FORT MYERS,Fla. - "Man, it's humid."
These were some of the initial words from Jake Diekman while he threw a baseball for a first time wearing a Red Sox uniform, making the observation to pitching coach Dave Bush while lightly tossing outside of JetBlue Park Wednesday. In a way, it highlighted a lot of change for the reliever in just the last few day.
New contract. New team. And some dramatically different weather.
Diekman - the veteran left-hander who the Red Sox have signed to a two-year contract with a team option for 2024 - was shuttling back and forth to workouts in his home state of Nebraska just a few days before. That would be Lincoln, Nebraska, where just about one year ago it clocked in at minus-31 degrees.
"We didn't get much snow. Thankfully we didn't get snow. But if it's going to be as cold as it was, I'd rather it just snow a ton," Diekman said after a brief bullpen session. "And now this is hot as hell."
In many ways, the references to his home state offer a reminder that he might be made for pitching in Boston beyond the ability to pitch late in games.
"I’m home. The first month of the offseason, I don’t like to travel anywhere. I don’t like to go anywhere. I just like to stay at home," said the 35-year-old Wymore, Nebraska native.
And it's not just the weather - ("I hate wearing sleeves. I hate it") - that has led Diekman's Nebraska's roots to preparing him for Boston. There is also that football team that also wears the red and white.
"Both are very passionate," Diekman says of the two fan bases, having pitched in 16 October games. "They can talk (expletive) but they always show up. I mean Nebraska went 3-8 last year and it’s packed every day. Every Saturday it was 98,000 people." Was he one of them? "Hell, yeah," he quickly responded. "I might have left early, but I showed up."
As for the fit on the field, there is a lot to like about Diekman's presence in the back-end of the Red Sox' bullpen.
The southpaw is coming off a season with the A's in which he made 67 relief appearances, posting a 3.86 ERA while ranking 10th among American League relievers in strikeouts (83). He has recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched 10 times, and has managed a major-league-leading 58 holds since the beginning of 2019.
And in about a month, it's all going to be put on display in the Memorial Stadium of the major leagues, Fenway Park.
"It all came together pretty quick," he said of the deal with the Red Sox. "I feel great about joining them, have a chance to win a World Series every year, I don't have to face the lineup anymore. spring training is great, it's warm, it's warmer than Nebraska, so pumped to be down here."