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Former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks played a role in recruiting Trevor Story, who signed a six-year, $140 million deal with Boston this week, and started off his pitch with a direct shot at New York.
“I was selling it for days,” Middlebrooks told the Boston Globe, referring to previous conversations he had with the two-time, All-Star shortstop. “I laid it out. I said, ‘Look, New York smells like garbage and they have rats the size of Shetland ponies. You don’t want to go there.
“You don’t want to go to California. The taxes are absurd. You’ll lose all your money there. In Houston, they have hurricanes. The perfect place to go is Boston.’”
Although the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is alive and well, Middlebrooks said his remarks were all in fun.
“I made that joke to him. He got a kick out of that. But I said in all honesty, I told him I played in five places. If you want the best experience in baseball as a player, you have to experience playing as a home player at Fenway Park in front of Red Sox Nation. There’s nothing better than playing against the Yankees on a Sunday night or playing in the postseason. You can’t beat it.”
Middlebrooks, who played with Boston from 2012-14, has a longstanding relationship with Story that stretches back more than a decade. The two worked out in the offseason after the 2011 season, the year the Rockies selected Story 45th overall in the draft.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora and shortstop Xander Bogaerts, among other Red Sox players, made efforts to recruit Story to Boston in free agency.
Story gushed about his new team Wednesday during his introductory press conference, and it seemed as though Middlebrooks had sold him on the city of Boston.
“Everyone was just glowing about Fenway and Boston and the city and the passion the fans bring every night,” Story told reporters after signing the deal. “I think that was one of the most attractive things for me and for my family, too. That’s what you want. The fans, everybody here, everybody involved cares just as much as we do. I can’t wait to get to Fenway and play in front of the Red Sox faithful.”
Story’s deal with the Red Sox also includes a seventh-year option and, as it stands in 2022, a new position at second base alongside Bogaerts at short.
“At the end of the day, what it came down to, as I’ve been saying my whole career, it’s about winning,” said Story. “I felt that this was a really good fit for me to play second this year on this team, on the Red Sox, and that’s really what it came down to. Really just seeing this team and seeing the trend that they’re on and the players and the makeup of this team, that’s really what swayed me.”
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