Sports

Milford Man Back Behind The Wheel For Red Sox Truck Day 2020

Milford's Al Hartz has been driving the Red Sox truck full of equipment to spring training since the late 1990s.

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The equipment truck for the Boston Red Sox baseball team stands outside Fenway Park on Feb. 4, 2019. The truck will be heading to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. for the players' spring training.
The equipment truck for the Boston Red Sox baseball team stands outside Fenway Park on Feb. 4, 2019. The truck will be heading to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. for the players' spring training. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

MILFORD, MA — It's Red Sox Truck Day 2020, and that means Milford's Al Hartz is back behind the wheel. Hartz has been driving the team's equipment truck to spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., for more than 20 years.

Hartz, who works for New England Household Moving & Storage, has been driving the equipment truck since the late 1990s. For 2020, he'll be hauling over 20,000 baseballs, 1,100 bats, 400 pairs of socks — oh and 20 cases of bubble gum, and 60 cases of sunflower seeds.

Truck Day has become an annual Red Sox tradition since Hartz took over the 1,400-mile drive to Florida. Fans line up outside Fenway to watch the truck get packed up, and sometimes get a chance to meet with mascots and team owners.

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And although it's been a relatively mild winter so far, Hartz's annual trip is a sign that spring is just around the corner. Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 11, and position players start Feb. 16. The first game is on Feb. 23 against the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park.

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