Playing professional baseball has always been more than just playing the game, and the Red Sox are doing all they can to prepare their prospects for a potential future in Major League Baseball.
The Red Sox announced on Wednesday that 11 of their top prospects will be participating in the upcoming Red Sox 2011 Rookie Program. The two-week program is designed to expose the players to the expectations of being Major Leaguers within the Red Sox' organization.
Some of the participants already have some experience with the Red Sox, as 10 of the 11 prospects spent 2010 with Boston's minor league affiliates. Pitchers Robert Coello, Stephen Fife, Stolmy Pimentel, Jason Rice, Alex Wilson, Clevelan Santeliz; catchers Ryan Lavarnway and Tim Fedorowicz; infielders Will Middlebrooks and Oscar Tejeda; and outfielder Juan Lineres will all be taking part in the rookie program.
The program, which kicks off on Jan. 10, provides a combined focus of on and off-the-field training. In addition to daily workouts and fundamentals training, the rookies will also attend several seminars that emphasize the importance of their presence in the community. The rookies will also visit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute to meet with the young patients supported by the Jimmy Fund.
Special seminars will be given by several key members of the Red Sox' organization. The speakers include team general manager Theo Epstein, president/CEO Larry Lucchino, manager Terry Francona and Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers.
