The Red Sox took to the field for the first time in the new year on Friday, defeating Northeastern University 3-0 in an exhibition game. Throughout spring training, the team has been rebuilding after quite an unsettling off-season that saw the departure of former manager Alex Cora and All-Star Mookie Betts.
This week, the Sox have welcomed newly-acquired faces, heard from David Ortiz and addressed controversial issues.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far:
Before taking on Northeastern, the Red Sox took a moment of silence to honor victims of the helicopter crash in California:
On Friday, the team held a pregame tribute for Pete Frates, Nick Cafardo and the family of Red Sox scout JJ Altobelli — whose father, stepmother and sister passed in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi.