The story behind finding Elly De La Cruz
The moment seemed cut-and-dried enough Monday night in Minnesota: One of best young pitchers in the game (Pablo Lopez) going up against an aspiring everyday outfielder (Jarren Duran).
But a deeper dive would have told you a different story. Off the field, they shared an unexpected tool that have gone a long way to getting their respective minds right: Crossword puzzles.
"The best I have ever played with in my career is probably Pablo Lopez," said fellow crossword puzzle-lover, Red Sox pitcher Richard Bleier. "Here is (Justin) Turner. He knock them out and then he come over and says, ‘Did you get it done? It’s an easy one.’ And I’m over there struggling. Pablo would finish them in 10 or 15 minutes, and his first language is Spanish. It was very impressive."
And now another name has emerged in the crossword puzzle community, that of Duran.
Upon arriving in the clubhouse, the Sox outfielder almost immediately seeks out the printed out USA Today crossword puzzles Bleier, Turner and a few others have come to partake in. The routine has been a difference-maker.
"It just helps me relax and get my mind off baseball for a little bit and act like I’m smart for a little bit by doing a crossword," Duran said with a smile.
He added, "I never noticed them last year, but this year I noticed they were doing them at every field. I couldn’t believe I never noticed them before. So I just started doing them when I got called up this year. I have gotten way better. JT (Turner) sat down with me and it was like he was coaching his kid, saying things like, ‘This one is past tense so you want to think like this.’ It actually helped me figure out clues within the words.
"Sometimes if I don’t finish them I will take it home and finish them which helps me relax to fall asleep. It’s one of those convenient things where they are there so you try it and realize it’s kind of fun. If we didn’t have it I wonder if it would bother me. But I won’t know that now."
The presence of crossword puzzles in major league clubhouses aren't anything new, with Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush remembering diving into the hobby back when he played.
"When I was playing it was every day. It was just a random exercise to fill out the information that might have been useless," he said. "I have no idea if it helps, but it was way to activate my mind."
"They’re very addicting," Bleier noted. "It’s a good way to keep your brain sharp and you learn new things. I think the satisfaction of completing one is worth the time.
"A lot of guy do them. For me, I just enjoy doing them. I don’t do them for any particular reason other than it’s a challenge and I like to be challenged. We talk among ourselves whether or not if we finished it or how easy it was. It becomes a competition just like everything else around here does. Once you start doing them, it kind of spirals and I look forward to doing a crossword every day."
That certainly seems to be the case for Duran, who has taken steps toward feeling more comfortable on and off the field this season. Between the lines, he is hitting .300 with an .827 OPS. Everywhere else, the increase in smiles from the 26-year-old have been noticeable.
As has his pregame immersion into those daily pieces of paper.
It's a routine and payoff that Duran - who started doing the crosswords during the Red Sox trip to Milwaukee - never saw coming.
"I would be like, ‘Nah, you’re crazy,'" Duran said when asked what he might say if someone suggested prior to this season crossword puzzles would be part of his existence. "But I appreciate it now."