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Guest Essay

I was at Fenway Park with my dad when the Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz hit the game-tying grand slam in Game 2 of the 2013 American League Championship Series. Months earlier, after the Boston Marathon bombing, Mr. Ortiz had stood on the field and said, “This is our city,” adding an expletive.

That night in October when the grand slam cleared the fence, I hugged strangers. Grown men were on the verge of tears. Fenway shook like it might collapse from the sound. You didn’t need to understand the score to understand the moment. It didn’t matter who you were. Everyone understood........

© The New York Times