Pawtucket Red Sox to Celebrate Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez's Engagement in April Game
The Pawtucket Red Sox are pairing romance and baseball together for a rather unusual upcoming promotion.
The Red Sox Triple A affiliate plans to celebrate former rival and Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's engagement to singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, the team announced in a statement. The celebration will come on April 12 at McCoy Stadium against the Syracuse Mets. It will kick off the team's "Legendary Fridays" series and commemorate Pawtucket's "50 Years Together" with the Red Sox.
In true rivalry fashion, Pawtucket plans to pull out all the stops to celebrate/rib Rodriguez, particularly for his role in an infamous July 24, 2004, clash between the Red Sox and Yankees. After Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Rodriguez with a fastball, the third baseman and catcher Jason Varitek exchanged choice words. Varitek ended up shoving his mitt in Rodriguez's face, and the showdown led to one of baseball's craziest bench-clearing brawls.
Pawtucket will show footage of the game on the stadium's video board for fans to relive the indelible moment in Red Sox history.
The team is also offering fans a variety of ways to get inside the gates for free. Anyone with the first name Jennifer will receive free admittance with valid Rhode Island identification. The same perk will be awarded to anyone wearing a Varitek or Arroyo jersey and any children 12 or under.
Massachusetts native and Red Sox fan Ben Affleck, Lopez's former fiance who took her to Fenway Park during their courtship, has been invited to throw out the first pitch at the April 12 game, according to Pawtucket.
In case any of the Red Sox or Yankees drama isn't your thing, there will be a little something for Tim Tebow fans as well. Tebow is expected to be on Syracuse's roster in April, and Pawtucket will play Mariah Carey hits for his walk-up songs since the diva is Lopez's rival in the music business.
It sounds like April 12 will be a wild night for PawSox fans, and the celebration of A-Rod and J.Lo's love could be almost as extravagant as we imagine their wedding will be.
