Jerry Remy To Return: Red Sox Broadcast Team Back At Full Strength

After nearly five months of patching their line-up with replacement players, including Dennis Eckersley, Dave Roberts and Frank Viola, the Red Sox broadcast team will be at full strength Friday night when Jerry Remy returns to the booth.

The comical color man and official President of Red Sox Nation has been absent from the booth since taking a leave of absence in May to recover from the effects of lung cancer surgery and an accompanying bout with depression. 

Remy announced on Red Sox GameDay Live with Tom Caron on Wednesday that he will be returning to part-time duty beginning on Friday night when the Red Sox take on the Yankees at Fenway.

"I want to thank NESN, the Red Sox and all of Red Sox Nation for their incredible level of support," said Remy. "I'm really looking forward to getting back to work and doing the job that I miss terribly."

He went on to speak with Caron about getting rid of the pre-return jitters when he poked his head in the booth last week while the Red Sox were home against Texas. It was the first time he had been in the booth since the leave of absence.

"Now that I'm glad I did it [return to Fenway last week] because it really kind of gets that out of the way and when I do come back on Friday to do a game, it's just a normal day," Remy said.

"The Yankees being in town, obviously that's a little bit different, but to get all this personal stuff out of the way I think was a great thing for me last week. But it is a little bit uncomfortable. You know I'm not a player, I'm just a broadcaster. To have that much attention put on you it means people care about you and they want to know about you..."

"I'm anxious right now just thinking about it. But I'm sure once you get back into the swing of things after an inning or so it will be just like old times, and we'll have hopefully a good game and a little bit of fun."

Remy is as much a part of the Red Sox as the Green Monster and is adored by the Fenway Faithful. During his cameo appearance last week, Remy was shown on the centerfield scoreboard display while he spoke with Don Orsillo and his replacement, Dennis Eckersley. The sell-out crowd stood and gave "Rem-Dawg" a lengthy standing ovation.

Remy said he was overwhelmed by the messages of support he's received. He described his visit to the ballpark as "therapeutic."

He revealed during the visit that he had suffered from depression following his physical problems of 2008 and that he was receiving therapy.

"It all started to crash down on me. I have been fighting depression the past couple of months," he said before Boston played Detroit. "We all decided that a leave of absence was the best thing to do."

"Physically I'm back, but mentally they've been trying to get the right combination of meds," he said. "I think I'm on the right path."

"We are thrilled that Jerry is ready to get back in the booth this week," said NESN president Sean McGrail. "He is an important part of the NESN family, and we are all very happy that he will be back in his familiar spot next to Don Orsillo on Friday."

Remy wrote the following piece on the Remy Report today sharing the good news with his adoring fans:

Hello Sawxheads,

I’m excited to announce that I will be back in the NESN booth again starting this Friday night. You think I would miss another series with the Yankees!?

I will be easing back into things so don’t be surprised if I am not on the road trips. That said, I am excited to be back in the booth with D.O. on Friday. I will bring Wally, his Adirondack chair and hopefully a little luck for the Sox.

Oh ya, congratulations to Dustin and Kelli on the birth of Dylan. I’m sure your MVP award pales in comparison to the birth of your son. Congrats!

I will be blogging again soon... please be sure to drop by.

-Jerry Remy

The native of Somerset, Mass. played seven years of a ten year Major League career with the Red Sox finishing up in 1984 after a career ending knee injury. Remy finished with a career-batting average of .275 with 209 career stolen bases.

He noted that he will more than likely skip some road trips during the final two months of the campaign.

"The cancer part, I couldn't have been luckier," he told reporter. "I just want to get back to work, back into the flow of what I did. This depression thing has been tough. It's not easy."

Todd Civin is a freelance writer for Bleacher Report and Seamheads. He can be reached at [e-mail] for comment or hire. He is also a supporter of A Glove of Their Own, the award-winning children's story that is capturing the heart of the nation by teaching sharing through baseball.

AGOTO has recently been adopted by Dick Drago, Luis Tiant, Phil Niekro, Ed Herrmann, and The Joe Niekro Foundation as part of their fundraising campaigns. Visit agloveoftheirown.com and purchase the book using today's donor code LTF223, The Luis Tiant Foundation.