inspirational in telling their cancer journeys,” Eovaldi said in a statement. “I enjoy sharing the important Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber mission and look forward to meeting other adult and pediatric patients and helping to raise awareness and funds for a cause that I, and the entire Red Sox organization, hold so close.”
As Jimmy Fund captain, Eovaldi is responsible for “building awareness and support for the Jimmy Fund’s mission to conquer cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.” The 32-year-old hurler will also attend fundraising events, visit patients, and act as an ambassador “for Dana-Farber’s research and care mission.”
Part of his mission mission is to help “encourage fans to step up to the plate and help strike out cancer by getting involved with the Jimmy Fund.”
The Jimmy Fund, which was first established in Boston in 1948, began its partnership with the Red Sox in 1953 after the Braves relocated to Milwaukee. Shortly thereafter, Sox owner Tom Yawkey announced that “his team would adopt the Jimmy Fund as its official charity and continue the tradition started by the Braves.”
Since then, the relationship between the Red Sox and Jimmy Fund has grown to the point where an annual radio-telethon has been held at Fenway Park each summer (excluding 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic) going back 2002.
After a triumphant return in 2021, the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon has now raised $62 million to support pediatric and adult cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute over the last 20 years. It will be back at Fenway Park in August.
For more information about the Jimmy Fund, click here. For more information about the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, click here.
(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Eovaldi, who has spent the last 2 1/2 seasons with the Red Sox, will become Jimmy Fund Captain for the first time.
The 31-year-old hurler takes over for former Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland, who was traded to the Padres last August before signing a one-year deal with the Athletics in February.
As Jimmy Fund Captain, “Eovaldi will help encourage fans to step up to the plate and help strike out cancer by getting involved with the Jimmy Fund.”
His responsibilities include: attending fundraising events, visiting patients, and acting as an ambassador for Dana-Farber’s research and care mission.
Boston’s previous two Jimmy Fund Captains — Moreland and Brock Holt — were nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award on at least one occasion in their time with the Sox.
The partnership between the Jimmy Fund and the Red Sox dates back to 1953 when team owner Tom Yawkey “announced that his team would adopt the Jimmy Fund as its official charity and continue the tradition started by the Braves” after the then-Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee.
Since that time, the Sox’ relationship with the Jimmy Fund grew to a point where an annual radio-telethon has been held each year at Fenway Park since 2002.
The annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon unfortunately had to be cancelled last summer due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the event has still raised more than $57 million to support pediatric and adult cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since its inception.
For more information about the Jimmy Fund, click here.
For more information about the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, click here.
(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland has been named the Jimmy Fund captain for the 2020 season, the organization announced earlier Friday.
We are so excited to announce that Boston @RedSox first baseman, Mitch Moreland, will be joining us as the 2020 Jimmy Fund Captain! Thank you to Mitch for leading our team in @DanaFarber and the Jimmy Fund’s mission to strike out cancer! pic.twitter.com/a0T3JhiP5V
Moreland, who has spent the past three seasons with the Red Sox and re-signed with the club in Januray, will become Jimmy Fund captain for the first time. The spot opened up when former Boston utilityman Brock Holt inked a one-year deal with the Brewers back in February.
As Jimmy Fund captain, Moreland’s responsibilities will include “attend[ing] fundraising events, visit[ing] patients and build[ing] support for cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute” in addition to “encourag[ing] fans to step up to the plate and help strike out cancer by getting involved with Jimmy Fund events.”
The Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund have been charitable partners since 1953. Their relationship is probably most signified by the annual WEEI / NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, which began in 2002 and has raised millions for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Moreland took to Instagram to celebrate the announcement, writing, “Grateful for the opportunity to be a part of @thejimmyfund Thank you for giving me the role as the 2020 Captain.”
Given the current circumstances, it’s difficult to say what Moreland’s role with the Jimmy Fund will look like in 2020. Still, he was a great choice to fill the captain vacancy nonetheless.
In case you missed it, former Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt officially inked a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers earlier Wednesday, meaning he will no longer be part of the organization he had spent the previous seven years with.
For both his work on and off the field, Holt emerged as a fan favorite in Boston, and he expressed his gratitude towards the city in a touching farewell Instagram post Wednesday.
“Boston. You turned a Texas boy into one of your own,” Holt wrote in the above caption. “It has been my absolute honor to play for your team and be a part of your city. Baseball is just that. Baseball. It doesn’t last forever. The relationships I’ve built will. I became a husband, a father, and a champion while playing for you.”
While with the Red Sox, the Texas native married his wife Lakyn in November 2013 and the two welcomed their first child, Griffin, in December 2016. He also played an integral role for the Sox during their historic run to a World Series title in 2018.
“I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has been a part of this chapter with us,” Holt added. “And thank you for letting me be a part of yours. It was a damn good time!”
Since the start of the 2015 season, Holt had served as the Red Sox’ Jimmy Fund captain and was the club’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award on four separate occasions because of it.
The 31-year-old had become a steady veteran presence in Boston’s clubhouse over the last few years and seemed to have close relationships with several of his teammates, including Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez.
“He was a character in here,” Martinez said of Holt’s departure. “He was fun to be around. You wish him the best, but that’s the business side of it.”
As Holt wrote in his Instagram post, “Baseball is just that. Baseball. It doesn’t last forever. The relationships I’ve built will.” He will be missed and I am already looking forward to the Brewers’ trip to Fenway Park in early June.
Former Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt has officially signed a one-year major-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, thus putting an end to any hope the versatile 31-year-old could return to Boston in 2020.
INF/OF Brock Holt has been signed to a 1-year contract with a club option for 2021. pic.twitter.com/FoztwXOJco
Although it has not been revealed how much Holt will earn in 2020, his new contract with Milwaukee does include a club option for 2021, so it could in essence be a two-year deal depending on how the coming season pans out.
A former throw-in the trade that was headlined by reliever Joel Hanrahan going from the Pirates to the Red Sox, Holt had spent the previous seven seasons with Boston.
After making his Sox debut during an up-and-down 2013 campaign, the Rice University product emerged as a fan and clubhouse favorite beginning in 2014, a year in which he finished eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting while playing in a then-career-best 106 contests.
The 2015 season was when Holt really burst onto the scene though, as he hit for the cycle for the first time in his career on June 16th and was named to his first All-Star team a month later, being the only Red Sox player to get an All-Star nod that year.
Despite finishing in last place in the American League East for the second straight year in ’15, the Sox saw Holt become a valuable asset to their club both on and off the field.
In total, the former ninth-round pick played seven different positions over 129 games that year. It was also the first time he was recognized as the Red Sox’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with the Jimmy Fund, an honor he would receive three more times in his Red Sox career.
2016 saw Holt miss a significant amount of time due to concussion issues. a trend that would carry over into 2017 in what was probably Holt’s most adverse season in the majors because of vertigo.
That Vertigo hampered Holt’s productivity in what was already an odd season for the Red Sox despite them winning 93 games and clinching their second straight American League East title.
In some eyes, perhaps the hiring of Alex Cora, combined with Holt playing in just 64 games the previous year, put the Texas native’s roster spot in jeaporady heading into the 2018 campaign.
With Blake Swihart seemingly a lock to make the Opening Day roster as both the club’s third catcher and a utility player, it looked as though one of the final spots on the Sox’ bench was going to come down to Holt or Deven Marrero.
Holt seemed prepared to be dealt if that is what it came down to, but Boston ultimately traded Marrero to the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later who would turn out to be Josh Taylor.
With those trade rumors behind him, Holt got back to his consistent ways for the Sox in 2018, slashing .277/.362/.411 with seven home runs and 46 RBI over 109 games played.
That October, Holt played a crucial role for the Sox in their run to a historic World Series title. He even hit for the first postseason cycle ever in a dominating 16-1 win over the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.
Trade rumors were still swirling a little bit in Holt’s final offseason before reaching free agency, but he stuck around once more and proved to be one of the better hitters on the 2019 Red Sox.
Yes, the one-time All-Star slashed .297/.369/.402 with three home runs and 31 RBI over 87 games last season, all while maintaining his role as an important veteran presence and player to look up to.
Perhaps he played his way out of the Red Sox’ price range, but the hope had been all offseason that Holt would find his way back to Fenway South this month.
That did not happen though, which is somewhat understandable given the influx of infielders Boston currently has on their 40-man roster.
Still, you cannot deny the impact Holt had on the community in Boston. He cared deeply about his role as Jimmy Fund captain, he spent his offseasons in nearby Needham, and he may have been holding out, waiting for one last offer from the Red Sox before ultimately signing with the Brewers.
You can argue that Holt’s value on the baseball field can be replaced by the group made up of Jonathan Arauz, Michael Chavis, and Jose Peraza, but that does not mean that Holt will not be missed by staff, players, and fans alike.
So, thanks for everything, Brock. Best of luck in Milwaukee. You will be missed in Boston.
Brock Holt was the Red Sox’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award in four of the seven seasons he was with Boston. pic.twitter.com/SZnTtcZfCN
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