BOSTON -- Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said Monday night that the World Series champions have accepted President Trump's invitation to the White House.
The team is now figuring out the details of when the trip will take place. After the championships of 2004 and '07, the Red Sox took a day trip to Washington, D.C., the following Spring Training.
The Sox visited the White House the day after Opening Day in '14, because they opened that season in Baltimore. Their first visit to Baltimore in 2019 is May 6-8.
"We're working through logistics right now," said Kennedy. "We've got outreach from them and it would probably be sometime February, March, April. We've done it both ways. We've done the day trip from Fort Myers and we've done the start of the season when we've been in Baltimore. We're just starting to look at that right now."
In recent years, some sports teams and players have declined the traditional championship visit to the White House.
In September, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was displeased when Trump disputed the number of casualties from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
However, Cora said he will attend the ceremony the Red Sox take part in at the White House.
"We've been talking about it, dates, and all that stuff, and I'm going to use my platform the right way," said Cora. "I'm not going to embarrass anybody. I'm actually going to represent probably four million people from back home the right way when we get there and we just have to wait and see when we go there."
Kennedy said the Red Sox will leave it up to individual players on whether they wish to attend.
"Like in the past, it's an invitation," Kennedy said. "It's not a mandatory command performance. It's a great opportunity for the players. It's an invitation for the players, ownership, so it's a great opportunity for those guys to go to the White House and get the behind-the-scenes tour and get the recognition they deserve for a world championship."