Red Sox: David Price promises to remain in Boston, despite racial comments
David Price did not pitch to his own expectations throughout the 2016 regular season and playoffs. Although he struggled his first year in Fenway, he plans on remaining in Boston all seven years of his contract.
Plain and simple, David Price struggled in his first year playing for the Red Sox. After signing the largest pitching contract in the history of the major leagues, Price went on to lead the bigs in hits surrendered. But Price also led the majors in innings pitched and had started more games than any Red Sox pitcher had in more than two decades. The problem might have been that he was over-worked and nervous.
Although Price has the option to opt out of his contract at the end of 2018, he promises his allegiance to winning for the Red Sox.
I like David Price. He is a great personality and you can tell that he loves to play the game. But according to Price and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, last season was over-shadowed by his poor command on the mound and racial comments coming from the sidelines. Price told Abraham, “I didn’t command my fastball. Whenever I’m going well it doesn’t matter where you put your glove, I hit it. If I missed it was by an inch or two. It wasn’t by six inches.”
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With the Red Sox acquiring Chris Sale over the offseason and the added support coming from 2016 AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, it would be wise for the Sox to share some of the workload.
The Red Sox biggest problem this year, is the lack of playoff experience within their rotation.
The rotation on redsox.com is currently listed as followed
- Rick Porcello (Postseason 0-3, 5.66 ERA, 9 G, 3 GS)
- Chris Sale (No Postseason Statistics)
- David Price (Postseason 2-8, 5.54 ERA, 15 G, 9 GS)
- Steven Wright (No Postseason Statistics)
- Drew Pomeranz (0-0, 4.91 ERA, 2 G, 0 GS)
- Eduardo Rodriguez (No Postseason Statistics)
Price’s biggest critique after his mega contract with the Red Sox was signed, was his playoff history as a starter (0-8, 5.74 ERA). But let’s not forget the 2013 Red Sox rotation. The Red Sox pitchers who started games in the 2013 World Series had the following postseason experience.
- Jon Lester (2-3, 4.79 ERA, 8 G, 6 GS)
- John Lackey (3-4, 4.67 ERA, 14 G, 12 GS)
- Brandon Workman (No Postseason Statistics)
- Felix Doubront (No Postseason Statistics)
We will be ok. The Red Sox just have to instill a sense of support and growth for Price within their staff, and bringing in a guy like Sale is the first step towards doing so. A “Big-3” caliber rotation that takes unnecessary stress off of Price. Similar to Price’s 2015 season in Toronto, that featured Price, Mark Buehrle, and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Toronto pitcher Marco Estrada also had a big season for the Jays in 2015.
Additionally, Price ran into some racial issues in 2016. Telling Abraham of the Globe, “I’ve heard that since I’ve been in school. There’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t heard before. Your ignorance is not going to affect what I’m trying to do.” It was reported by several sources that Price experienced verbal abuse while in the Red Sox bullpen over the course of 2016.
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But in regards to his job, David Price has his sights set directly on winning over the next six years. Price wants to leave 2017 strictly to pitching, not the critics. He wants to win a World Series and endear himself to the city of Boston. Furthermore, David Price is very focused on proving that he can handle the stress of playing in this city.