BOSTON — Boston Red Sox star pitcher Josh Beckett will throw strikes of a different kind on August 29, when he trades in his cleats for bowling shoes at his fifth-annual Beckett Bowl, a celebrity-studded bowling tournament at Lucky Strike Lanes in Boston benefiting Children’s Hospital Boston, the nation’s top pediatric hospital.

Beckett Bowl features an impressive lineup of athletes and celebrities joining local corporations and individuals who will bowl to raise funds for children in need. The roster of VIPs will include current and past Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, and New England Revolution players, along with actors, comedians, musicians and celebrity chefs with New England ties.

Local corporations and philanthropic individuals are invited to sponsor four-person bowling teams for the event. Each team will be joined by a celebrity teammate and will compete for unique prize packages. For information on sponsoring a team, please call 617.338.2766 or visit http://www.joshbeckettfoundation.org. A limited number of tickets to attend the event are available for $250 by emailing events@ammteam.com.

Beckett Bowl has continuously attracted some of Boston’s top professional athletes and celebrities, including Beckett’s Red Sox teammates Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield; HBO’s Entourage star Adrian Grenier; performer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of legendary hip-hop trio Run DMC; stand-up comedian, actor, stuntman and performer Verne Troyer (aka “Mini-Me”); country music stars Pat Green and Jason Aldean; Boston Celtics 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce and teammate Glen “Big Baby” Davis; Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins; current and former New England Patriots Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Adalius Thomas and Steve Gostkowski; New England Revolution stars Matt Reis and Taylor Twellman; and many more.

“We’re thrilled by the tremendous support we’ve received from the local sports and business community,” said Beckett. “As a result of everyone’s tireless efforts, we’ve raised funds that have made a positive impact on the lives of kids served by Children’s Hospital Boston. This is something that’s close to my heart and a cause I truly believe in. Any time you can touch other people’s lives, your life ends up being touched just the same.”

The annual fundraiser is organized by The Josh Beckett Foundation, which supports community-based programs that improve the health and well-being of children, especially those who are seriously ill, disabled, poor, or otherwise disadvantaged. Since its inception, the Josh Beckett Foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Children’s Hospital Boston from the proceeds of the Beckett Bowl. Monies from these efforts facilitated the 2009 opening of The Josh Beckett Cancer Treatment Room at Children’s Hospital Boston which features a miniature Fenway Park scene, giving patients the opportunity to cherish a ballpark-like atmosphere.

“Thanks to the support and dedication of Josh Beckett and everyone at the Josh Beckett Foundation, Beckett Bowl has been throwing strikes for the nation’s top pediatric hospital since 2007,” said Children’s Hospital Boston CEO James Mandell, MD. “Support from generous individuals like Josh allows us to address the hospital’s most critical needs and essential programs including our cutting edge cancer care and research center.”

The Josh Beckett Foundation is also hosting the Beckett Bowl Ultimate Jeep Raffle presented by AFTER FX CUSTOMS, where fans will have a chance to win prizes including an authentic jersey autographed by Beckett and two “Monster Seat” tickets to the Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays game on September 17. One Grand Prize winner will drive away in a 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 4-Door, fully customized by AFTER FX CUSTOMS, including: full JL audio sound system with Alpine DVD/navigation head unit, 20-inch KMC wheels with Nitto tires, multiple exterior upgrades, and much more. Winners will be drawn at Beckett Bowl. Fans can purchase $100 raffle tickets for the Beckett Bowl Ultimate Jeep Raffle at http://www.joshbeckettfoundation.org.

Computer World, After FX Customs, Liberty Bay Credit Union, Reebok, Cooley LLP, ProPrint, Improper Bostonian, NESN-TV, and WAAF-FM among others, are working with the Foundation in support of Beckett Bowl.

About The Josh Beckett Foundation

The Josh Beckett Foundation is a charitable organization established in 2007 by Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett to support community-based programs that strive to improve the health and well-being of children, especially children that are seriously ill, disabled, poor, or otherwise disadvantaged. The Foundation provides Beckett with an opportunity to have a direct and permanent impact on the lives of children throughout New England.

About Children’s Hospital Boston

Children’s Hospital Boston is the nation’s top pediatric hospital, ranked first in more specialties than any other, and the only one in the top three for all 10 areas rated (US News and World Report Best Children’s Hospitals 2011). We’re number one in: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, kidney disease, orthopedics, and urology. Learn more at http://www.childrenshospital.org/usnews.

In 2009, Children’s Hospital Boston unveiled the Josh Beckett Cancer Treatment Room which features Boston Red Sox imagery including Beckett and his teammates, crowd scenes and the historic Fenway Park sign.

Contacts

Keith Gainsboro, Elevate Communications, 617-861-3650, keith@elevatecom.com
Colleen White, Elevate Communications, 617-861-3679, cwhite@elevatecom.com
Katie Largay Dean, Children’s Hospital Trust, 857-218-3193, Katie.dean@chtrust.org

Tags: Children's Hospital, Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Tim Wakefield

With great anticipation, the Boston Red Sox will open the 2011 season this afternoon at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington against the 2010 American League Champion Texas Rangers.  The revamped Sox, who last season missed the playoffs for only the second time under manager Terry Francona, have the baseball world abuzz as they are considered the pre-season favorite by many, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sportsline, FOX Sports, and The Hardball Times, to win the World Series this fall.

The Opening Day lineup includes two of the newest Red Sox players, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and left fielder Carl Crawford, as well as several familiar faces, including second baseman Dustin Pedroia, third baseman Kevin Youkilis, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, and designated hitter David Ortiz.  On the mound will be Jon Lester, who is another pre-season media favorite as the 2011 Cy Young Award winner.

Here is the complete Opening Day roster for Boston (asterisk denotes Opening Day starters):

Starting Pitchers: Lester*, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka

Relief Pitchers: Matt Albers, Daniel Bard, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Papelbon, Dennys Reyes, Tim Wakefield, Dan Wheeler

Catchers: Jarrod Saltalamacchia*, Jason Varitek

Infielders: Gonzalez*, Jed Lowrie, Pedroia*, Marco Scutaro*, Youkilis*

Outfielders: Mike Cameron*, Crawford*, J.D. Drew, Ellsbury*, Darnell McDonald

Designated Hitter: Ortiz*

Tags: Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dan Wheeler, Daniel Bard, Darnell McDonald, David Ortiz, Dennys Reyes, Dustin Pedroia, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jason Varitek, Jed Lowrie, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Marco Scutaro, Matt Albers, Mike Cameron, Terry Francona, Tim Wakefield

Baseball’s Cy Young Award was first introduced by MLB Commissioner Ford Frick in 1956 following the death of former Red Sox player and Hall of Fame pitcher Denton True “Cy” Young, who amassed 511 wins during his 22-year career, in 1955. Initially, it was given to a single pitcher chosen from the major leagues; in 1967, the new commissioner of baseball, William Eckert, announced that winners from each league, the American and the National, would be chosen.

In 53 years, three Red Sox pitchers have won a total of six awards; Jim Lonborg, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez. Lonborg was not only the first Boston pitcher to receive the honor, but he was the first pitcher honored by American league voters when the award was split between the leagues in 1967. Clemens won the first of seven total awards in 1986 and repeated as the honoree in 1987, the first since Baltimore’s Jim Palmer won back-to-back awards in 1975 and 1976. Clemens would win one more with the club in 1991 before winning four more as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays (1997 and 1998), New York Yankees (2001), and Houston Astros (2004). Martinez is the only other pitcher in franchise history to win the honor; he won in 1999 and 2000, considered two of the best seasons by a pitcher in modern baseball history, after winning the award with Montreal in 1997.

Red Sox pitchers have also finished twice in five separate votes. In 1990, Clemens finished with a 22-7 record, a 1.93 ERA, and 209 strikeouts, but lost to Oakland’s Bob Welch, who despite winning 27 games finished with an ERA+ nearly half that of Clemens. Martinez also finished twice in the vote during his Red Sox tenure, once in 1998 when he finished second to Clemens, then playing in Toronto, and again in 2002 when Oakland’s Barry Zito won the award. In 2004, Curt Schilling finished his first season in Boston with 21 wins, but was easily bested by Minnesota’s Johan Santana, who finished with a lower ERA and a higher strikeout total.

Most recently, Cleveland’s CC Sabathia finished 2007 with near-identical numbers (19-7, 3.21 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 209 SO, 143 ERA+) to Boston’s Josh Beckett (20-7, 3.27 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 194 SO, 145 ERA+); the latter then went 4-0 in four starts during the 2007 postseason, while the former went 1-2 in the playoffs, with both loses coming against the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. However, as voting takes place before the postseason starts, Sabathia was named the winner with 19 first-place votes to eight for Beckett.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Curt Schilling, Cy Young, Jim Lonborg, Josh Beckett, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens

Down three games to one against Cleveland, the Boston Red Sox stormed back by outscoring the Indians 30-5 over the last three games of the series to win the American League Championship in seven games and give the club its second AL pennant in four years. Series MVP and Red Sox ace pitcher Josh Beckett got the comeback started last Thursday, going eight strong and giving up just one run on five hits while striking out 11, while first baseman Kevin Youkilis opened the game with a solo home run and drove home two more runs in an impressive 7-1 win. Then, in Game Six, outfielder J.D. Drew redeemed himself from a sub-par first season in Boston by hitting a crowd-pleasing grand slam with two outs in the opening frame; the Red Sox never looked back, scoring seven runs off Fuasto Carmona in two-plus innings of work to easily win 12-2 and even the series at three games each.

In the deciding Game Seven Sunday night, Boston took a quick 3-0 lead after three but led by just one run in the seventh. Cleveland appeared to have a shot at tying the score with runners at first and third with one out but, after speedy Indians outfielder Kenny Loften was held by third-base coach Joel Skinner on what seemed like a guaranteed run-producing single by Franklin Gutierrez, Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima, in relief of start Daisuke Matsuzaka, got third baseman Casey Blake to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat. Rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia then hit a two-run shot off reliever Rafael Betancourt in the bottom of the frame and helped blow the game open in the eighth with a bases-clearing double as the Red Sox took the final game by a score of 11-2. Boston now faces the National League champion Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series, beginning with Game One Wednesday night at Fenway Park, with a shot at winning its second title in four years after going 86 years between championships.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Josh Beckett, pennant, post-season, World Series

Thanks to a strong performance by starter Josh Beckett in Game 1, a game-winning walk-off home run by Manny Ramirez in Game 2, and back-to-back shots by David Ortiz and Ramirez coupled with a strong start by Curt Schilling in Game 3, the Boston Red Sox swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in three games in their divisional series match-up and will now face either the Cleveland Indians or the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. This marks the third time in five years that Boston has punched its ticket for a chance to win a pennant and Boston will begin its quest Friday at home at Fenway Park. Boston has also now won nine straight games against the Angels franchise in post-season history, going back to Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS.

Boston got off to a strong start in the series with Beckett pitching a complete game shutout, his second consecutive post-season shutout after blanking the New York Yankees in the deciding game of the 2003 World Series, while Kevin Youkilis and Ortiz each hit home runs to pace the offense. In the second game, despite a shaky start by Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox and Angels were tied 3-3 in the ninth when Angels manager Mike Scioscia elected to intentionally walk Ortiz with two outs and a runner on second to get to Ramirez, but Scioscia’s move backfired when the Boston slugger drove a pitch high and deep over the Green Monster to give Boston a 2-0 series advantage heading to Anaheim. Then, in Game 3, Schilling pitched seven strong, yielding just six hits and one walk while striking out four to further build his reputation as a big-game pitcher in the post-season. Meanwhile, Ortiz and Ramirez went back-to-back in the fourth inning to give Boston all the cushion it would need, and a seven-run eighth by the visitors sealed the win and the series for Boston.

Boston’s last ALCS appearance was in 2004 against New York when the Red Sox came back from an 0-3 series deficit to win in seven games, the last two wins coming at Yankee Stadium; the team then went on to capture its first World Series championship in 86 years, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. In franchise history, Boston has won 10 American League pennants and has won three American League Championship Series in five tries.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, post-season