Before he was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident in April 2023, Jackson Yelle and his father Scott aspired to watch a game together at all 30 MLB ballparks. They made it to 12 at the time of his passing, and this year Scott resolved to finish what they started.
Eighteen parks and less than three months later, that dream has officially come true.
Last Sunday, Scott Yelle completed his whirlwind ballpark tour in Jackson’s honor, catching the Detroit Tigers’ 10-2 home win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park. The last stop came after he’d also seen games in St. Louis and Kansas City the days prior, and in Detroit he was joined by his wife, daughter and several others for the final game.
“It was pretty special,” Yelle said by phone earlier this week. “It was a beautiful day, good to have family and friends around, and the Tigers, as everyone has, continued to make us feel like royalty and treated us really special.”
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MLB notes: Cape Cod father determined to finish ballpark journey he and late son started together
A North Eastham resident and a graduate of Nauset Regional High School, Jackson Yelle was a talented and well-regarded ballplayer who went on to play for the club team at Elon University. A 21-year-old junior, Jackson was with his team in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the time of his accident, and in the weeks that followed his family, friends and college teammates raised money to start what eventually became the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation, a charitable organization they hoped could help support meaningful causes in his memory.
Besides establishing memorial scholarships and supporting Jackson’s former baseball programs, the Yelle family also decided to support MLB’s Nike RBI Program, which aims to provide baseball opportunities to kids in inner city communities. At every stop along the tour Yelle donated $1,000 to that club’s local program, presenting the team with a big check prior to the game.
It wasn’t long before word started getting out.
Shortly after his tour began Yelle’s story started getting picked up by local and national outlets. He became a frequent guest on MLB Network and after a while fans began recognizing him at the ballpark, often thanks to his Elon baseball hat he wore to every game.
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“They’ll say, ‘Hey are you that guy?’ and start a conversation and you get to share the story and they typically want to learn more and offer their condolences and support and inspiration,” Yelle said. “It’s honestly pretty cool. Part of the sheer benefit and joy of the trip is meeting all these new people and it’s part of the therapy for sure.”
Along the way Yelle got to meet numerous baseball legends, including Mike Trout in Anaheim, Freddie Freeman in Los Angeles and Ichiro Suzuki in Seattle.
“There’s definitely some great memories from the trip that I’ll cherish for a long time,” he said.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
The Tigers welcomed Scott Yelle and his family to ballpark No. 30, finishing off the #HonoringJackson Tour.
The Jackson Yelle Family Foundation presented a $1k check for the Detroit Tigers Foundation #NIKERBI athletes‼️ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9PT26aunV1
Beyond making it to all 18 ballparks left on his list, Yelle also hoped to raise money to support the foundation’s efforts. As of this writing the family has raised approximately $28,000, exceeding their initial goal of $25,000, and if they can top $30,000 they hope to make 12 additional $1,000 donations to the Nike RBI Programs affiliated with the MLB clubs Jackson got to visit prior to his accident.
Yelle has also been invited to attend the Nike RBI World Series in Vero Beach, Fla., in August, and once the dust settles he and the family hope to finalize a number of other initiatives in Jackson’s honor.
In the meantime, Yelle is looking forward to what he expects will be a bittersweet but meaningful Father’s Day. The pain of losing Jackson will never fully heal, but this year there will also be a sense of pride that they were able to see his journey through to the end.
“It’s a bit surreal. It’s finally starting to sink in that we accomplished it,” Yelle said. “It’s crazy. Nine months ago it was just an idea, it wasn’t even really formulated, so to be completed, it’s obviously great. I think Jackson would be proud and thrilled at our accomplishment and getting the job done.”
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Anyone interested in supporting the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation can do so by donating at https://jacksonyelle.com/.
Special Father’s Day
This season hasn’t gone the way Garrett Whitlock hoped. The right-hander got off to an outstanding start before missing several weeks due to an oblique injury, and now he’ll sit the rest of the season after undergoing elbow surgery following what was meant to be his last rehab start.
That’s not ideal, but with his first child due to arrive in about a month, Whitlock still has something to look forward to.
“It’s the silver lining for sure knowing I’m going to be there for his birth and I’m going to be around every day, I’m not going to miss any of those moments, that’s huge,” Whitlock said this week. “It’s something I’m really looking forward to in that aspect, obviously it’s not a best case scenario but it’s pretty darn good all things considering.”
Whitlock and his wife Jordan are expecting a baby boy in early July, during a stretch when the Red Sox are scheduled to be in the midst of a week-long, two-city road trip. Many ballplayers who have children during the season face the stressful prospect of rushing home at a moment’s call from some far-flung location to make it back in time when the baby comes, so the fact that Whitlock can plan on avoiding that is a blessing he doesn’t take for granted.
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Beyond that, Whitlock will also have more opportunities to spend time with his growing family once his son arrives. In between his daily rehab work and time spent amongst his teammates, one of his top priorities now will be preparing for the big day.
“Getting excited for sure,” Whitlock said. “Just looking forward to it and getting the home as ready as we can and looking forward to welcoming them in here and seeing what it’s going to be like.”
Whitlock and his family plan to spend the rest of the season in Boston while he rehabs, so Jordan and the baby will never be far away, but that isn’t a luxury all ballplayers get to enjoy. Life in the big leagues often requires significant personal sacrifice, but that also makes the time spent together even more special.
Whitlock got a close look at that side of fatherhood, plus a little preview of what he can expect, when he hosted Connor Wong’s family — including his one-year-old Chandler — for a week in Fort Myers during spring training.
“It was good to lean on him and watch how he did everything,” Whitlock said.
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“It was great to see them, at that point (Chandler) was walking so he was walking around the spring training agility field,” Wong said. “It wasn’t anything crazy really, we’re thankful Garrett let us stay with him and let my family come into town.”
As far as his recovery from elbow surgery, Whitlock still has a long way to go but is making good progress. The next milestone will be getting out of his heavy brace, which has his right arm immobilized and should come off in about five weeks. After that, the hope is still that Whitlock will be able to return to the mound sometime early next season.
“So far so good,” Whitlock said.
Until then, Whitlock hopes to enjoy all the curveballs fatherhood throws his way.
Devers, Houck on All-Star track
Voting is underway for the MLB All-Star Game, and at this stage of the season the Red Sox have a handful of standouts who have emerged as strong contenders to make the American League roster.
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Chief among them is Rafael Devers, who should go toe-to-toe with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez for the starting third base spot. As of this writing Devers leads all qualifying AL third basemen with a .937 OPS and 30 walks, and he also ranks near the top of the leaderboards with 13 home runs, 32 RBI, 13 doubles and even three triples.
Though fans won’t vote on the pitchers, Tanner Houck has clearly put himself in position to earn a spot on the staff, possibly even as the AL’s starter. Houck boasts an 2.08 ERA, ranks second in the AL with 91 innings pitched and has held batters to an exceptional 0.945 walks and hits per innings pitched.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck (89) throws in the first as Sox take on the Tigers in at Fenway on May 31. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
While he probably won’t have a chance to start over Aaron Judge, Juan Soto or Kyle Tucker, Jarren Duran has still built a strong case for himself as a reserve outfielder. Duran has played in every game this season and ranks tied for third among AL outfielders behind Judge and Soto with 3.6 wins above replacement. He also leads the AL with 10 triples, has 15 stolen bases and 20 doubles, and according to Statcast, ranks as both the best baserunner in MLB and as an elite fielder.
Phase 1 of MLB’s All-Star fan vote will run through June 27, at which point the top two vote-getters at each position (top six for outfielders) will advance as finalists to Phase 2, which will run from June 30 to July 3 and determine the game’s starters. Fans can vote at https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot.
Keegan, Seymour soar
Two locals are making some noise with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Double-A affiliate.
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Methuen’s Dom Keegan, a former Central Catholic star, came into Friday batting .285 with five home runs, 31 RBI and an .814 OPS for the Montgomery Biscuits. Meanwhile, Ian Seymour, a former Saint John’s (Shrewsbury) standout from Westborough, came into the weekend with a 5-2 record, a 2.16 ERA and 77 strikeouts over his first 66.2 innings.
Keegan and Seymour rank as the Rays’ No. 5 and 18 prospects, respectively, according to MLB Pipeline.
Some other notable local performers: Rowley’s Thomas White, a former Phillips Andover great now in the Miami Marlins system, was recently promoted to High-A. In his first two starts with the Beloit Sky Carp he’s struck out 14 batters over 8.1 innings while posting a 2.16 ERA. … Former Northeastern University aces Cam Schlittler and Sebastian Keane are both off to strong starts with the Yankees’ High-A affiliate. Schlittler, a former Walpole star, has a 2.15 ERA through his first 10 starts, and Keane, of North Andover, has a 4.85 ERA through his first 11 starts.
Seven Boston parks will get an infusion of local beer, food, music, and art this summer in a mobile beer garden series starting in South Boston this week.
Hyde Park’s Roundhead Brewing Co. is partnering with Fresh Food Generation, a farm-to-plate Caribbean American restaurant and food truck in Dorchester, on the beer gardens. It’s a series they’re calling “Alianza,” or alliance, speaking to Roundhead cofounder Craig Panzer’s desire to unite folks from different Boston neighborhoods. As BIPOC business owners in the city, Panzer and Fresh Food Generation CEO Cassandria Campbell do more than talk about representing all Bostonians.
“Roundhead is all about building community, and we are darn proud of our place and neighborhood in Hyde Park,” says Panzer. “The mobile beer garden is the perfect opportunity for us to continue doing what we’re doing.”
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The rotating beer gardens are structured as follows: At each location, Alianza will operate from Wednesday to Sunday for two consecutive weeks, before traveling to the next neighborhood park. The South Boston beer garden opened June 19 and operates Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
Those unfamiliar with Roundhead’s beer offerings should expect brews inspired by the founders’ Peruvian heritage, including a cherry rosemary saison and a Peruvian red ale brewed with purple corn.Courtesy of Roundhead Brewing
Fresh Food Generation’s Campbell says that “every two weeks, not only will the location change, but we will be featuring a new menu item in honor of each neighborhood.” The company’s typical dishes combine New England ingredients with Caribbean flavors for mains like jerk chicken and sides like Haitian beet salad. Campbell says that in addition to food and beer, each beer garden will reserve space for local artists and musicians.
Those unfamiliar with Roundhead’s beer offerings should expect brews inspired by the founders’ Peruvian heritage, including a cherry rosemary saison and a Peruvian red ale brewed with purple corn.
“Roundhead is designed as the smallest brewery in Boston for a reason — so we can constantly rotate in fresh batches, and new recipes,” says Panzer.
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Introducing craft beer to groups who might not have been familiar with it before has been rewarding, says Panzer.
“People who come to Roundhead in Hyde Park are curious,” he says. “That’s what happens when you intentionally bring different cultures to the customer’s brewery experience.”
The seven beer garden locations were chosen by the city. Future beer garden neighborhood locations, in order, are in the Fenway, East Boston, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, and Brighton. For more details, go to roundheadbrewing.com/alianza-park-series.
Get Summer Salad Club
A six-week series featuring salad recipes, tips, toppings, and tricks for keeping your kitchen cool and your mood light as the temps heat up.
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Gary Dzen can be reached at gary.dzen@globe.com.Follow him @garydzen.
An absolute stunner of a day is on tap Tuesday as a strengthening low-pressure system accelerates away from New England while quickly helping pull in high pressure to set up a great day across Boston. It will be a little hotter than usual, though, with highs in the upper 80s with a chance to hit 90.
High pressure builds across the Northeast Tuesday, setting up a beautiful day.Boston Globe
You can expect mostly clear skies with sinking air keeping cloud coverage at bay. And you’ll quickly notice the air being quite comfortable when you step out the door.
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This airmass will pack some welcomed dry air as high pressure builds, marking the first day since June 16 that dew points are below 60 degrees.
Dew points will drop to the 50s across Boston, welcoming the driest air in the past week.Boston Globe
Typically, you expect cooler temps with a passing cold front, especially with air coming from the northwest. However, a pocket of warm air aloft will sink to the surface with this setup — combine that with plenty of clear skies for maximum sunshine, then you’re looking at temperatures reaching the upper 80s today.
Much of the day will stay clear with clouds building late.Boston Globe
The winds should stick below 10 miles per hour for much of the day and slowly shift from the northwest to the west, keeping the dry, comfortable air funneling across the region through sunset.
Wind will mostly stay around 10 mph from the north and west.Boston Globe
A quick change in patterns will introduce an even warmer day on Wednesday, with the chance to break 90 degrees across Boston, as another system approaches from the west and reintroduces a southwesterly flow. There’s a chance for evening showers and thunderstorms after a mostly dry day.
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A severe thunderstorm risk should stay west of New England on Wednesday.Boston Globe
Tuesday’s breakdown
Southern New England: Much of the area will see mostly sunny skies with temperatures ranging between the mid- and upper-80s. Dew points will improve and drop mostly into the 50s. Clouds will begin to build late, but the day should remain dry.
Western Mass.: Temperatures still settle in the mid-80s across the Berkshires but jump to near 90 across the Pioneer Valley and into central Connecticut. Mostly sunny skies will turn to partly cloudy with dew points improving to the mid-50s.
Cape and Islands: Temperatures will likely come close or slightly exceed 80 degrees with mostly sunny skies. A breeze will stick around to 15 mph with dew points hovering around 60.
Northern New England: A mostly sunny day with clouds building throughout the afternoon. Temperatures will likely settle in the mid-80s with the chance for evening showers across Vermont while New Hampshire and Maine stay dry.
Regional highs across New England.Boston Globe
Ken Mahan can be reached at ken.mahan@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.
Over the past few years games like Monday night rarely had a happy ending, and when the Red Sox blew a late lead and allowed five runs with two outs in the top of the seventh, a disappointing loss felt inevitable. But rather than roll over, the Red Sox fought back, and with the NBA champions looking on the young ballclub pulled out arguably its signature win of the season.
Trailing by four runs entering the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox rallied late to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 on a walk-off single by Jarren Duran. Along the way David Hamilton hit a two-run home run and Romy Gonzalez hit a game-tying two-run single in the eighth, and in the bottom of the ninth Ceddanne Rafaela drew an error and advanced into scoring position on a balk, setting the stage for Duran’s heroics.
“That was my first walk-off so I’d have to put it at the top,” said Duran when asked where the win ranked this season. “I think that was a really good team win. We went down and we fought back, we never gave up and I’m so proud of this team, we did everything right today and we just kept it really simple and kept it rolling.”
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Coming into the day the Red Sox already had plenty of momentum with nine wins in their last 11 games, and Monday got off to a special start when the Boston Celtics visited the clubhouse shortly before first pitch, showing off the Larry O’Brien Trophy and talking up their crosstown counterparts.
The Celtics threw out the ceremonial first pitch and appeared several times on the jumbotron in the late innings to help rally the crowd, and following the game several Red Sox players said the Celtics’ involvement was awesome and inspiring.
“It’s crazy to see like, you get lost in the fact that we cheer for the Celtics but you don’t see them cheering for you because they’re doing their job and we’re doing our job,” Duran said. “To see them come over here and say hi, know your name, ‘oh we’re big fans,’ guys were like ‘woah you guys watch us?’”
“It was incredible, just with the Celtics being here and celebrating their finals win, it was amazing,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve never really been a part of something like this so hopefully we can keep this thing rolling.”
Yet between meeting the Celtics and the thrilling finale, the game started off as a straightforward pitchers duel.
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Tanner Houck, who at this point is looking like an All-Star lock, was outstanding. The right-hander retired the first nine men he faced and sent the Blue Jays down 1-2-3 in four separate innings. He allowed an RBI single to Justin Turner in the fourth but escaped without further incident after drawing an inning-ending double play, and in the sixth he picked up two quick outs before escaping another jam. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, a Guerrero double and a Turner walk, but Houck forced George Springer to fly out to end the threat.
At that point the Red Sox led 2-1 thanks to mammoth two-run home run by Rafael Devers in the fourth, who smashed a slow Chris Bassitt curveball 443 feet into the right field bleachers. But in the top of the seventh Toronto got the leadoff man on after catcher Reese McGuire was called for catcher’s interference, and that soon proved costly.
Houck got a strikeout and drew a groundout to bring up two outs again, but the groundout also moved Addison Barger into scoring position, and Kevin Kiermaier capitalized by delivering a game-tying RBI single. That forced Houck from the game, and in his place manager Alex Cora summoned Isaiah Campbell, who had been called up from Triple-A hours earlier.
Campbell’s return to the majors did not go as planned.
The right-hander quickly allowed the go-ahead RBI single to Spencer Horwitz, and then Guerrero crushed the first pitch he saw clear over the Green Monster, a 471-foot rocket that according to Statcast was the fourth longest home run hit in the majors this season.
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That was a three-run shot, and in the blink of an eye Toronto led 6-2. Houck was now on the hook for the loss despite having allowed three runs over 6.2 strong innings.
Not helping matters was Boston’s punchless offensive performance against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt. The veteran righty allowed two runs over seven innings, giving up five hits and one walk while striking out two, and outside of Devers’ home run Boston only managed four singles.
Fortunately Toronto’s bullpen has been among the worst in baseball this season, and once Bassitt was gone the Red Sox made their push.
Trailing by four in the eighth, Duran skied an infield popup that the Blue Jays infield lost and allowed to fall in for what was ruled a double. Then Hamilton ripped a two-run home run to right-field, cutting the deficit in half and making it 6-4 Blue Jays. Then Devers singled and Tyler O’Neill doubled to put the tying run in scoring position, and the Blue Jays intentionally walked Rob Refsnyder to load the bases.
Following a raucous pitching change that featured a lengthy appearance by the Celtics on the big board, pinch hitter Romy Gonzalez stepped to the plate and hit the first pitch he saw from Blue Jays reliever Zach Pop for a two-run single, tying the game at 6-6.
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Kenley Jansen came on and shut the Blue Jays down in the top of the ninth, getting a hand from catcher Tyler Heineman after the recent Triple-A call-up caught pinch runner Steward Berroa stealing, and from there Rafaela and Duran took care of the rest to send the fans home happy.
Following the game Cora said the win was the team’s biggest of the season, and that the crowd atmosphere was probably the best he’s seen at Fenway Park since 2021.
“Today was loud, they were locked in, they stayed all the way to the end and I think it was a great night at Fenway,” Cora said. “I know the boys had fun today.”
The Red Sox (43-36) now have a chance to clinch their fifth straight series victory, while Toronto (35-42) has now lost seven straight and is sinking deeper into the AL East abyss. Brayan Bello (7-4, 4.83) is slated to take the mound against Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (5-6, 4.24).
