Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo (27) missed the ballpark because he did not keep up with the time. Boston manager Alex Cora was furious and couldn’t hide his disappointment.안전놀이터
Verdugo entered the starting lineup as the fifth hitter and right fielder in the home game against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 6th (hereinafter Korean time), but suddenly dropped out 2 hours and 3 minutes before the start of the game. The lineup was revised as Adam Duvall took the place of Virgo. Verdugo was strong against Toronto starter Jose Berrios that day with a career batting average of 3.5 (7 hits in 20 at-bats) and 1 home run, so the absence was a loss to the team.
According to local media such as ‘MLB.com’, Verdugo went to work at the baseball field about two hours before the start of the game. Most players should arrive at least three hours before the home game. Normally, he arrives 4 hours in advance to warm up and prepare for training, but with Verdugo, it was far too late. Verdugo had problems with his walk due to being late during his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Coach Cora said before the game, “Verdugo is not playing today. “We took a step back as a team. For us to move forward, every player needs to be able to play every day. But it didn’t. As the director, I have to take responsibility for this. I will not send Verdugo to the game.”
After the match, Verdugo said, “It’s the manager’s decision, and I respect that decision. He is the manager and the head of this team. I have responsibilities, but the decision is up to the director. I don’t know if this decision will hurt or help the team, but I want to say that it will help in many ways. As a player, I want to play every day. It was a little difficult to watch the game from the bench,” he said.
With Verdugo missing, Boston lost 4-5 to Toronto. Yuval, who replaced Verdugo, played an active role with 2 hits in 4 at-bats, but could not prevent the team from losing. Boston, which suffered three consecutive losses, was 57-53 (.518 win rate), 5th in the American League East Division, and 6th in the wild card, widening the gap with Toronto (62-50), which had a postseason cutoff of 3rd place, by 4 games. At the point where every game had to be risked to advance to fall baseball, the tardy incident poured cold water on Boston properly.
After the match, Cora said: “It’s very disappointing. Probably one of the worst days I’ve had on this team. Today we took a step back. I feel responsible because I am the team leader. It’s hard, but I have to work hard again tomorrow. But today I am very disappointed.”
Local reporters asked for specific explanations regarding the exclusion of Verdugo, but coach Cora, who refused to disclose it publicly, said, “There is a reason for the decision not to include Verdugo. I won’t go into details, but that’s enough.” He declined to comment further. Verdugo said, “I accept (the situation) like a man. I will shake it off and get up again,” he said, saying he would focus on the next game.
Verdugo, a lefty left-handed outfielder who debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, came to Boston ahead of the 2020 season in a major trade that included Mookie Betts. His career record in 7 major league seasons was 607 games, batting average .283 (613 hits in 2163 at-bats), 52 homers, 242 RBIs, OPS .771. He is batting 2.7 (103 hits in 382 at-bats), 8 home runs, 41 RBIs, and an OPS of .768 in 98 games this season.