“It’s not meant for everybody.”
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski cut straight to the chase Wednesday, telling Buster Olney on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” podcast that playing in Boston presents unique challenges.
“The intense scrutiny you receive on a day in, day out basis is probably second to none,” Dombrowski continued. “But with that also comes a lot of full houses and a lot of passion on a daily basis, which is also second to none.”
Fenway Park indeed is home to one of Major League Baseball’s liveliest fanbases. In fact, Dombrowski said he’s always discussed Boston, New York and Philadelphia as the three markets that have “a little more scrutiny than any others.”
That raises the question: How will a newcomer like J.D. Martinez, who comes over from the small-market Arizona Diamondbacks, adapt to the limelight?
“Knowing J.D. well, I think he will adjust to it without a problem,” Dombrowski, who was part of the Detroit Tigers front office that acquired Martinez in 2014, told Olney. “Again, I’m sure there will be some scrutiny because you’ve got a lot more people — we’ve got a small clubhouse at Fenway and there’s a lot more people there — but I think he has that type of personality.
“He loves the game, loves the work ethic of it, loves the passion, the aspect of being part of a pennant race on a day in, day out basis, so I think he’ll handle it well.”
Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, another ex-Tiger, recently took a similar view of playing in Boston: That the brighter spotlight is more of a blessing than a curse. Dombrowski appears to have a similar mindset.
“I enjoy it a great deal because it’s (a market) where baseball is talked about thoroughly on a day in day out basis,” Dombrowski added. “J.D. captured it pretty well — it’s like every game is a ‘Monday Night Football’ game with the intensity of it and the focus on it.
“You need to prepare for it, you need to discuss it, but I do think that most players and agents are at least somewhat prepared for it. But I don’t think you can be fully prepared for it until you’re actually in the market and see it.”
