Governor Deval L. Patrick, with Red Sox catchers Doug Mirabelli and Jason Varitek to his left, thanked the team for winning its second World Series championship this century.
(JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF)
State officials join in celebrating Sox victory
Governor Deval L. Patrick, with Red Sox catchers Doug Mirabelli and Jason Varitek to his left, thanked the team for winning its second World Series championship this century.
(JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF)
The Boston Red Sox's World Series celebration went into extra innings yesterday on Beacon Hill. Governor Deval L. Patrick and other state officials joined hundreds of fans to again congratulate the Red Sox for their second championship in four seasons.
The rally was the second in as many days for the Red Sox. But instead of closer Jonathan Papelbon wildly dancing through the streets of Boston on Tuesday, the State House rally was a buttoned-down affair with short speeches from Patrick and other state officials.
In return, catchers Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli also spoke, thanking Red Sox Nation for their support. Without it, they said, the team could never have come from behind to win the American League pennant and then sweep the Colorado Rockies.
"It's important to know how much you guys are talked about in our clubhouse, about how exciting it is going to be when we come out on that field and we know that you guys are going to be there strong for us," Mirabelli said.
"When we came back from Cleveland, we knew we had a severe advantage because we were coming home, and without you guys and your support and the excitement that filled that field we wouldn't have been able to accomplish half of what we were able to," Varitek said.
And with the second World Series victory this century, the team has put to rest the ghosts of the past, Varitek said.
"For the longest time we played this game and people would always bring up it's the 'Yankees way,' " he said. "I think it's now the Red Sox way."
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