Are you ready for some baseball? Probably not. With the Red Sox disappointing season barely behind us, we are just 177 days out from the team opening its 2020 campaign in Toronto. There will be no World Series 2019 trophy tour in New Hampshire. That said, I had a chance to see the 2018 Tiffany and Company Sox trophy a week ago, as I emceed the Manchester Police Athletic League’s fund-raising ball. The cost of the delicate-looking baseball championship prize is $19,000, compared to football’s Lombardi trophy at $50,000.

It fell upon my shoulders to announce two rules for those wishing to have their photo taken with the hardware. First, do not touch the trophy. Secondly, do not place your beverage on the same table with it. A Red Sox security person stands guard next to the trophy, making sure no one soils it. Why?

If it needs to be cleaned, only Tiffany can restore its luster. That takes up to two weeks, which means trophy visits might be missed while it is in the shop.

“Do a lot of people pretend like they’re going to touch the trophy?” I asked security guy, Alex.

“Some have,” he nodded. Brute force is rarely needed at these appearances. “I work security in the bleachers at Fenway. I’ve seen worse,” Alex added. He’s patrolled the Fenway bleacher creatures for the last several seasons.

“So, tell me,” I asked. “Do you ever have to lug all four recent World Series trophies to the same place?”

“Sometimes. We put them (each in a bag) in my car and buckle them in with seat belts.”

What? I had to know one more thing. “What happens if you get pulled over for whatever and the cop asks, what’s in the bags that are belted in?”

“That’s never happened, but it might be the best way ever getting out of getting a ticket,” he smirked. Alex lives in Milton, Massachusetts, and was kind enough to lend me his World Series ring to wear for my photo opportunity with the 2018 trophy.

The 2018 trophy had to report to the Tiffany collision shop following the downtown Duck Boat tour last October. A well-intention fan launched a can of beer that hit the trophy, nearly taking out a couple of the sterling silver pennants. Of course, nothing beats the Rob Gronkowski incident of using the Lombardi trophy as a Louisville Slugger for batting practice when the Pats brought their 2019 Super Bowl hardware to Fenway on opening day. Last I heard, the dent remains.

After the Duck Boat episode, the World Series trophy visited manager Alex Cora’s home land of Puerto Rico. It then, eventually landed at Bruins, Celtics and Patriots games. Those teams each won their respective games on the day the trophy visited their sites. In past years, the Red Sox took the trophy to Girls Inc., Greater Nashua Little League and Jordan’s.

The year 2019 was not kind to the Sox. I’m chalking it up to the curse of the Gronkowski.

Contact Mike Morin at mike morinmedia@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @MikeMorinMedia. His column runs the first, third and fifth Tuesdays of the month.

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