The last out...

Hart Brachen:
My dad passed away on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

It had been botton of the 9th for my dad for quite some time but he kept finding a way to rally and keep the inning going.

But as we Red Sox fans know all so well, in the end, you just can't win 'em all.

Like the majority of you, my memories and feelings of the Red Sox and baseball and sport in general are inseparable from memories of my father.

And it is in my nature to want to fill this space with an emotional tribute recounting the best of those memories.

But my dad was a very taciturn, keep your emotions in check, old school kind of guy.

So in his honor and memory, I'll simply tip my cap and let a solemn stillness fill the void.

I'll catch up with all you a bit later, probably next week.

 

---

Comments

[da kine]

Jesus, hb. Sorry for your loss.

[buckner was framed]

my condolences, hb. and a tip o' the cap from here as well

[Steve in MD]

Sorry for your loss, hb.

[yazbread]

Our thoughts are with you today.

[yazbread]

Our thoughts are with you today.

[louclinton]

sounds like a tough out.

best to your family.

lc

[SAC]

Raising a 'Gansett to your dad, HB.

[MWL in MD]

So sorry to hear of your loss. If it's anything like my relationship with my late mother, you'll think of him whenever there's a Sox triumph or disaster.

[joe lahoud]

Very sorry for your loss hb. Like a lot of Red Sox fans I too am a Sox fanatic because of my Dad. Thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

[Natalie]

I can truly empathasize, hb. My deepest condolences to you and your entire family- and a tip o the cap to the great man.

[le_valet_de_pique]

My condolences

[le_valet_de_pique]

My condolences.

[jar in chicago]

Sorry for your loss. My prayers go out to you and your family.

[Redsauce]

Condolences.

[Redsauce]

Condolences.

[Kev]

So sorry, h.b.

[Beth]

Sorry to hear about your dad, hb. Thinking happier thoughts for you and yours today.

[Garnfellow]

So sorry for your loss, h.b.

[COD]

My condolences H.B.

[Harwich Rich]

:*(

[Billy Mahty]

My condolences as well, h.b. Take care.

[Kaz]

"Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out."

I'm sorry for your loss, h.b. I will keep trying to find new cures for cancer.

[ponch]

So sorry. May the happy memories you shared together carry you through the difficult times.

[vermonter]

So sorry hb. My best.

[Chops]

It's only after an invincible autumn that we do not have to look to next year. The season may end, but it is never erased.

[lobstaman]

h.b. my deepest condolences

[Jaxtraw]

Sorry to hear about your Dad. My wife (Sox fan) and I (Yankee fan)send our deepest condolences. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

[LarryE]

My condolences, h.b. So very sorry to hear about your loss.

[Seamus]

My condolences, hb. What can one say?

[Jazz Lunatique]

Very sorry about that, HB. Be strong.

[John]

Bless you and your Dad. Thoughts and prayers go with you...

[soxoshanka]

My deepest condolences hb.

[Larry Here]

Aw jeez, hb. One foot in front of the other. With love from Montana...

[sonomasox]

All the best to you and your family, HB. My thoughts are with you.

[dhr]

Condolences, hb

[Jim]

Sorry for your loss hb, my thoughts and prayers go out to your family.

[steff66]

Deepest condolences to you and your family, hb.

[NYSoxfan]

Deepest condolences, H.B. Your pops will be joining my late Uncle Albert and all the beloved departed Sox fans on the other side...

[soxdownunder]

Sorry to hear this awful news, hb, but I hope you can cling to the memories of one of the most important relationships of you life.

Condolences from me, mrs sdu and the seven year old 'sox fan.

[SSA]

The one thing my stepfather (my Dad de facto) really got along on was baseball. Red Sox baseball.

My condolences.

[Jeff in NC]

"All I want is a little peace to die, and a friend or two I love at hand"

Deepest condolences.

[soxinsix]

Sorry for your loss, hb. I lost my dad to brain cancer back in 1998. When the Sox won it all in 2004 my first thoughts were of him, and how he waited his whole life for that moment but it never came. Remember the good times with your dad - they will help you get through these difficult days...

[Yossarian]

Been down that road as well. Condolences to you and yours.

[sanfransoxfan]

Toughest out.

He raised you, so his is a life worth celebrating. Hold on to that this week, and onwards.

[granular_serene]

condolences h.b. i'm glad you could share 2 w.s. titles, and of course all the other things that make dads great.

[Professional Hitter]

Condolences, h.b. Please know that you and your family remain in my thoughts and prayers.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

My condolences.

[HunterStars]

Sorry for the loss, H.B. My condolences.

[Primitive Screwhead]

hb, My heartfelt condolences to you and your family.

[went9]

I write with tears rolling down my check as I think of your Dad and mine. My first line drive on my next trip to the batting cage will be in his honor. All the best to you and your family hb.

[Rob in CT, er, AL]

Any words I might offer are as nothing, h.b. Just let me add my condolences and prayers for you and your entire family. The sadness and grief we share today is for those left behind. Be comforted knowing your Dad is in a better place now.

Take care of yourself so you can help take care of those you love. And know that you have friends here (whom you've never met!) ready to do whatever we can for you.

[pseudosanity78]

Condolences, h.b.

And as the Irish say-
May God give you...
For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.

[ang364]

rest in peace.

[Matt13]

Never posted in the comments before but seemed like the most appropriate time for my first.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[Jerry in Japan]

So sorry for your loss, HB! Thanks for sharing it with us, by the way. I hope all this love a positive energy you're getting here is helping. I have a feeling it is... Oh, and you strip today was completely beautiful. By saying and doing less, you actually said a whole lot more. May the hole in your life be filled with deep inexpressible incomprehensible love.

[rm]

May the memories of your dad help you through this difficult time. My condolences to you and your family.

[Celtic Bob]

I completely understand this. Last night as the series came to a close, I looked over to the baseball passed down by my father, signed by the 1958 Giants (Mays, McCovey, etc.). My father loved his sports and we'd talk shop every week until emphysema took his last breath away.

His passion and his legacy follows me every day as will your father's. Remember the good times and laugh at the great ones.

[Howie]

HB -- I'm very sorry to hear of your loss.
I lost my Pops in 1979.
A mention of the Red Sox always brings back my memories of early visits to Fenway. The men in white sport shirts, some even wearing ties, wearing hats and the smell of cigar smoke.
Learning about baseball at the knee of a member of the Greatest Generation was a special treat!

[djm]

h.b., I usually click to the site for something insightful. Even in your darkest moment you deliver, this time a curve that buckled my knees a bit as I sit in my office at work welling up with tears thinking of my papa who used to take me out of school for “a doctor’s appointment” and bring me to Fenway to watch a game just to ‘be’ with me. Thinking of you today and every day, papa.

[PaPesky]

Your dog and your father this close in time.Losses only those of us who have experienced know the depth.Many people are thinking of you now -- your father would be proud! You make many of us laugh so often, keep that alive in your life.

[dustbunny44]

Sorry to hear of your dad's passing HB. I've really loved your site over the years and the connection it's helped me maintain from the west coast. I thank your dad for the memories he left with you that help make this site what it is and makes us feel a bit better every week.

[Blue Stater]

Profoundest condolences, hb. I know how it is (so does about everyone who's posted) about Sox fanatic-dom and fathers. My dad's last coherent words to me, in November 1986, after the Buckner debacle, were, "Jeez, I guess I'll never see the Sox win another World Series." He had seen it once, in 1918. So in 2004, I went to the place where I had surreptitiously scattered his ashes (long story), and said "Dad, this one's for you." Your father's loss is incalculable; but those memories do live on. Peace.

[Bob]

My most sincere sympathies HB. Wish I could say more, but shipboard connections are awful. You, your father and your family are in Abby and my prayers.

[Scott]

My condolences h.b.

[Lazlo Freem]

Cancer is a unmerciful scourge of which few of us escape it's diabolical impact. May your pain pass quickly, HB.

[Jim S]

best wishes for you and your family in this trying time, HB. Like you, my Dad taught me the game and some of my greatest memories are of fall days listening to the game on the radio or going to the ballpark.

Bless you.

[wp]

Our condolences to you and your family, HB. My daughter took her Red Sox cap and sweatshirts off to college this fall. Life will go on.

[Jason O.]

to the tune of "My old man's a dustman"

OOOOHHHH...
HB's fucking magic,
he wears a magic hat.
And when I saw this site,
I said: "I fancy that."
He does not like the Yankees,
Says he thinks they're shite,
but it's OK in my book,
cause he's fucking dynamite.

repeat, several times.

[Jeff in NC]

So, a few years back I did not attend my favorite Aunt's funeral. She passed a day before I was getting on a cruise ship. I am fairly sure my uncle and cousisn have not forgiven me for skipping. I however, was sure that my Aunt (a fan of the drink) would appreciate me (a fellow fan) toasting to her memory in a certain haze each night at sunset.

So h.b., in that vein, I hope this is not seen as a callous return to Redsox speak.

Papi is back for a year. One more chance to prove he is worth more than that. Hall is let go. Too bad, but also too expensive. And as long as we dont need a catcher or 3rd basemen on the field, we are good to go!

And lastly... another Great man has passed. In my imagination, Mr. H.B.'s dad gets to have a beer with Sparky Anderson and ask Mr. Anderson how he fealt about Carlton Fisk.

[Oki-na-chichi]

Sorry for your loss, hb.

[h.b.]

Thanks everyone for you kind words and condolences and for sharing your own memories about your dads.

Seeing and hearing from all my dad's old friends and colleagues at the funeral really hit pretty hard, as I heard about sides of my dad's personality and life that I was naive to , in particularly the respect he earned from others he worked with over the years.

Like I said, my dad was a very quiet guy in general and he never boasted or much talked about his life at work. Now I wish he would have a bit more or rather I wish I would have taken the time and effort to ask him about it.

[louclinton]

Hi everyone.

This sentiments on here have been overwhelming.

I was fortunate enough to be able to view the notice of hb's dad passing.

Without saying more, the notice indicated that the family encouraged gifts in his honor to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston.

I have checked off-line with h.b. and suggested that a suitable recognition of his memory is something that all the extremely creepy commenters on here might be interested in taking part in.

He has given this his ok.

It is entirely voluntary, of course. I have set up a PayPal account to accept any kind expressions of support, and I have put in the first $$.

Anonymity is a dicey subject on these intertubes, but I promise you, on my miserable existence, that 1) the aggregate funds will be collected and sent to the DFC and 2) that any identifying information about you that comes along with the donation will go no farther than my pea brain.

The PayPal account is

[email protected]

Thanks, and please spread the word, since this is buried in the comments.

hopefully, lc

[louclinton]

one other thing.. I know PayPay extracts their pound of flesh for every transaction. I chose PP because it is relatively simple and provides some level of privacy. I will make a further contribution at the end to "gross up" the amount to offset the PP charges, so that the full amount you send will go to the DFC.

ps: some off you have already stepped to the plate, so to speak, so thanks.

lc

[Pawsoxpop]

So sorry for your loss HB.

My dad, the real PawsoxPop (he worked 30 years for the Pawsox) passed on in 2006, also afer a long battle with cancer.

My prayers are with you and your family.

[Joe Morley]

Sorry for your loss. I lost my dad to cancer as well. His last night with us was spent in the VA hospital watching the Sox. Sadly, this was before 2004.

[buckner was framed]

surly but laudable?

thanks, lc. virtual check is in the intermail

[Iwojimack]

Hang in there, hb. Our condolences.

[louclinton]

In case you missed it buried in the comments last week:

Hi everyone.

This sentiments on here have been overwhelming.

I was fortunate enough to be able to view the notice of hb's dad passing.

Without saying more, the notice indicated that the family encouraged gifts in his honor to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston.

I have checked off-line with h.b. and suggested that a suitable recognition of his memory is something that all the extremely creepy commenters on here might be interested in taking part in.

He has given this his ok.

It is entirely voluntary, of course. I have set up a PayPal account to accept any kind expressions of support, and I have put in the first $$.

Anonymity is a dicey subject on these intertubes, but I promise you, on my miserable existence, that 1) the aggregate funds will be collected and sent to the DFC and 2) that any identifying information about you that comes along with the donation will go no farther than my pea brain.

The PayPal account is

[email protected]

Thanks, and please spread the word, since this is buried in the comments.

one other thing.. I know PayPay extracts their pound of flesh for every transaction. I chose PP because it is relatively simple and provides some level of privacy. I will make a further contribution at the end to "gross up" the amount to offset the PP charges, so that the full amount you send will go to the DFC.

ps: some off you have already stepped to the plate, so to speak, so thanks.

lc