Reporting Day
Monday, February 19, 2018 – JetBlue Park, Ft. Myers
Spring Training Workout
According to the baseball calendar, it was the first full squad workout, but for me, it was finally time to report. I flew in last night, excited about the forecast for a warm, sunny week. The players were a little later than usual coming out due to a team meeting, but then they participated in the usual assortment of fielding and batting drills. It was great to see the whole team* assembled together. Opening Day must not be too far off! My favorite pictures from the day are below.
The infielders gathered for fielding practice. Soon they were joined by the pitchers, who also participated in the drill.
Rafael Devers fields a ball at third. Behind him, in left field, Jason Varitek watches as the catchers participate in a pop-up drill.
The Brockstar is back!
Eduardo Nunez got a big cheer as he came out for batting practice. After sparking the Red Sox lineup down the stretch last year, he became a free agent. He had just re-signed with the Red Sox earlier in the week, and the fans were happy to see him back. (Robby Scott switched his uniform number from 63 to 36 this year, so Nunez will need something new to wear. He wore a plain shirt today, so I'm still waiting to find out what number he'll have this year.)
Mitch Moreland is another player who left as a free agent and then re-signed with the team this winter. He's joined for batting practice by Mookie Betts and new bench coach Ron Roenicke.
Andrew Benintendi takes some swings during B.P.
"Flow Bros" Brock Holt and Andrew Benintendi were reunited... some with more flow than others.
Team owner John W. Henry put in an appearance in camp.
I'm looking forward to seeing Mookie back to his M.V.P.-caliber form.
After practice we enjoyed a trip to Englewood Beach in the afternoon. We get tired after all those workouts!
*On the way home from the beach we heard that the Red Sox had finally struck a deal with free agent slugger J.D. Martinez. I’m glad that they waited it out for what seems like a reasonable contract, rather than panicking early on and bidding against themselves. But now there’s one more player who still needs to report to camp. I’ll be back at JetBlue every day this week, so I hope to see him soon.
