Singing the National Anthem at Fenway Park for the Savannah Bananas Game!

By Whitney Doucet

OK… where do I even start?! Singing the national anthem at Fenway Park for the sold-out Savannah Bananas game on July 6th was seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

If you’ve never seen the Bananas play—let me just say, you are missing OUT. They are the most fun, over-the-top baseball team out there, and people go crazy trying to get tickets. So when I opened my inbox and saw a message asking if I was available to sing the anthem for their game, I immediately said YES. Thankfully, I had the day off. 

It wasn’t until I started telling people that I realized how big of a deal this actually was. Everyone was freaking out, telling me how awesome the Bananas are and how they’ve been trying to get tickets forever. That’s when it really hit me—I got super lucky.

I threw on my white pants and a bright yellow Savannah Bananas jersey (obviously had to dress the part), and headed to Fenway with my husband, who came along to film the day—and he crushed it, by the way. When we got there, we were greeted by the sweetest girl named Chloe who took us down to the Red Sox dugout—I’m talking, the dugout where legends have sat. Just being in that space felt surreal.

We ended up right near the owners of the Bananas who were so kind and welcoming. And then it was time—I walked out onto the field and sang the national anthem in front of a completely packed stadium. Right after I finished, I literally walked by Doug Flutie. Like… no big deal, right?! 

After that, we found our seats, grabbed a massive slice of pizza, and just soaked it all in. The game was absolutely wild in the best way—nonstop entertainment from start to finish. I’m officially a huge Savannah Bananas fan now and I really hope I get to go to another game in the future, whether I’m singing or just cheering in the stands.

Seriously, what a day. One I’ll never forget. 

Watch the Anthem here!! https://youtu.be/B3qeJem7FOc

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This story has been posted simultaneously here and on the Section 36 Music blog.

Collecting the Sox: Bobblehead Trio

If you're following me on Instagram (and really why aren't you?) you know I've been showing off my bobblehead collection periodically one by one. I realized that I should be doing that here as well so everyone can see them. So, I'm reviving an old "Collecting the Sox" series to show some of the things a Red Sox fan might collect.

Let's start things off with a three bobblehead set...

This trio might be a lot of fun, or it might make you a little sad...depending on your point of view. They were given away during separate games during the 2018 season. So, you have to attend all three games (or try your luck on ebay) to complete the set.

Which I think is fun. I feel like the Betts one would be odd to have just on its own, but the other two would look perfectly fine alone if you only collect Xander. But, together, they make for a great presentation piece and a callback to one of the great Red Sox teams.

What do you think of it? Them?

Find Love at Fenway – Behind the Scenes of My New Music Video

By Whitney Doucet

There’s no place like Fenway Park—especially when you’re a lifelong Red Sox fan like me. So when it came time to film the music video for my latest single Find Love, I knew there was only one place that truly made sense: right in the heart of Section 36 territory, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world—Boston, MA.

The idea actually hit me while reflecting on one of the lyrics in my song:“The sun shines bright over your city / Boston sure looks good on you.”And I thought to myself—we HAVE to shoot that at Fenway Park.

My husband was behind the camera (and even made a hilarious cameo), my best friend Elaina came to support and made a quick appearance in the video, and my husband’s cousin Chris stepped in as the “love interest”—a role he handled like a total pro.

We kicked things off on Lansdowne Street, singing with the Green Monster looming behind me like the legend it is. The energy there is unmatched—it's the heartbeat of Fenway, with people zipping by in Red Sox hats, and a sea of blue, red, marathon yellow, and Monster green apparel glowing in the summer sun. We even filmed some fun skipping shots of me and Chris making our way down Lansdowne, laughing and having a fun moment.

My husband got us Green Monster tickets, and we filmed from what has to be the best view in the house. I made sure to stay respectful of the fans around us—because believe me, as a Sox fan, I get it! I even took breaks between takes just to soak in the game. The crack of the bat, the smooth voice of the announcer, the roar of the crowd—the sound of a Boston summer dream.

We explored every corner we could—filming in the stairwells behind the Monster, by the famous Fenway bricks, and of course, grabbing the ultimate ballpark treat. There’s one moment in the video where I’m about to dive into a classic vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles served in a Sox baseball cap… and suddenly my husband walks by and steals the first bite! My reaction is total shock followed by laughter—and yep, it’s 100% real, I guess I should have gotten him an ice cream too! 

Filming Find Love at Fenway felt like giving baseball fans a mini tour of all the nooks and crannies that make the park so magical. Whether you’ve been a hundred times or have always dreamed of going, I hope this video lets you see just how special Fenway is.

I’ll be back at Fenway on July 6th to sing the National Anthem for the Savannah Bananas game! I can’t wait! 

I’m so proud of this video, and I hope it inspires you to find love—in the music, in the ballpark, and in all the unexpected places life takes you.

Watch Find Love on Youtube: Fenway Video

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This story has been posted simultaneously here and on the Section 36 Music blog.

Is That What I Said?

I mean, they sort of listened. In my last post, I said that after the Red Sox called up Roman Anthony they had a problem. They just had too many starters. Especially with players comng back from injury, there was a logjam. Something needed to be done. They needed to trade an infielder or an outfielder, or both, preferably for pitching.

So, I suppose that's what they did.

But, I don't think I said "trade your best hitter on a pretty team-friendly $300 million contract to get back marginal pitching in basically a salary dump.

Although, I'm not exactly surprised. When I saw the alert on my phone, my reaction was "wow...it must have been worse than I thought." Obviously, the Red Sox and Devers had a rocky relationship of late. After signing him to a ten year deal, the Sox basically treated him like dirt. At the same time, he didn't exactly act like a model employee. Was some of that literally lost in translation? Possibly. But, at some point there's too much there for there not to be an issue.

The latest story is that the Sox expect certain things from a $300 million player that Devers wasn't giving them. We've heard that story since the early years of the ownership, off the field. One of the main talking points when they were trading for ARod was that he was willing to play along and suck up to partners at team events and dinners. Nomar, on the other hand, had no interest in that. At the time, they actually justified ARod's huge contract by saying he would bring in more revenue in the boardrooms than Nomar or Manny ever could. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing Devers was closer to Nomar than ARod.

Of course the biggest place that turned up was on the field. After signing Devers to a face-of-the-franchise level deal, they asked him to change positions to make room for an inferior player on a likely one-year deal. That's a terrible look from the Sox. This organization once called up a veteran player at the end of the season just to send a message to other aging vets that the team would do right by them. This is the opposite. "Come sign with us, and we'll hose you the first chance we get" isn't a great sales pitch. It's also not a great look to the fans. "Hey we signed this fan favorite for ten years. His jersey is now a safe buy. Oops, just kidding."

I obviously don't know the whole story. Were the Sox cold on Devers all along? Was his signing always an overreaction to losing Bogaerts? (Do the Sox need to stop throwing away good plans once they stick to them? Yes.) Could this make them quickly sign all their youngsters to longer term deals as a way to save face? If this wasn't a long-term issue that only popped up this season, will signing Bregman end up being one of the worst moves this team ever made?

I honestly don't know much about the players the Sox got in return. I know none of them have won a Cy Young, nor were they favored to win one this year. So, I'm guessing this is a downgrade. Some SF fans online were sad to see them go, but that was mostly based on potential. Like when Sox fans were sad to see Teel go...but were fine with it since it brought Crochet. This feels more like a depth move at best...especially this year. While those pieces are important to a championship team...you usually don't give up an all-star to get them. Teams pushing for the playoffs do the opposite.

So, speaking of the playoffs, where do the Sox go from here? 

It all depends on the kids now. Moving forward, once Bregman is back, it looks like the everyday lineup includes Bregman, Mayer, Story, Campbell, Anthony, Abreu, Rafaela, Duran, and Narváez? In some combination of field and DH? That's the best nine players though, correct? So if Anthony and Mayer perform like Devers, the Sox will be more than OK. If only one does, they'll be close. If neither does, they'll be in trouble. 

So I guess it's wait and see. there's just less margin for error than there used to be. And, the pitchers may need to help more than they have been. But the Sox are currently a half game out of the wild card after playing without Bregman and Abreu. The talent is still there.

It's just a matter of winning.

The Gang's All Here

Yesterday the Red Sox called up #1 overall prospect Roman Anthony. He joined Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell to complete the Big Three, or Golden Trio, or Stardust Triplets, or whatever we're calling them. And that's a great sign for the future of the Sox. Which really only leaves one question. 

Now What?

I was not in the camp that said Anthony needed to be called up RIGHT NOW. Sure he deserves it. But, it was the question of what the Sox would do with him. The injuries made the decision a little easier...just like with Mayer...but what's the plan? Now that the clock is running, you can't bench them or even demote them...can you? So, how does it all shake out.

Ideally, without injuries, the Sox outfield has Duran, Abreu, Rafaella, and now Anthony. The infield has Bregman, Story, Mayer, Campbell, and Casas. That's how it looks this year, and probably next year. Story likely won't opt out. And, following his injury, I'm not so sure about Bregman. And those are just "projected starters". So, in case you can't count...they have too many infielders and too many outfielders. Something has to give.

My assumption is that at the deadline, the Sox would figure out how to move at least one of those players. Then, they would call up the kids afterwords. Unless, of course, trading the kids is the move.

Rafaella and Campbell are on team friendly long-term contracts. Which either means they're here to stay, or are incredibly valuable trade chips. 

But something needs to be done, pretty quickly. And, I admit, I don't know what the move is. Nor do I particularly care. I just need to trade an infielder and/or outfielder and get a different position in return. There's a couple ways to do it. Go big, and try for Skenes, or smaller and safer. What would Anthony and Mayer get you back? How about Abreu? Durran? Where's the other starting pitcher market? I'll admit that I didn't know who Crochet was until suddenly he became the trendy target for the Sox. Who else do I now know about? Where are the pitchers that come with high priced vets? Is there a Beckett-Lowell deal that get a vet first baseman as well?

Anyone have a plan?