PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Surrounded by a media horde consisting of roughly two dozen reporters, Carl Crawford stood Thursday morning with his Red Sox uniform on and his hat turned backwards. One question that came to him during a roughly 10-minute session wondered what the biggest difference between playing for the Tampa Bay Rays or Boston was for the star left fielder.
"This!" Crawford said, alluding to the massive uptick in media, and fan attention since he signed a $142 million deal in December to join the Red Sox.
Crawford will certainly be under a microscope this year as he begins a new, high-profile chapter to his career. After nine years playing at Tropicana Field, where it can be half full even in the heart of a playoff push, Crawford has been thrust into the spotlight weeks before he even plays an actual regular season game for the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Slowly, he knows he has to get through a number of things for the first time. Facing his old friends on Thursday was one such obstacle.
"Playing against your former team, against guys you played with for so long and now you’re on the other team, the one they used to hate so much, it’s going to feel a little different," he said. "But like I said, I’ve just got to get used to it."
Crawford has insisted that the baseball side of things is just as it always was. Nothing has changed in his preparation, which is why the Red Sox are so pleased.
"He's been just what we hoped," manager Terry Francona said. "He shows up early, works hard…We're obviously really excited. We thought we would bring him up here today to see his buddies, get that out of the way, talk to [reporters] under a more relaxed atmosphere. I thought he'd enjoy it."
Once that hugs and handshakes and the simple walk to the other clubhouse at Charlotte Sports Park were out of the way, Crawford could get back to just playing his game again. He hit a soft liner to third in his first at-bat against former teammate Andy Sonnanstine in the top of the first inning and then lined to shortstop in the fourth.
Just as he did many times on the other side, Crawford ignited some things in the sixth with a leadoff hit. Although he was erased on a force play, he set the stage for a three-run rally that got the Sox within 5-4.
Also, in an image emblematic of the outstanding defense he played in Tampa for so many years (Crawford has said that he was extremely proud of the Gold Glove he won last year, knowing how much work he had put into his defense), he made a diving grab in shallow left to end the fourth with a runner on base.
Asked before the game what else had made him so proud during his days in Tampa, Crawford mentioned the team's rise from the depths of the AL East. He said he was actually "scared" that it would either never happen, or at least not happen on his watch.
He can take comfort in knowing he was part of the turnaround. And after Thursday, he can take comfort in knowing he can finally move on.
