Alex Verdugo called team meeting prior to Red Sox snapping losing streak
BOSTON -- Just a week or so ago, the Red Sox were a pleasant surprise in baseball. That outlook got turned on its head very quickly, with Boston losing four straight games and six out of seven to go from seven games over .500 to two games over .500 in a flash.
Eager to stop the bleeding, Alex Verdugo decided to speak up.
Rob Bradford of Audacy's "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast reported that Verdugo called a players-only meeting prior to Tuesday night's game vs. the Mariners at Fenway Park.
"After the game, I found out that Alex Verdugo had called a players only team meeting before the game," Bradford said. "This is one of the things in baseball, it is such a complex thing. Because one of the things that you have to understand is that team meetings, you better make sure that it is presented the right way, that it's part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Because it can be part of the problem real quick if you have a team meeting, you're going bad, you have a team meeting and then all of a sudden you lose, then it becomes even worse."
Verdugo began the game by hustling down the line to reach first base on an infield error, kicking off a four-run first inning for the Red Sox. Opposing pitcher Luis Castillo allowed all four of those runs, matching the most runs he had allowed in any full start this season. The Red Sox went on to win 9-4. Verdugo was 2-for-3 with a walk out of the leadoff spot, crossing the plate three times in the win.
Verdugo explained to Bradford why he called the meeting.
"After the few games that we had, everybody has kind of been seeing it, we all kind of felt it, and we all know and are aware of our own actions. And I think just for me, talking to a couple of veterans, JT [Justin Turner], [Chris] Sale and Carita [Rafael Devers], I just wanted to get a little players meeting going today, just to have a little conversation with the guys," Verdugo told Bradford. "It wasn't about anything bad, anything specific. It was just, 'Win or lose, boys, let's go out and let's bring the energy. Let's not get down. Let's not put the pressure on us. Let's really root for the guys in front of you, behind you, and let's just get on the same page of just playing the ball, man.' The whole year we've played, it hasn't been just one game carrying the team. It's been everybody contributing, everybody firing and helping out.
"So I think for me, it was the first time I have ever called for a players meeting or anything like that. So obviously, pretty nervous at first with it. But I thought the guys really liked it and I thought everything was good. Like I said, just some in-house stuff. We're with each other a lot so I felt like we should be able to speak up and talk to each other as a team and just kind of right the ship a little bit."
Verdugo spoke to the delicate balance of calling the meeting versus adding stress to a slumping club, but he described this particular meeting as an opportunity to reignite the energy in the dugout and on the field.
"It's still very early for us. I just thought that today was just a little reminder, man. Just a reminder for all of us, me included. We just gotta play the game hard. Bust out of the box, kind of force some action," Verdugo told Bradford. "I think today, grounding out to second and then just busting out, you see a little bobble and I'm safe. It's like, the guys in the dugout are [expletive] on the front step, fired up, yelling. And I think that's something, like, it sets the tone and gets everybody else behind me fired up and ready to want to contribute. So it was just something like that. Nothing too crazy. I think we got a really good group of guys here, from the veterans to the rookies. I just really enjoy this team. It's just one of those ones where we gotta police ourselves and get out of that being sensitive about it. Like, everybody should be able to have a voice on this team, and if you see something, notice anything, don't be afraid to say it. Let's talk about it and let's get this thing going."
The Red Sox will take the field Wednesday night against the Mariners, looking to win two games in a row for the first time since May 5 and 6.
