Jerry Remy begins the next stage of his cancer treatment on Tuesday. He’ll undergo chemotherapy in an effort to beat cancer for the fifth time.
This is uncharted territory for Remy, who has never undergone chemo before. He will undoubtedly face this challenge the way he has faced every obstacle in the past: with courage and with the fighting spirit that helped him make it to the big leagues as an undersized, scrappy second baseman from southeastern Massachusetts.
On Sunday, Red Sox Nation gave Remy an emotional sendoff at Fenway Park. Before the Sox finished off a series win over the Yankees, the team honored Remy for 30 years in the NESN broadcast booth. It was more than an anniversary party, it was a chance for more than 37,000 fans at the park – and tens of thousands more watching on TV – to show Remy what he has meant to them for three decades.
Remy, 64, faces a tough road back to the broadcast booth he has called home for so long. Yet he feels confident he will win this latest battle.
“It’s a new challenge in my life,” said Remy. “My life has been full of challenges. I totally expect to beat this again. Hopefully this treatment will wash it away for good because I am tired of it. Really tired of it. I just want to go back to work.”
On Sunday, Sox fans made it clear they want Remy to do just that. There was a massive ovation for the broadcaster when he was introduced. And when he finished his speech by vowing to return for Opening Day 2018 “when the Red Sox lift a pennant for another year,” the crowd roared its approval.
In many ways, Remy is the unlikeliest of broadcasting icons. He speaks with a thick New England accent, and has no patience for slow games, traffic, or bad service at hotels on the road. He is quick to share his thoughts on things that bother him, and doesn’t care if you agree with him or not.
Which is exactly why he is such an iconic figure in Boston.
He is one of us.
He thinks like us, acts like us, and talks like us. He resonates with his viewers because he looks at the world the same way we do.
When I started covering the Red Sox full time for NESN in 2002, Remy told me the only way I would make it in Boston is if I stayed true to who I was. “People around here don’t put up with frauds,” he told me at the time.
No one is more authentic than the RemDawg. He’s rough around the edges, calls it like he sees it, and has been a welcomed guest into our homes for three decades.
“He’s very real and candid,” said Red Sox Manager John Farrell. “He doesn’t pretend to see something that is not there. He calls it like he sees it.”
Farrell should know. He had his own battle with cancer two years ago, and understands the importance of support from friends and family.
“Jerry and I have had a conversation about the treatment he is going to go through here coming up,” said Farrell. “It is a daunting procedure. There’s going to be some things he might not be fully aware of yet.”
On Sunday, Remy was fully aware of what he means to New Englanders. Here’s hoping the love they showered down on him helps lift him in the weeks ahead, the same way he has lifted Red Sox fans since he first stepped into a broadcast booth 30 years ago.
Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.
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