Tim Wakefield once handed Methuen's Jason Larocque $500 cash to use for dinner.
That type of generosity was normal; it's how the Red Sox operated.
"They take care of everyone who has a hand in helping make them successful," said Larocque, Boston's bullpen catcher in 2005 and 2006.
That's why yesterday's gesture didn't surprise Larocque.
Before their final spring training game in Florida, the Red Sox threatened a boycott of the team's trip to Japan. They wouldn't step onto the field for the exhibition game against the Blue Jays until the matter was settled either. In the players' eyes, the coaching staff wouldn't be properly compensated.
According to an Associated Press report, the players insisted that their coaches receive $40,000 appearance fees for the trip, matching the players' deal. After talks between the Red Sox, the Athletics and Major League Baseball, the sides reached an agreement.
According to the report, MLB agreed to pay the managers, coaches and trainers $20,000 each. The Red Sox agreed to make up the difference and to also pay other team personnel making the trip.
"They're a very tight-knit group," Larocque, now the baseball coach at Washington D.C's St. Albans School, said of the players. "Anything they can do to help people they can trust, they'll do it."
Larocque experienced the generosity on several occasions.
Once, on his birthday, the Sox pitching staff took care of his dinner reservations and his four-person party's $600 bill. Then, before a series against the Mets in 2006, the pitchers gave him an even better gift: A new Ford F-150 pickup.
"It made me feel very proud of my accomplishments, very proud of my contributions," said Larocque, who played baseball at Central Catholic and Harvard University. "It was a symbol of their appreciation."
Larocque's job wasn't glamorous. Tips and playoff shares included, he estimates he took home about $50,000 to $60,000 per season. His base salary was $25,000.
"It ended up being a comfortable living," he said. "But by no means could I retire on it."
Many coaches, he added, make six-figure salaries. Still, it's not even close to what the players pocket.
"Anything (the players) can do to try to help them out," Larocque said, "they will."
Holly Vietzke, an assistant professor and director of writing and legal reasoning at Massachusetts School of Law in Andover, was taken aback by the proposed boycott.
"It's surprising that the players would go to that length to support their coaches," said Vietzke, who teaches a sports management class.
Their tactics, she said, weren't anything complicated. Unity goes a long way.
"I think it's a team more of a solidarity approach," Vietzke said.
Larocque is enjoying his time at St. Albans, whose list of distinguished alumni includes Al Gore. This week, he's on a spring break trip in Florida with his team.
The warm weather is nice, but baseball reminds him of his time with the Red Sox. He misses the clubhouse camaraderie.
"Spring training fever," as Larocque called it, is hard to shake.
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