Jarren Duran likely has hundreds of major league games in his future, including a good chunk in Yankee Stadium.
But none will separate themselves like July 17, 2021 did.
Sure, it was Duran's big league debut. That's always something. And when you single in your first major league at-bat, that only helps separate the event.
“I was hoping he’d throw me a fastball because, I mean, he’s a really good pitcher so I wanted to make sure I got my pitch or he started to dice me up so I guess it worked in my favor and I got a fastball, first pitch," said Duran of his initial at-bat against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole.
“It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and it was like, 'OK, I can relax now. Just get that first one out of the way.'”
But on this eerie night -- one complete with a pair of rain delays -- there was so much more than just the usual first game attaboys.
Duran had a front row seat for Alex Verdugo's run in a Yankee Stadium fan, watching from just a few feet away as the Sox outfielder responded to being hit in the back with a baseball.
“Yeah, I’ve always heard the rivalry is crazy but I feel like today was more Red Sox versus the fans than anything," Duran said.
“From my perspective, I didn’t know what happened. I just heard him yelling and then I saw him like grabbing his back and then I saw the ball and the first thing that came to mind was, snap, somebody threw a ball, so it stinks because it’s like you love to get fans balls. You don’t want to take the risk of getting it thrown back at you and hit so I just went over there and made sure it was OK and just calm him down and make sure nothing escalated.”
All in all, it was hardly your run-of-the-mill introduction to The Show.
“I got a little of everything today," he noted. "I got a little drama with the home run thing, and then Dugie getting a hit and then some excitement. Them hitting home runs and experiencing how loud Yankee Stadium can get. I think I got a gist of everything they had today so it was nice.”
