Red Sox fans undoubtedly remember Jake Peavy buying a duck boat after the 2013 championship. What might surprise them is why he actually did it.
Appearing recently on MLB Network, Peavy explained that he dropped $75,000 on the amphibious vehicle as a keepsake, yes, but also for more pressingly practical reasons: He needed the seats for his family and friends during the World Series parade.
"There's a little more to that story," Peavy explained.
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So here goes. The Red Sox won the World Series on Oct. 30 at Fenway Park by beating the Cardinals in Game 6. That unleashed a day of celebration on Halloween, followed by the parade on Nov. 1. Peavy arrived at the park early to some unexpected news -- each player would only receive six tickets.
"I had a bunch of kids already at the time, I had my wife's brothers, and I got there that morning and . . . me and Jon Lester were on there together and we had six tickets apiece," Peavy said. "I said, 'Look, I can't wave to my grandparents on the side of this four-hour ride. They've got to get on the boat.'"
Peavy had already discussed with teammate Jonny Gomes the possibility of buying a duck boat, should the Red Sox win it all. A driver put him in touch with the owner and Peavy whipped out his checkbook, which he had on hand anyway to tip the team's clubhouse workers at the end of a championship season.
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"I talked to the owner of the company," Peavy said, "and $75,000 later I got to tell the Red Sox that I own the boat and I need to get 12 people on it."
The vintage piece of machinery was then packed up and shipped to Peavy's home in Alabama and he still owns it today. He said he plans to make it the centerpiece of a whiffle ball field in his hometown of Mobile, now that it has served its most pressing purpose -- accommodating his entire family for what turned out to be the first of back-to-back championship parades for the right-hander.
The Red Sox shipped Peavy to the Giants at the 2014 trade deadline and he won six games before helping San Francisco win a title of its own over the Royals. That championship was undoubtedly meaningful to him, too, but it's safe to say he owns a more tangible reminder of his time in Boston.