Athletes have said before how hard it can be to play in Boston, and former Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale opened up about it Monday.
The left-hander was traded from the Red Sox to the Atlanta Braves during the offseason in December in exchange for Vaughn Grissom.
Sale had an up-and-down six seasons with the Red Sox. The 35-year-old dealt with a number of injuries that kept him sidelined for the majority of his final three seasons with the team.
“It’s not an easy place to go, but that’s what makes it great at the same time,” Sale told the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “The fans are so passionate and that is a double-edged sword and not only in Boston, but anywhere.”
Sale brought up Red Sox legend David Ortiz, who was and has continued to be seen very highly by Boston fans.
While the pitcher had a good experience in Boston, he said that not every player has an experience like Ortiz’s.
“There are guys that go to Boston and they’re Gods, they don’t pay for drinks,” Sale said. “(Like) David Oritz, that guy’s gonna have a shrine someday, and he should. Other guys, not so much and they did the same things. They went to a sports city; they played the game. One of them was really good, one of them was not and they let you know one way or the other. One of the greatest moments of my life was going through that city on a duck boat.”
This season Grissom has been out with an injury that has made his introduction to Boston not ideal. So far, he’s hit .148, going 12-for-81 with a single extra-base hit and three RBIs through 23 games. Defensively, Grissom looked like a promising starting second baseman before going through his injury.
Manager Alex Cora said recently that fans have not seen the real Grissom yet due to being sidelined so early in the season. With what Sale has gone through with his injuries, a reporter asked him what advice he would give Grissom.
“Just keep chugging along,” Sale said. “I’ve heard he’s a great human being, he’s a great teammate and he’s wildly talented. Injury bug caught him a little bit here and there, just keep chugging along.”
