Bill de Blasio has been a Boston Red Sox fan long enough to understand David Price’s odd relationship with the region in which he plays.
The New York City mayor asserted Wednesday during his appearance on The Jonah Keri Podcast that the Red Sox starting pitcher is getting a “raw deal” from the public. De Blasio believes Price’s 2016 arrival as a free agent with a massive contract and bigger expectations, combined with the attitude problems the pitcher admits he demonstrated last season, results in a frosty rapport between the fans and him.
“I think David Price has gotten a raw deal,” de Blasio said, per CBS’ R.J. Anderson. “Look, I can only imagine what it’s like to go into my beloved Fenway if you didn’t come up — a real interesting study would be those who came up from the Red Sox farm system historically, and how better they fared psychologically, symbolically, etc. than those who came in. You come in from Tampa, of all places. I mean, it’s like you got flown onto Mars and put in the starting lineup, right?
“So, I feel for Price because I think he was put through more than he deserved. But I think he’s found it now. We saw it in the playoffs, it’s not even just about this year, you saw it in the playoffs last year — something was clicking. He’s been wild now, I love what I’m seeing.”
Price has started the 2018 season well, posting a 1-0 record through two starts without allowing an earned run over 14 innings. If he maintains his fine form throughout the season, perhaps the region’s feelings for him, and de Blasio’s assessment of them, might change.
