An offbeat dash of history was jotted into the Red Sox scrapbook on the night of May 15, 1998. In the bottom of the second inning of Boston’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals, a local kid, Framingham’s Lou Merloni, batting at Fenway Park for the first time in his brief major-league career, socked a three-run homer off lefty Jose Rosado.
The dash of history? By taking Rosado over the Monster, Merloni became the third Italian-American who was born and raised in the Boston area to hit a home run in his first Fenway Park at-bat. The others: Eddie Pellagrini (1946) and Tony Conigliaro (1964).
OK, in the annals of Red Sox history, it’s not exactly Ted Williams hitting .406, or Roger Clemens registering two 20-strikeout games. Besides, there was some for-real history made that night, even if nobody knew it at the time: future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, finishing out his career via a one-season cameo with the Red Sox, recorded a save in Boston’s 5-2 victory. It was the 390th — and last — save of Eckersley’s brilliant career.
But I have my own reasons for remembering that game.
It was Lou Merloni’s parents — Louis E. Merloni and his wife, Sandra — who stand out in my memory. I had ventured down to the grandstand behind home plate that night to get…
