Remy and Eck: a match made in heaven

Let me first start by stating the obvious: like any true Red Sox fan, I have endless love for Jerry Remy, and I wish him the speediest of recoveries as he fights his most recent health issues.

I love the dynamic duo of RemDawg and Don Orsillo, and their voices have been the soundtrack to my summers for a long time (along with the dulcet tones of Joe Castiglione, on occasions when I am away from the TV). But I have a confession to make.

I LOVE the games when Dennis Eckersley ends up in the booth with Don. Eck is full of hilarious slang to go along with his pitching know-how and awesome mustache that's been unchanged since the mid-1970s.

There are some interesting parallels between Remy and Eckersley, the most obvious being that they were Red Sox teammates for about six seasons. Though their styles are somewhat different in the booth, they both have tons of baseball knowledge and anecdotes (albeit their specialties differ), and they're both prone to fits of silliness.

I guess what I'm saying is that I want to see a three-man booth. I know NESN likes to have Eck doing pre- and post-game content, but all I want out of life is to watch a Red Sox game and hear the inevitable hilarity of Don, Remy, and Eck describing the action. I want to hear the best clubhouse antics from their days sharing a clubhouse, and most of all I want to know the details of the time that they both modeled for Playgirl.

Make it happen, NESN.

Jerry Remy: Playgirl model

If any of you are regulars over at Baseball Prospectus, you've probably seen today's Baseball ProGUESTus feature, Michael Clair's "Dollar Sign on the Glistening Muscle: Scouting Ballplayers in 1980s Playgirl."

That's right, in the golden decade of the 1980s, Playgirl magazine did a spread of Major Leaguers, and two of Red Sox Nation's favorite NESN personalities were part of it.

None other than Jerry Remy posed in a bathing suit for Playgirl, in all of his 80s glory. You're welcome. If you feel the need to own this piece of history (and see Dennis Eckersley in a similar pose) the July 1984 issue can be yours for under $18, and in addition to Remy and Eckersley, you'll get to see George Brett, Rickey Henderson, Steve Sax, Joel Youngblood, Mike Heath, Tom O'Malley, and more.

Cast of Characters

This morning, as I was wasting my life away on the internet, I came across the following Tweet:

Jerry_Remy Someone just told me that #RedSox lack personality-they're all just "nice guys"-no Mannys,no Millars, no Damons--what do you think?-Jerry

First off, for those of you wondering, that is in fact the REAL Jerry Remy... Follow him! Secondly, whoever told him that the Sox lack personality was clearly crazy. Immediately, people starting replying, listing off current players with "personality," and it got me thinking about the different types of characters in the Red Sox clubhouse, and how well they've gelled for the past few years.

Let's start with Timmy Wakefield, the elder statesman. Wake does more for charity than any other member of the team, and is universally respected throughout the game for his hard-work and perseverance.

Lester was forced to grow up quickly, and though he's pretty reserved, you've got to believe that when he speaks, people listen. Also, he isn't too cool to walk around Fort Myers with a glove on his head. Personality points for him!

Yes, this is Josh Beckett with a puppy. The fiery righty EXUDES personality... Sure, he might utter some *baseball terms* to thick-headed members of the media (I'm looking at you, Heidi Watney), but his heart is definitely in the right place.

Tell me again how this team has no personality? David Ortiz has arguably the biggest personality in the game, to go along with the biggest grin. He hasn't clowned around as much publicly since the departure of his partner in crime, Manny Ramirez, but he's still a presence in the clubhouse.

Now, I've never seen much of new center fielder Mike Cameron, but he's been a member of several notoriously tight ballclubs, and is cited over and over as a favorite on and off the field for his leadership.

On October 2, 2009 Jonathan Papelbon told the Globe's Amalie Benjamin "to put the fact that he's a sheriff in Mississippi into a story. Also called himself Lord CincoOcho. Seriously." Yeah, Paps has no personality... his bullpen cohorts must be bored to tears.

According to Ian Brown, Youkilis has a quick wit about him as well.: "'This is what brings teams together. Bad haircuts.' -Kevin Youkilis, as a mob of teammates surround [Nick] Green in the bathroom. (Via Twitter, Sept. 12, 2009). The first baseman even has a Twitter page devoted to his facial hair.

Okay, okay... I saved my favorite for last. But how could you argue that a team with this guy on it has no personality? According to Joe Haggerty, "Dustin Pedroia was rocking a GI Joe T-shirt [presumably the same one in the photo] in the clubhouse, and yelled at Ortiz: 'That's right. I am a Real American Hero.'" He also reportedly told Amalie Benjamin that Curt Schilling's contribution to the US Senate would be "Probably a big appetite."