Alex Cora didn’t mince words when he looked back on the early-season mood at Fenway Park, and one moment stood out to him more than the rest: the reaction to Caleb Durbin.
On the October 26 episode of the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, the former Red Sox manager spoke about the lead-up to his firing, the immediate fallout, a possible return to baseball and more. He also pointed to an odd early-season atmosphere in Boston, where pitchers underperformed and the fan base was coming off an offseason it believed the team handled badly, especially after the loss of Alex Bregman.
That frustration, Cora said, spilled over in a way that surprised him.
"We get home and Caleb gets booed. They booed him in the introductions, and that's not Boston, that's not Fenway Park.
I was surprised that happened," Cora said. "'Sell the team' chants around the sixth, seventh inning of the home opener, that was weird...
It was a bad vibe, to be honest with you, not with us, but with the whole atmosphere."
Durbin had nothing to do with the roster choices that put him in that spot. He was asked to step into a role shaped by the Bregman departure, and he took on the pressure that came with it. The boos were aimed at the wrong player.
He wasn’t Bregman - not with the same experience, not with the same power - but Durbin still gave Boston something real. In his first major league season, he showed promise, improved on his earlier work and did it while dealing with a broken pinky finger that eventually required surgery.
And by the end of it, the boos looked badly misplaced. Durbin grew into a fan favorite, became one of the key sparks in Boston’s 32-5 stretch and played the kind of hard-nosed game Craig Breslow had described. His defense at third base also stacked up very closely to Bregman’s level, and he’s now a lock for Gold Glove at the position in the American League.
Cora’s point was simple: if the fans were angry, the front office was the proper target, not the player trying to make the adjustment. Red Sox fans’ real objection was to the way the roster was built, and that frustration should have been directed there.
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Red Sox Make Another Quiet 40-Man Roster Move
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Cheng spent one season in the organization after arriving in Boston, getting into 13 big league games while also logging time at Triple-A Worcester. His work there included eight home runs and a .241/.345/.390 line, enough to keep him in the mix as a depth infielder even as the Red Sox chose to move on and Detroit took a look at adding him to its own roster picture. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Durbins First Red Sox Season Looks Different After This Revelation
Caleb Durbins first season with the Red Sox had already been notable for the way he handled himself at third base, where he emerged as an American League Gold Glove finalist. What has come into sharper focus now is how much he was managing behind the scenes, with Boston aware during the season that he was dealing with more than one physical issue while still taking the field day after day.
Durbin recently underwent a second offseason surgery, this one on his right foot to address an older injury involving the fifth metatarsal and a tendon, following an earlier procedure on his left pinkie finger. The Red Sox knew about both injuries as the season unfolded, and his ability to keep playing through them adds another layer to what was already a strong defensive debut in Boston. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Still Have Tough Roster Calls Coming Before Monday
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Even after those moves, there is still work to do, and the next round of cuts figures to be more complicated because it will involve players who may have some value, not just empty spots to free up. The Red Sox have a few more roster decisions queued up as they sort through who stays, who goes and who gets squeezed off the 40-man before Mondays deadline arrives. [Read more 🡒]