Milford's Al Hartz To Make 25th Red Sox Spring Training Trip In 2023

MILFORD, MA — Like Punxsutawney Phil and daylight saving time, Al Hartz' annual trip from Fenway to Florida is a sign that spring is right around the corner.

Hartz on Friday will make his 25th 1,500-mile journey transporting Red Sox equipment to the team's spring training facility in Fort Meyers. Hartz' 53-foot semitrailer will be packing 20,400 baseballs, 1,100 bats, 200 pairs of batting gloves and helmets, countless jerseys, pants, T-shirts and socks — plus 20 cases of bubble gum and 60 cases of sunflower seeds.

Hartz journey this year will include a quick stop in Worcester. After leaving Fenway early Friday morning — where the temperature will be about 20 and dropping fast — the equipment truck will stop outside Polar Park around 1 p.m. Fans will be able to sneak a peak at the truck and take photos, if they can stand the cold.

"While our temperatures dip below freezing, we take some comfort in knowing that ‘The Boys of Summer,’ including our ‘Boys of Worcester,’ will soon be tossing balls and swinging bats beneath palm trees in the warm Florida sun. It speaks to the child in all of us," WooSox President Charles Steinberg said in a news release.

Hartz marked his first "truck day" in 1998. He works for the Holliston-based New England Household Moving & Storage company, the team's official moving truck provider