“I got lost, twisted around trying to get into the parking lot today and I went back on Lansdowne and I couldn’t get down the street because it looked like a big block party,” Cameron said hours before his debut with the Red Sox. “I know it’s special [today].”
The new Sox center fielder eventually found his way and was all smiles in the clubhouse, eager to start his career in Boston under the brightest of lights.
He said he had a taste for the rivalry between Boston and New York, but only from afar, watching Sunday night games that began hours after his usual matinee affairs with lesser teams were complete.
The crush of reporters around his locker gave him a taste of why the prime-time slot is so necessary for these age-old rivals.
“It was kind of a normal day until I started seeing all of this,” he said while pointing to the horde around him. “So that means it’s big. Now my heart rate goes up a little bit.”
It’ll likely go up a bit more when Cameron steps in against old friend CC Sabathia. The two were teammates briefly in Milwaukee in 2008, helping that franchise break a long playoff drought.
Cameron is actually one of the few Red Sox starters to have good career numbers against the Yankees lefty. While the other eight starters have gone a collective .210 (25-for-119) facing Sabathia, Cameron is 6-for-13 lifetime with three doubles and two triples.
Perhaps knowing he can show his teammates the way in that regard is a much-needed comfort on a hectic Opening Day.
“I got a big buddy that’s pitching today so that’s gonna make it that much better,” Cameron said.
Before heading out for batting practice, Cameron noted some surprises at Fenway. He said the clubhouse is much bigger than he thought it would be, and he was in love with some of the old charm, particularly the old wooden boards he walks on out to the dugout and the mold on the walls in the tunnel.
With all the newness to soak in, Cameron said he was just trying to focus on what he knows best.
“Every day of spring training I tried to picture myself in this position right now and play it out in my mind how I want it to go and try to make adjustments along the way,” he said. “The task is very difficult … it’s still in the back of my mind that it’s just baseball. You just gotta go play like you always played.”
