For Sox coach Chad Epperson, Tuesday was a one-of-a-kind family reunion
KANSAS CITY — Red Sox interim third base coach Chad Epperson had the experience of a lifetime on Tuesday, getting driven to the ballpark by his son, Drew Epperson, a major league video assistant for the Royals.
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“This goes up there personally for me with the Duck Boat ride,” said Chad Epperson. “This is one of the greatest things in my career.”
Chad Epperson has been in the game for more than 30 years. Drew started accompanying him to ballparks in 2004, when Epperson was a coach for the Sox’ Single-A Augusta affiliate.
But it was Drew who first became part of a major-league staff when the Royals, following a multi-year internship program, hired him as a video assistant during the 2024-25 offseason. When he got the job, Drew — a UMass-Lowell graduate who worked his way up from clubhouse responsibilities with the Lowell Spinners — immediately called his father, who was coaching winter ball in the Dominican.
“I got a FaceTime from him. I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’ He’s like, ‘Dad, I got the job.’ I had to hang up,” said Chad Epperson, words catching as he recalled the moment. “Proud. Very. It’s so cool.”
On April 25, Drew Epperson was on the receiving end of his own unexpected call in the minutes leading up to first pitch of a Royals game. He immediately became alarmed.
“I thought someone might have died,” said Drew Epperson. “I’m like, ‘Oh, no!’”
Instead, his father was informing him that the Sox, amidst a shakeup of their coaching staff, were summoning him to Baltimore. Drew Epperson was overcome with emotion.
“I was shaking for him,” said Drew.
Almost instantly, he realized that the two would — for the first time in their lives — be in the same big-league ballpark while punching in for work. Anne Epperson joined the two in Kansas City to be with her husband and son.
“It really wasn’t on the bingo card a couple weeks ago. It’s surreal,” said Drew Epperson. “Growing up, I went to the field with him all time. Never in a million years did I imagine this.”
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The two exchanged lineup cards and hugs at home plate prior to the game.
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