The Boston Red Sox saw Eduardo Rodriguez at his best Oct. 27 in Los Angeles, but they also saw him at his worst.
Rodriguez dazzled through five innings in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series, shutting out the Dodgers in a game he never was supposed to start. But things unraveled for the lefty in the sixth inning, punctuated by a three-run homer off the bat of Yasiel Puig to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead. Rodriguez, disgusted with the himself after squandering perhaps his best start of the season, slammed his glove on the mound in rage.
Here’s the play (as if you could forget):
https://youtu.be/h-Fk2GpWQKc?t=302
Of course, Boston went on to win 9-6 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. They won the World Series the next night.
And now Rodriguez, two months after the most memorable night of his baseball career, is looking forward to the most important season of his career. But he’s also looking back on that night in Los Angeles, hoping to use it as a teaching moment.
“I think I lost my mind for a second,” Rodriguez recently told The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. “I just felt like I had let everybody down. I was so angry. I was trying to throw my glove through the earth.
“ … Probably one of the best games I had pitched all season. I felt great. (Rich Hill) was great, too. I learned a lot in that game, starting in the World Series for the first time. It was the biggest game of my life.”
Ultimately, Rodriguez probably should be forgiven for letting his emotions get the best of him on baseball’s biggest stage. Still, don’t expect similar outbursts from the 25-year-old anytime soon.
“It was a mistake,” Rodriguez told Abraham. “But hitters throw their bats or their helmets all the time. Why can’t pitchers show emotion? I was just angry.
“But I won’t throw my glove again.”
