Watch Red Sox pay tribute to Boston bombing victims

Watch Red Sox Pay Tribute to Marathon Bombing Victims

Watch Red Sox Pay Tribute to Marathon Bombing Victims

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April 20 2013 4:28 PM

Watch Boston Red Sox Pay Tribute to the Marathon Bombing Victims at Fenway

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The Red Sox applaud members of law enforcement during pre-game ceremonies in honor of the Marathon bombing victims before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park

Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images

The Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals were supposed to face off in Fenway Park Friday. With the city on lockdwn and a manhunt under way, the game was obviously postponed. But with the second suspect caught Friday, “the iconic ballpark on Saturday became a place to start healing,” points out USA Today. In an emotional pregame ceremony, fans were shown a video montage of the events of the last week and a moment of silence was held for those killed as their pictures were shown on a huge screen. The players also paid tribute to the first responders and several survivors. “For the national anthem, organ music began the song, but like at the Bruins' game on Wednesday and again Saturday, fans took over and finished it,” notes the Boston Globe.

And then, to cap off the moving ceremony David Ortiz took the microphone. It marked the first time Ortiz was part of the lineup since Aug. 24 after a series of injuries, and he wasn’t about to hold anything back. “Alright. Alright Boston," Ortiz said. "This jersey that we wear today, it doesn’t say Red Sox. It says Boston. We want to thank you Mayor [Thomas] Menino, Gov. [Deval] Patrick, the whole police department for the great job they did this past week. This is our fucking city and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.”

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“The crowd wasn't in shock,” explains MassLive.com’s Evan Drellich, “Ortiz has always been colorful.”

Daniel Politi has been contributing to Slate since 2004 and wrote the Today’s Papers column from 2006 to 2009. Follow him on Twitter.