Former Red Sox first baseman and outfielder Kevin Millar will return to Fenway Park this season as part of NESN's broadcast booth. And the 50-year-old, who retired from Major League Baseball in 2010, is looking forward to taking in the on-field product.
Millar, who recently spoke to NESN.com about his transition back into the booth following post-retirement stints with NESN and FOX Sports, shouted out one particular Boston player who he believes deserves more recognition.
"I mean, I love Xander Bogaerts, for one," Millar told NESN.com. "I think he is highly underrated. I think he's a wonderful human being, to start with. Quiet, does his job, good-looking kid, a tremendous player."
Bogaerts will be back for 2022 and attempt to follow up an All-Star campaign in which he slashed .295/.370/.493 and hit 23 home runs with 79 RBIs.
But Millar didn't stop there. He rattled off a number of other players around the horn that he is looking forward to watching from the broadcast booth this season as the Red Sox look to improve upon last season's unexpected run to the American League Championship Series. And what's perhaps even more thrilling for Boston fans is that Millar's excitement seems to be mirrored by the team's front office.
"You've got (Bogaerts) and (Rafael) Devers over there, who has just turned into a monster offensive player at third base," Millar said. "Chris Sale's health is huge for this team. He'll be back full strength, we got a chance to see him in the postseason.
"I was with Alex Cora last week and we had a chance to talk in Fort Myers at JetBlue Park, when Tom Werner and John Henry did this nice little event that night, and just the excitement that Alex has, and he has done such a wonderful job of managing. It's really awesome to see how he's kind of handled players in making that transition from a player to now a manager and we talked about that. So I'm excited to see Sale back in a full season. (Nathan) Eovaldi's turned into a monster."
All things considered, Millar said he has high hopes for his former team in 2022.
"They have such a great little offense," he said. "It'll be a good team, adding some bullpen arms now that they can go out and sign players that this lockout's over with and it's behind us. We've got baseball. The fans can get excited. I'm sure free agency is going to start happening really, really quick because we've got about, what, 18 days before we start? There's a lot a lot of excitement all around baseball and I know the Sox Nation is ready to roll."
The Red Sox open the season April 7 against the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Boston's home opener is scheduled for April 15 against the Minnesota Twins.
