News and notes from around Red Sox Naiton
Regardless of how this season turns out, one of the biggest positives we’ll take away from 2024 will be the emergence of Wilyer Abreu. Making the trip back to Houston this week to face the Astros was a good reminder of how unlikely his emergence has been. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)
If Kristian Campbell has a successful rookie campaign for the Red Sox sometime in the near future, it won’t be nearly as surprising. Campbell’s rapid ascent up the farm system this year has made him one of the most hyped prospects in the game, and Will Middlebrooks is a believer. (Greg Dudek, NESN)
Even if he doesn’t ultimately pan out at the big league level, Kristian Campbell (along with the rest of the Big 3/4) could help the Sox out in a round-about way this winter. Free-agent-to-be ace pitcher Corbin Burns, currently of the Orioles, says the quality of a team’s farm system will have an impact on where he decides to sign. (Mike Cole, NESN)
Maybe Corbin Burns is secretly a Carl Yastrzemski superfan, that would help things. Yaz turned 85 recently and shared some thoughts about the team. He says he’ll be back at Fenway to throw out a first pitch the next time they make the World Series, and considering that he says he rarely leaves the house and wasn’t even in attendance when his grandson homered at Fenway earlier this year, that’s a big deal. (Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe)
Also a big deal: for the first time in history, a Red Sox game will be called by two women. Emma Tiedemann and Rylee Pay, who normally call Portland Sea Dogs games, will be in the NESN booth for the Women’s Celebration Game on Monday. Unfortunately and inexplicably though, NESN is jamming them in there alongside Dave O’Brien Kevin Youkilis, rather than letting them call the game on their own. This decision makes the game feel like a stunt more than anything, and four-person booth seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Next time, just let Tiedemann and Pay do their jobs. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)