There’s no better way to get to know a person than to be stuck in a car with them for a little while.
And that’s how some of the Red Sox got to know Trevor Story.
Last Friday, some of the Red Sox’ more veteran players decided to play in a road Grapefruit League game against the Rays in Port Charlotte – which Xander Bogaerts estimates is 54 minutes from Boston’s camp in Ft. Myers.
Kiké Hernández had a Jeep Wagoneer for a rental car, so a group of guys decided they would carpool up and back from Port Charlotte instead of all driving separately. So it was hitting coach Peter Fatse behind the wheel, Hernández riding shotgun, Story and Bogaerts in the first row of the back seat and trainer Brandon Henry in the second.
“We felt like it was necessary,” Hernández told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the "Bradfo Sho" podcast. “So instead of riding two or three cars we just – I have a big rental car here, so all three of us and Pete and Brandon the trainer, we all just went in one car. Drove an hour there, an hour back and had some good talks.
“Not just to save gas or whatever, but it was more to give us an hour there and back to not have anything to do but sit there and talk.”
And talk they did, albeit with ironic music playing in the background.
“We were all going to take separate cars and were like, why don’t we just hop in the same car?” Fatse said. “So we threw a little Daddy Yankee on and made our way there.”
Talks were about a little bit of everything. Baseball. Life.
One topic though evidently was off limits: contracts.
“We talked about baseball stuff,” Bogaerts told Bradford. “Teammates that some of us played with, funny stories, stuff like that. … You hear some interesting stories, and obviously some of the experiences (Story) had playing baseball and stuff like that. No contract or anything like that, just baseball and life, obviously. He had the baby the other day, so we talked a little bit about some of that stuff. It was cool.”
“It was great,” Story said. “I feel like I’ve known (Bogaerts) for forever. He’s been amazing, and really everybody, they’ve welcomed me with open arms. It’s a good group of guys and I’m just so pumped to be a part of it.”
The Story-Bogaerts dynamic will be under the microscope all season. Story will be the second baseman this season, but with Bogaerts’ future uncertain, the longtime Colorado Rockie also represents Bogaerts’ replacement should he leave the Red Sox this offseason.
It could be awkward. But for the two men actually involved, it didn’t appear front of mind. It was just guys spending time together and getting to know one another better.
“A lot of stories, a lot of laughs,” Fatse said. “Just sharing funny experiences throughout the game. Everyone was hanging, it was a lot of fun.”
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