Go back four months.
Caleb Durbin had no idea what awaited him in his new world as a member of the Red Sox. All he knew was that it would be different. That reality was spelled out by the sudden influx of mail from fans, which was routinely delivered to his JetBlue Park locker. Fort Myers had already eclipsed the influx of fan mail in Milwaukee, leaving Durbin wondering what life was going to be like in Boston.
"Spring training I had a ton," Durbin told WEEI.com before leaving Fenway Park Tuesday night. "I would get some every now and then with the Brewers, but nothing like that. You go, and you see how much Roman (Anthony) gets and guys like that. Going from Milwaukee to here, you get a lot more."
But then the first 2 1/2 months of the season happened. For the player and for the team.
Suddenly, the mailman stopped coming quite as much.
"Not as much fan mail," Durbin said with a slight smile.
Guess what? The special deliveries of admiration have finally become what the player had braced himself for back in March. Hitting a game-winning home run in the eighth inning to give your team its 14th straight win, as Durbin delivered Monday night in a 6-5 victory over the Orioles at an electric Fenway Park, will do that.
"There's a little bit more," said Durbin of the quantity of fan mail of late. "I mean, yeah, these fans are passionate. As a competitor, this is exactly where you want to be. This is exactly where you want to play, and I'm not one to shy away from adversity, so it's it's been a lot of fun. You know, to grind through the tough times is what it's all about.
"There's a lot more love. We're winning. I'm playing better. You know, that's how it should be. You know, when we're winning and playing well, you know, you're gonna feel the love a lot more. ... I'm not out too much, but the times where I'm walking to breakfast or something, there's been a case where a guy rolled his window down and shouted my name. It's cool. People, people love the Red Sox."
Right now, that is a fact.
The love letters for the third baseman and his club are now pouring in, whether via the postal service or an outpouring of passion during nights like everyone at Fenway just experienced. It's hard not to suggest that 2026 Caleb Durbin perfectly represented the 2026 Red Sox. Really bad for the initial couple of months, and then really good. And then, right on cue, that signature player offers the signature moment in this club's latest signature game.
"That was the most frustrating thing," said Durbin of his introduction to the Red Sox. "In the beginning for me, I knew that wasn't me. We were close as a team, and I felt like if I could turn things around, it'd make a big difference. That was when it was weighing on me heavy. It's tough when you're going through it and you're not winning, because you want to be there for the guys and help the team. That added extra motivation to get right. I'm glad I was able to. And, you know, it's been a fun ride so far."
This is a player who has now hit safely in 31 of his last 44 games. Before that? Let's just say the mail delivery had dried up. In his first 44 starts, the third baseman managed just a .479 OPS with the Red Sox going 20-28 in games he participated in. Then came May 28. Since that day, Durbin has started an exact same number of games, this time carrying a .903 OPS with the Sox going 28-16.
Durbin and the Red Sox have both earned the right to be believed in, a concept few couldn't have imagined on Memorial Day.
Life as a Red Sox isn't what the 26-year-old envisioned when opening all those letters in spring training. The bad. The good. And now being washed over with more adulation than even he could have imagined, with the Red Sox one win away from tying the longest win streak in team history.'
"I mean, I can't imagine it being more electric than tonight, but it might be. We'll see. Tonight was awesome, though," he said.
"I try not to (think about the record), but I want it. I can't speak for anyone else. We haven't really talked about it, but, shoot, yeah, I want to make history here. ...A lot of really good ball clubs that have come through here too. I'm not really thinking about it too much, but when it's all said and done, and hopefully it's not done for a little while, but, we'll look back on it and look at how cool a run it was."
Durbin is right. The love letters have been nice. But there is no keepsake quite like entering into the history books.
