Since his eagerly anticipated call-up in late May, Marcelo Mayer, a rookie for the Red Sox, has seen numerous changes.
The hotels are fancier and the food is better. Players don’t have roommates, and team planes are used for road trips rather than buses.
When minor league players transition to major league players, a lot of it is normal.
Less so when taking on a new role. On May 23, third baseman Alex Bregman strained his quadriceps, which is why Mayer is here. After he had played precisely six games in three minor league seasons, the Red Sox responded by calling up their best shortstop prospect and moving him to the hot corner.
He doesn’t play like a beginner. He has already made a number of seemingly effortless plays at third base, and when Bregman returns, he might switch to second base.
Mayer attributes the seamless transfer to the seasoned infielder. Mayer was impressed by Bregman’s ability to build relationships with the top prospects from the day he reported to Red Sox spring training.
He actually sat with us for about two hours during lunch on his first day here, Mayer told the Herald at the time. He was assisting us, getting to know us, and trying to understand what we were about. He is not required to do it. He recently received a $120 million contract, and it was really great that he took the time to get to know us, talk baseball, and shop with us.
Since Mayer and fellow top prospect Roman Anthony made their big-league debuts, the mentorship has only been stronger. Bregman often be spotted coaching the younger players in the dugout during any given game. He was on the field Monday, adjusting the elbow of fellow infielder David Hamilton while the latter was in his batting stance. Alex Cora, the manager, refers to Bregman as a “baseball rat.” Bregman is the most knowledgeable person he’s ever encountered in the game, Roman Anthony told the Herald.
He is quite active. About Bregman, Mayer remarked, “It’s so valuable.” I believe it simply demonstrates his intense desire to win and succeed. It goes without saying that his absence from play simply frees up more time for him to assist us. He truly is a leader. He genuinely cares about our growth and success, and I believe that’s evident because he always jumps at the chance to assist us.
It’s crazy. He knows things that are beyond comprehension. Sometimes he says things to me that I never would have considered in my life. He has a great deal of expertise in some aspects of the game, has won a lot of them, and is aware of what it takes to win. It helps, in my opinion, whenever a player like that is brought into an organization.
Mayer was also able to awaken a side of himself that had been asleep for the previous few years by making it to the majors.
For me, the most important thing is simply regaining the desire to win games, he remarked. You play for so long that winning is all you ever want to do. You want to win when you play with your best pals in high school. You attend college because you want to succeed. When you get to the minors, winning isn’t really the main goal. After you arrive, you start to feel as though your only concern is winning once more.
That’s what I’ve most appreciated. As soon as I was called up, I sensed it. I’ve approached everything I’ve done in my life with the understanding that winning is the only thing that counts in this situation. I just want to succeed. To be honest, those games in the minors get extremely dull when you don’t care if you win or lose, so that’s actually what I was most pleased about when I received that call. For example, winning is wonderful, but it’s not actually important. But in my opinion, the goal of sports is to win.
Mayer believes Boston is the ideal place for him in this regard.
He declared, “I love Boston, I love our fans, and I love how passionate they are.” As a squad and with our record, we’re obviously not where we want to be, and I believe we hear it occasionally, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. If you’re a fiercely competitive gamer who solely cares about winning, this is the place for you.
