It didn’t take long for Addison Reed to see what baseball in Boston is all about.
The newly acquired reliever made his Red Sox debut Tuesday night against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. He surrendered a home run to Carlos Santana in the eighth inning before giving way to closer Craig Kimbrel, who subsequently allowed a game-tying homer in the ninth.
It was an underwhelming arrival for the veteran right-hander, but the Red Sox still pulled off a dramatic 12-10 win thanks to a Christian Vazquez walk-off home run. And those are the types of moments Reed admired from afar while pitching for the New York Mets throughout this season.
“They’ve been fun to watch — you always see them on TV,” Reed said before Tuesday’s game, per MLB.com. “Like every time I turn on MLB Network or ‘SportsCenter,’ they’re showing the highlight of one of the guys in this clubhouse. … Every time I turn on the TV, it seems like they’re showing a highlight catch or guys dancing in center field.”
Tuesday night’s game had a little bit of everything, making it perhaps Boston’s biggest win of the year, especially since it thrust the Red Sox back ahead of the New York Yankees in the American League East standings.
Sure, not every game will include so much drama. But few things compare to a pennant race in Boston, and that isn’t lost on Reed, who posted a 2.57 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 48 appearances with the Mets before the Red Sox acquired him in exchange for three prospects prior to Monday’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline.
“This has always been a dream of mine, to come here and play,” Reed said, according to MLB.com. “When I got the call (Monday) saying that I was coming here, it was awesome. It’s everything I thought it would be. I’m excited to be here and to get ready to roll.”
“If you can’t get ready to go here, you shouldn’t be playing baseball,” the 28-year-old added. “If you can’t get pumped up playing in front of these fans and in this atmosphere, then there’s something wrong with you and you need to go home.”
It sounds like Reed is all in with his new team.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
