RED SOX OPENING DAY CEREMONIES TO BEGIN AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY

RED SOX OPENING DAY CEREMONIES TO BEGIN AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY

Members of the 2013 Champions to Receive World Series Rings;

Dropkick Murphys and Members of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra

To Participate in the Festivities;

Fans are encouraged to use Public Transportation

BOSTON, MA – The Red Sox open their 114^th home season this Friday, April 4, with Opening Day festivities set to begin at 1 p.m.  The Red Sox play the National League’s Milwaukee Brewers at 2:05 p.m.

The pre-game ceremonies will include the presentation of the World Series rings, presented by Samsung, the performance of the national anthem, a helicopter fly-over, the Ceremonial First Pitch, and the call to “Play Ball.”

The ceremonies will include a moment of silence in tribute to Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh and Firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, who perished last week when a 9-alarm fire raged through a Back Bay home a mile and a half from Fenway Park.  The firefighters were from the station on Boylston Street that also protects the ballpark.

The singing of God Bless America in the middle of the 7^th inning will be performed by the Boston Fire Department Quartet.

The Dropkick Murphys, along with Keith Lockhart conducting members of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, will perform during the ceremonies. Members of the Hanscom Airforce Base military will line the length of the Green Monster wall as the American flag drops for the anthem.

To maintain the Opening Day tradition of a fly-over at Fenway Park, the United States Coast Guard will fly a single MH-60T helicopter, representing all of our armed forces, at the conclusion of the national anthem.

In honor of the 2013 championship, players will wear special gold-trimmed Red Sox jerseys with gold stitching around the World Series Championship patch on the left sleeve, and around the letters and numbers on the front and back of the jersey.

Fenway Park gates will open at 11:35 a.m., 2 ½ hours before the first pitch.  For the rest of the regular season, gates will open 1 ½ hours before the game, except for Season Ticket Holders and Red Sox Nation members, who may enter at Gate C 2 ½ hours before each game.

As always, and especially on midweek day games, the Red Sox urge fans to take the T.  In addition to the familiar Green Line stops at Kenmore Square, the MBTA has also built a new Yawkey station for its Commuter Rail service.   

The refurbished station, located just 511 feet from the doorstep of Fenway Park, now has as many as 40 scheduled stops per day, up from only 17 flag stops previously.  Yawkey Station is part of the Commuter Rail’s Framingham/Worcester line, which runs from Worcester to South Station. The last outbound train from Yawkey Station departs at 11:36 p.m. on weekdays and 11:10 p.m. on weekends. Departure times for the last train leaving Yawkey Station are subject to change based on the length of the game.