Trevor Story will be a key part of the Boston Red Sox after signing a six-year deal this week. The infielder may have been partly swayed by the sales pitch he got from a longtime friend and former Red Sox player.
Will Middlebrooks, who played third base for Boston from 2012 to 2014, has known Story since they began working out together in the 2011 offseason. Middlebrooks actively sold Story on joining Boston, and he did so by trashing a few potential rivals.
“I was selling it for days,” Middlebrooks told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “I laid it out. I said, ‘Look, New York smells like garbage, and they have rats the size of Shetland ponies. You don’t want to go there. You don’t want to go to California. The taxes are absurd. You’ll lose all your money there. In Houston, they have hurricanes. The perfect place to go is Boston.'”
Middlebrooks made clear his insults were all in fun, but he was serious about getting Story to play for the Red Sox.
“I said, in all honesty, I told him I played in five places. If you want the best experience in baseball as a player, you have to experience playing as a home player at Fenway Park in front of Red Sox Nation,” Middlebrooks said. “There’s nothing better than playing against the Yankees on a Sunday night or playing in the postseason. You can’t beat it.”
Middlebrooks may not have had an easy sell, as Story will actually have to change positions after signing with Boston. Clearly, he really wanted to go there if he was willing to give up playing shortstop to do it. Maybe Middlebrooks was a key part of that.
More must-reads: