The pressure of playing in Boston, and the media attention that comes with it, are well established.
It’s something Mo Vaughn knows all too well.
A three-time All-Star and the 1995 American League Most Valuable Player, Vaughn discussed dealing with that pressure during an appearance on WEEI’s The Zach Gelb Show over the weekend.
“I was a realist when I played,” Vaughn said. “There’s just a lot of sensitivity. A lot of sensitivity when somebody writes a story. There’s a lot of sensitivity when somebody makes a public comment. There’s a lot of sensitivity of – why did someone say that about me, or to me? Listen, Boston is a very tough media-driven place. A lot of the media are fans of the team for years. There are high expectations. But you have to look in the mirror and say, ‘What am I really doing? How well am I really playing? And what do I deserve?’ And when you are able to do that, you are able to compartmentalize and go and be like, ‘Alright, I have to get back on my game.’ That’s just the way it is. I thought Boston drove me to the heights of success when I was there, all because you had to stay in reality, and you had to come out and produce. And when you didn’t, you heard about it.”
What Vaughn would not recommend is what Jarren Duran did last week.
In the midst of a struggling season in which he is hitting .183 (the second-lowest mark on the team), while posting a league-worst .243 OBP and one of the 10 lowest OPS marks in baseball (.548), Duran took to social media to call out TV host Michael Holley.
Holley’s point was that the Red Sox, like many professional sports organizations, are not always truthful when publicly discussing injuries, specifically when it came to Roman Anthony’s right wrist injury.
“I understand why all teams do it, but let’s just be honest. All teams lie. They lie about injuries, they just do. Tell me a forthcoming organization in this city when it comes to injuries,” Holley said. “They just don’t. So when the Red Sox did it, like, why are we doing this? Why are you playing games with us? This is an unnecessary lie. We know you’re lying, stop it! ‘He’s day-to-day!’
The comments did not sit well with Duran.
“They let people like this on NBC Sports,” Duran wrote on his Instagram story, adding a clown emoji and a crying-laughing emoji. After facing backlash online, Duran later deleted his Instagram account.
Vaughn said Duran, now in his sixth professional season, has to show more self-awareness, especially given both his performance and the market he plays in.
“We have to always be careful of pressing send. Because when you press that send button, it doesn’t come back. And then we’ve got to have a little bit of self-awareness about when we can talk and when we can’t talk,” he said. “You play for an organization. Your words mean something. You represent an organization. I know Michael Holley very, very well. Solid dude. Duran, hitting .200, man, you should be hitting the batting cage, figuring out your swing, and trying not to bring any heat to yourself. You know where we are, you know we’re not playing well. Have self-awareness, get yourself together, and be a contributor.”
You can hear the full interview with Vaughn below, which includes more thoughts on Duran, how the Red Sox ended up in their current position, and the one career change Vaughn believes could have made him a Hall of Famer.
