In a game in which players have, until quite recently, been mostly afraid to let their personalities show, Alex Verdugo has never tried to hide his emotions.
He banters with fans, plays with energy and expresses himself freely.
Until, that is, it's time to take care of business.
"When you're in the box,'' he said, "you try your best to calm down, take deep breaths, relax whatever. For me, I'm very emotional in the sense that I like to show, whether it's anger, happiness, confusion...I like to wear my emotions on my sleeve. But when it comes to hitting, if I try to do less at the plate and simplify my thoughts, that's when I have the good results.''
Whatever Verdugo does in the game's big moments, it seems to work. It did again Friday night at Fenway, when Verdugo stroked an opposite-field single halfway up The Wall, scoring pinch-runner Danny Santana from second base to cap a 6-5 comeback win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Then, and only then, did emotion flow. Verdugo was mobbed in the middle of the infield by his joyous teammates and he reveled in the celebration, at one point being slung over the shoulder of Christian Arroyo.
After falling behind in the top of the sixth by four runs, the Red Sox had their work cut out for them. But a three-run sixth brought them back in the game and a solo homer from Arroyo got them to within a run in the eighth.
To start the ninth, Kike Hernandez reached on an errant throw and motored to second when the ball got away from first baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. With Santana pinch-running, Verdugo stepped in against Toronto closer Rafael Dolis.
The Sox had already beaten Dolis with a final at-bat comeback in Dunedin earlier this season, so perhaps that served as a confidence boost. Whatever the case, Verdugo simply took a 1-and-2 pitch on the outer half, and with a perfect inside-out swing, swatted the ball toward the left-field wall. It scraped near the top, and Santana easily scored from second, touching off the euphoric eruption.
Perhaps it's not surprising that the moment never feels too big for Verdugo. Obtained as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers in February of 2020, he never put undue pressure on himself to prove himself to the Red Sox fan base in 2020. He simply adapted to his new surroundings and established himself as one of the best players on the club.
He refused to lug around Betts's legacy, or tried too hard to be someone he wasn't. That would have been a losing proposition since, as talented as Verdugo is, he's not the equal of Betts. What he is, however, is a very solid player, capable of contributing in a number of ways.
"He's a five-tool player,'' gushed Alex Cora. "He's a game-changer. He can hit for average, he can hit for power. He understands the circumstance of the game. He has a high baseball IQ. We've got a good one. I know everyone is going to talk about that trade forever, I guess. But he's a good player. His at-bats are amazing.''
Part of what allows Verdugo to thrive in pressurized situations is his calm approach. His swing isn't complicated and there aren't a lot of moving parts. With a simplified path to the ball, there are fewer things that can go wrong or get out of whack.
"He understands what he needs to do to put himself in position to attack the ball,'' Cora continued. "His at-bats today were amazing. He was taking changeups, taking the ball the other way, staying within himself.''
A year ago, as if he weren't already under the microscope as The Guy They Got for Mookie, Verdugo sometimes had to carry the offense. Rafael Devers began poorly. J.D. Martinez never got going. Only Xander Bogaerts was a consistent force in the lineup. But Verdugo, often leading off and frequently playing an excellent outfield, became the focal point.
"With all due respect to those players, he was the MVP of the team,'' said Cora. "And now that those guys (have all bounced back), he doesn't have to do too much. There's a reason he's hitting second. He's probably the most complete hitter that we have. He can go the other way, he can hit for average, he can hit for power, he works the count.''
And, as he demonstrated Friday night, with the game on the line, doesn't let the moment overwhelm him.