Ex-Red Sox Alex Verdugo Not Worried About Pressure From Yankees Fans

Alex Verdugo is making a major switch in crossing enemy lines after being traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees this offseason.

The 24-year-old veteran outfielder noted that frustration circled his mind after hearing the news, but since then, Verdugo has embraced joining the pinstripes. That welcoming of the new opportunity at hand in playing for yet another iconic franchise has even been extended to New York's notoriously rowdy fanbase -- which Verdugo doesn't fear one bit.

Instead, Verdugo intends to flip whatever energy is directed his way from the Yankee Stadium crowd in 2024, into a positive.

"I think what makes me different is I really don't care. Like, I really don't care about the tough crowd, the people talking the smack like that," Verdugo told YES Network on Thursday. "I don't care, I feed off it. I like when people talk. At the end of the day, you want your fanbase to have your back, right? ... I'm excited for it. I'm looking forward to whatever reception I get from (Yankees fans). If it's good, positive, if it's half-half. I'm just excited to see them and mess with the stans a little bit."

Alex Verdugo is confident he has what it takes to thrive in the Bronx: "I really don't care about the tough crowd, the people talking smack. I don't care. I feed off of it." pic.twitter.com/yhUfRC4eNn

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 21, 2023

Verdugo, like many other players across Major League Baseball, does have a history with New York's home crowd.

In 2021, while playing left field during a Red Sox-Yankees game in New York, Verdugo was struck by a baseball thrown from the stands at Yankee Stadium. Understandably, Verdugo was triggered and fired up, jawing at Yankee fans while dishing out a handful of expletives before being restrained and separated from the area.

"Yeah, I lost my cool there for a second. I was pretty (expletive)," Verdugo explained afterward. "... It is what it is. I'm just happy nothing came of it, nobody got hurt, I didn't get hit in the face or anything like that or in the back of the head. All that's good, but as fans, y'all gotta be better."

So, to Verdugo's credit, he has already seen the ugly side of Yankee Stadium.

Now freshly shaved and set to patrol an outfield alongside studs Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the circumstances are much different as Verdugo will call "The House that Derek Jeter Built" home.