'Not bad, huh?': Red Sox Hall of Famer relishes chance to toss ceremonial first pitch at Polar
WORCESTER — Jim Lonborg found himself back on familiar ground Thursday.
As the guest of honor at Polar Park, the Red Sox Hall of Famer threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the WooSox’ 6-3 loss to the Norfolk Tides.
After giving a brief speech over the ballpark sound system, Lonborg collected a baseball, waved WooSox bat boy Aaron Buckley back to home plate and dragged his right foot and index finger across the pitching rubber.
Then, Lonborg collected himself, reared back and fired a strike over the plate.
“Not bad, huh?” Lonborg said as he walked off the field.
Red Sox Hall of Famer and Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the WooSox game.
After telling batboy Aaron Buckley to go all the way back to home plate, Lonborg comes off the field and says “Not bad, huh?” about his toss.
He’s still got it. pic.twitter.com/7oxURpYE7f— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) May 23, 2024
Not bad, Gentleman Jim. Not bad.
For the first time since Polar Park opened in 2021, Lonborg visited the home of the Worcester Red Sox. But before the 82-year-old right-hander could toss any pitch, Lonborg — like everyone else in attendance — had to wait out a near three-hour rain delay.
So, the 1967 Cy Young Award winner and key member of the “Impossible Dream” Red Sox team signed autographs and took photos with fans inside the DCU Club.
“To be able to talk to fans, I always hope that somebody remembers something that I have forgotten, and they’ll remind me of it,” Lonborg said. “All the memories that you have keep popping up.”
Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Lonborg is the Throwback Thursday guest at Polar Park today.
The 1967 Cy Young award winner signed autographs in the DCU Club amid a rainstorm that delayed the beginning of the WooSox game. pic.twitter.com/0lZB12ymA7— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) May 23, 2024
As Lonborg recalled some of his top Red Sox memories from the 1967 season, one game in particular came to mind.
On Oct. 1, 1967, the Red Sox trailed the Minnesota Twins, 2-0, in a pivotal last game of the regular season. To lead off the bottom of the sixth, Lonborg opened with a bunt single before base hits from teammates Jerry Adair, Dalton Jones and Carl Yastrzemski tied the game at two apiece.
The Red Sox scored three more runs in the frame and eventually won, 5-3. The rally handed talented Twins right-hander Dean Chance a loss while more importantly clinching the American League pennant for the Sox.
The sixth-inning comeback may have also secured the Cy Young Award for Lonborg, who was competing with Chance for the top pitching distinction.
“If I wouldn’t have laid down that bunt, then Dean Chance would’ve probably won the Cy Young Award,” Lonborg said.
A resident of Scituate, Lonborg was the first Red Sox pitcher to ever win a Cy Young and finished sixth in AL MVP voting that year behind teammate and winner Yastrzemski. Lonborg went on to pitch for Milwaukee and Philadelphia and finished with a 157-137 record and a 3.86 ERA in 425 big league games before retiring in 1979.
The California native and Stanford University grad later attended the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and graduated in 1983. He was elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and worked as a general dentist in Hanover until retiring in 2017.
From baseball player to dentist (and even beekeeper), Lonborg’s legend continues to grow.
And on Thursday, Lonborg added another chapter to his Red Sox history by throwing out the first pitch at Polar Park.
“It definitely makes you feel good,” Lonborg said. “It’s fun.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Lonborg tosses first pitch at WooSox game
