I remember once in 2004, we were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in a game at Fenway. We had a 1-0 lead going into the top of the 9th inning and the fans were really into the game. It felt like a playoff game. Keith Foulke came in to close out the game for us and got the first two guys out, then gave up a single to Alex Cora. (Cora and I became teammates in 2005, when he got traded to Boston from Cleveland.) Then Olmedo Saenz came up and hit a pop fly to left field that looked like an easy out, and we all couldn’t believe what happened next.
Manny dropped the ball.
Because there were two outs, Cora was running hard all the way; he was a good player like that. He always knew the situation, played hard, knew the game. So when Manny dropped the ball, Cora was already on the way home and the Dodgers tied the game, 1-1, and now we had to fight. Saenz ran hard, too, and he was on second base, so a single would have scored him and given the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. The Dodgers sent in a pinch runner- it was Jayson Werth- but Foulke got the last guy out to keep the game tied, and we had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth.
Fenway got pretty quiet when Manny made the error, but let me tell you: It didn’t stay that way for long. Manny came back to the dugout and put down his glove, and nobody said much at first. Then Manny started walking along the dugout and started talking out loud, and I’ll never forget what he said.
None of us.
“Well, there goes my Gold Glove.”
We all started laughing, bro.
It was hilarious.
I guess you had to be there?
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