Jerry Remy

Gerald Peter Remy (November 8, 1952 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster.

Gerald Peter Remy was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on November 8, 1952, and grew up in nearby Somerset.

He attended Somerset High School and Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island.

He was of French Canadian descent.

Remy was selected by the Washington Senators in the 19th round of the 1970 MLB draft, but he did not sign.

He was then selected in the 8th round of the January supplemental phase of the 1971 MLB draft (129th overall) by the California Angels, and signed with the team.

Remy played four seasons in the Angels' farm system: 1971 with the rookie league Magic Valley Cowboys, 1972 with the Class A Stockton Ports, 1973 with the Class A Quad City Angels (.335, 4 home runs and 36 RBI in 117 games), and 1974 with Double-A El Paso Diablos and the Triple-A Salt Lake City Angels, where he hit a combined .323 with 4 home runs and 67 RBI.

Overall, Remy appeared in 421 games in Minor League Baseball, batting .275 with 12 home runs and 152 RBIs.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (1975–1977) and seven with the Boston Red Sox (1978–1984).

After retiring from professional play, Remy was a color commentator for televised Red Sox games for 33 years until his death.

Remy made his major league debut with the Angels on April 7, 1975.

He hit a single off of Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals in his first at bat and was subsequently picked off.

With the 1975 Angels, Remy played 147 games (145 starts) as the Angels' second baseman, batting .258 with one home run and 46 RBIs.

He had 34 stolen bases, but was caught stealing a league-leading 21 times.

The following year, his average rose slightly to .263, although with no home runs and 28 RBIs.

In 1977, he had a career-high four home runs, along with a .252 average and 44 RBIs; he was named team captain of the Angels in June, becoming only the second captain in the team's history.

Overall, in three seasons with the Angels, Remy played in 444 games, batting .258 with five home runs, 118 RBIs, and 110 stolen bases.

On December 8, 1977, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Don Aase and cash considerations.

Remy was the Red Sox's starting second baseman in 1978 and was selected for the MLB All-Star Game, although he did not play in the game.

Overall, with the 1978 Red Sox, he batted .278 with 44 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 148 games.

He also had two home runs, the last ones of his career.

In the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game against the New York Yankees, Remy was on base in the ninth inning when Carl Yastrzemski made the final out; it was the closest Remy came to the postseason in his MLB career.

Remy continued as Boston's starting second baseman for the next six seasons, although he was often hampered by injuries.

In 1979, he played in 80 games and batted .297.

In 1980, he batted a career-high .313 but was limited to 63 games; he also appeared in the outfield for the only time in his career, playing the ninth inning in right field during a May loss to the Cleveland Indians.

In 1981, Remy played in 88 games while batting .307.

On September 3–4, 1981, he accomplished the rare feat of collecting six hits in a game, going 6-for-10 in a 20-inning game against the Seattle Mariners.

In 1982, Remy appeared in a career-high 155 games while batting .280; in 1983, he batted .275 while playing in 146 games.

In 1984, a knee injury limited him to 30 games for the season, during which he batted .250; he made his final start at second base on May 5, and his final MLB appearance on May 18 when he flied out as a pinch hitter.

Remy was released by the Red Sox on December 10, 1985, and he retired during spring training in 1986.

Overall, in seven seasons with the Red Sox, Remy played in 710 games, batting .286 with two home runs, 211 RBIs, and 98 stolen bases.

During his ten-year MLB career, Remy batted .275 with seven home runs, 329 RBIs, and 208 stolen bases in 1154 games.

Defensively, he had a .981 fielding percentage.

Remy began commentating with the cable channel New England Sports Network (NESN) in 1988, and later expanded to over-the-air television in 1995.

A native of Somerset, Massachusetts, Remy was a popular local figure, known for his exuberance, humorous non-sequitur game commentary, and thick New England accent that endeared him with Red Sox fans.

After 1988, Remy found success in broadcasting, working for the New England Sports Network (NESN), as the regular color commentator for NESN's Red Sox broadcasts.

Initially paired with Ned Martin through 1992 and Bob Kurtz from 1993–2000, from 2001 through the end of the 2015 season, he teamed with play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo; starting with the 2016 season, Remy worked with Dave O'Brien.

Bill James, in his Historical Abstract, rated Remy as the 100th greatest second baseman of all time as of 2001.

He was given the nickname "RemDawg" and was elected "President" of Red Sox Nation in 2007.

Remy also owned restaurants in the Boston area, and wrote books about baseball.