The Boston Red Sox went into the Major League Baseball All-Star Break on a 10-game winning streak.
The Red Sox will head to Chicago and Philadelphia after the break, and should still be “Tremendously Locked In.”
At least, that is what members of the club are saying by T-shirts they are wearing.
Red Sox players have been wearing Tremendously Locked In T-shirts that were made locally in the Berkshires by Paul Procopio’s company Primo Products.
SCREENSHOT PROVIDED BY PAUL PROCOPIO
Pittsfield’s Paul Procopio owns Primo Products based in Pittsfield, a screen-printing and embroidery business.
“Peter Fatse and I have been good friends for about a decade,” Procopio said. “I did all of Pete’s gear when he owned AP. Back in the spring, he and I were texting, and I said to him ‘Do you guys ever need stuff? Can you hook me up with your equipment guy?’ He said he was about to order T-shirts for [their] hitters.
“I’ve done probably, since spring training, eight to nine orders for the Red Sox.”
Fatse is the hitting coach for the Red Sox, and Procopio has known him since the days when Fatse operated the Advanced Peformance Academy in Palmer. The AP Academy was a precurser to a place like Rip City Academy in Dalton, and a number of players who played for Procopio and head coach Kevin Stannard at Taconic went there.
“Trevor Story texted me last week. I did some shirts for Trevor Story’s wife. He went hey, Pete gave me your number,” Procopio said. “Can you do these shirts? I designed the ‘Tremendously Locked In’ with the numbers on the back. We did them in 48 hours, and they went viral. We had people copying it. What we did, we opened it to the public and we sold over 300 shirts in one day.
“It’s just been insane.”
Red Sox players have been wearing Tremendously Locked In T-shirts that were made locally in the Berkshires by Paul Procopio’s company Primo Products.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PAUL PROCOPIO
Players have worn them before the game, and have been seen on television and in photographs. One anticipates that the shirts will eventually be sold throughout Fenway Park.
“It’s kind of a surreal feeling,” Procopio said. During the game two nights ago, Hunter Dobbins got hurt and they had a pitcher come in who was warming up. The broadcasters started talking about the shirt. They’re like Tremendously Locked In, and they show Jarren Duran in the shirt. These guys got these shirts really quick. You’re sitting watching it and people text you and say ‘I saw your shirt.'”
Procopio’s baseball bonafides are well-earned. He played and coached at Taconic for Stannard, and played collegiately at MCLA. Procopio also played for the North Adams SteepleCats, was a coach for one season and was general manager of the club for the previous three seasons.
But like a majority of Berkshire County residents, Procopio is a Red Sox fan. That makes these business dealings that much better.
Red Sox players have been wearing Tremendously Locked In T-shirts that were made locally in the Berkshires by Paul Procopio’s company Primo Products.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PAUL PROCOPIO
“A hundred percent. Right now, we’re doing an order for the Pacific Northwest Scouting Association. All the MLB scouts in the Pacific Northwest, they have a high school game that all the top prospects go to and all the teams are there,” he said. “We’re doing the jerseys for the game. It’s cool. It’s fun, it’s cool. It doesn’t nearly make you feel as fulfilled as the Boston Red Sox, and the team you’ve rooted for.
“It’s totally different.”
Procopio said his company has done shirts for pitching coach Andrew Bailey and former Red Sox player Justin Turner. Procopio is optimistic that will open the door for more.
“We’ve kind of been getting into this Major League Baseball world,” he said. “It’s kind of surreal. But you’re so busy in your everyday life and you kind of forget about it a little bit, until you take a step back.
“Something we printed in Pittsfield is like all over NESN and Instagram. Thousands of people are seeing it and now are buying it.”