Fans Rise to Honor Vaughn

The kid had brain cancer. Doctors recommended a complex and delicate operation, but the family could not afford the $70,000 bill.

So Mo Vaughn joined with former Red Sox star Johnny Pesky and then-Celtics Rick Fox and Eric Montross in signing autographs and donating memorabilia that helped raise that $70,000. And, four years later, with his cancer in remission, Craig Williams proudly wore his Angel cap and Mo Vaughn T-shirt on enemy territory Friday at Fenway Park.

“If it wasn’t for Mo, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Williams, 15, of Marblehead, Mass.

As Williams waited to give Vaughn a hug before Friday’s game, he joked about what he might ask of his hero, his donor, his friend.

“I’m going to say, ‘For old time’s sake, hit one out for me,’ ” Williams said.

Sorry, kid, Mo Vaughn is no Babe Ruth. In fact, by the time the game ended, Mo was the one in need of a hug. He got one, too.

In a game hyped since that November day when Vaughn shed his red socks to sign an $80-million contract with the Angels, Mo returned to Fenway Park. He did not hit a home run. He did not get a hit. He struck out twice. His team got shut out for the first time this season, with Pedro Martinez striking out 15 and the Red Sox winning, 6-0.

After the game, and after his second press conference of the day, Vaughn escaped the media and the hecklers by hopping into the grandstand to meet his parents.

Mom gave him a great big hug. He needed it, after this most emotional of days.

When Vaughn first set foot on the field, more than three hours before the game, more than a dozen television cameras tracked his every move. By the time he walked back toward the clubhouse, after greeting some friends and taking a few swings in a batting cage, the cameras had multiplied, briefly blocking his path.

“Nowhere to go around here,” Vaughn said.

By the time he returned to the field, for his pregame press conference, more than four dozen reporters literally surrounded him, shouting out questions in an atmosphere that resembled a campaign stop. Tim Mead, the Angel publicist, said he hadn’t seen anything like it since Olympic hero Jim Abbott jumped from the University of Michigan to the Angels in 1989.

Angel Manager Terry Collins said he had never seen anything like it. Collins coached for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993, when defending MVP Barry Bonds returned to Pittsburgh after signing with the San Francisco Giants, but Bonds simply worked for the respect of the community, not the love of one.

“And, even though the Pirates were very good then, they didn’t pack the place,” Collins said. “This is a baseball mecca.”

As Vaughn strode toward the batter’s box in the first inning, a sellout crowd rose to its feet and roared its approval. The standing ovation lasted 30 seconds, with Martinez content for his friend to enjoy the applause.

“For Pedro and also for me, it was time to get the game going,” Vaughn said. “It was great the fans reacted the way they reacted. I’ll always appreciate that, as long as I play. That was something very, very nice. After that, it was time to get down to business.”

The fans delivered another standing ovation after Martinez struck out Vaughn. The signs around the ballpark were mostly positive--”WELCOME HOME” and “MO STILL #1 IN BOSTON” among them--with a minority of “MO MONEY” and “SELLOUT” and other financially inspired sentiments.

After Vaughn’s first swing, the Boston fans got on with the business of rooting on their Sox. For every fan that held up a Mo-related banner, positive or negative, at least 20 held up a “K” card to celebrate Martinez’s strikeouts. Vaughn got jeered.

“That’s to be expected,” Vaughn said. “I understand that. In this park, the fans will get behind their team. It’s really no big deal. They’ll be all over me tomorrow.”

Fans clamored for Vaughn’s autograph before the game. “The funny thing is, the Red Sox didn’t think he was an angel,” said Debbi Wrobleski of Boston. “Now the people in Anaheim know he is an Angel.”