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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Can't stop the music: Boston Red Sox organist enjoys home run

Can't stop the music: Boston Red Sox organist enjoys home run

Published Apr 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Agence France-Presse Even though the American baseball season has been suspended, Boston's Fenway Park organist is still churning out the tunes. (FILES) In this file photo taken on April 01, 2020 the Red Sox logo is seen outside of Fenway Park on what would have been the home opening day for the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox in Boston, Massachusetts. In response to the pandemic, Major League Baseball suspended the remainder of Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season. - Even though the American baseball season has been suspended, Boston's Fenway Park organist is still churning out the tunes. Josh Kantor decided on a whim to conduct a virtual In this file photo taken on April 01, 2020, the Red Sox logo is seen outside of Fenway Park on what would have been the home opening day for the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP) Josh Kantor decided on a whim to conduct a virtual "seventh-inning stretch" musical performance from his living room on what was supposed to be Major League Baseball's opening day. He received almost 100 requests on the first day and so has decided to incorporate it into his daily routine. "I expected to get maybe one or two requests," said Kantor, who wears his Red Sox jersey and cap while performing, told the Boston Globe. "I went for over an hour." Kantor usually performs from his lofty perch at the historic Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. But in late March the season was suspended because of the worldwide Covid-19 epidemic which has so far killed 113,000 Americans, including over 680 people in Massachusetts. "This is a tiny thing that I can do to have that joy of spring be a little bit present for me and for whoever is interested in tuning in," Kantor said. "Whoever wants to request a song and have me try to play it and hopefully not butcher it too badly." Kantor, who has spent 17 years on the job, is now pledging to continue the "Seventh-Inning Stretch" as he calls his 30-minute show, until baseball is back. Kantor has been inundated with goodwill messages from fans, including his childhood piano teacher, Dera Weaver. "I was definitely a little embarrassed and self-conscious, like, 'Oh, my god, the teacher's watching. I hope I don't make any mistakes'."
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