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Red Sox’ Jose Iglesias has wow factor
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By John Tomase | Thursday, January 21, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Boston Red Sox
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Photo by Matthew West
<!--//article Image//--><!--//article//-->The lessons are coming fast and furious for Red Sox [team stats] prospect Jose Iglesias, some more visceral than others.
Take Iglesias’ third game in the Arizona Fall League last October. He blasted a two-run homer in his first at-bat and celebrated in the style of his native Cuba, thrusting his arms aloft and joyously circling the bases.
That joy departed with a groan one at-bat later when Cardinals prospect Scott Gorgen drilled him in the ribs.
Lesson learned.
“Call it a rookie mistake,” Iglesias said yesterday through translator Eddie Romero. “It’s very different from where I come from in Cuba where (celebrating) is something normal. . . . I learned from the bruise. Hopefully it won’t happen again.”
Iglesias was on hand at Boston College yesterday for the Red Sox rookie development program, and the youngster seemed impressively poised for his age (20), particularly considering he’s experiencing an entirely new culture.
Though Iglesias conducted most of his interview through a translator, his nascent English was remarkably clear and accent-free. He didn’t speak a word when he arrived stateside but said he has learned by watching films like “Avatar.”
“I try every day,” he said in English. “I watch TV. It’s not easy, but I try. If you want it, you can do it.”
The same might eventually be said for Iglesias as a big league shortstop. Minor league teammates marvel at what he’s able to do defensively, and if he hits like he did in Arizona (.275, .745 OPS), the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder might turn out to be a steal at $8.25 million.
“He does some stuff (defensively) that you just kind of sit there and go, ‘Wow,’ ” pitching prospect Casey Kelly said. “You don’t know what to say. He’s only 20 years old. He’s going to get better and better as he goes along. There were a couple of plays he made in Arizona where everyone in the dugout looked at each other with just a stunned face like, ‘Did he just do that?’ ”
Iglesias is happy to bide his time. Poised and confident in front of the cameras and microphones yesterday, he realizes he has a ways to go before he’s ready to be a big leaguer. The first step will be spring training.
“For me it’s going to be a tremendous experience,” he said. “I just turned 20 years old very recently. I’m kind of going into it wide-eyed. I won’t be intimidated.”
Seeing snow for the first time was an eye-opener. But even more so was stepping on the field at Fenway Park [map] with the stands empty in the dead of winter.
“It was quite an experience,” he said. “I found myself in that stadium and it was a really pretty thing. I just felt like I had this chemistry with the ballpark and I could see myself at one point playing there and it was just a tremendous experience.”
The Red Sox are thrilled with Iglesias’ progress.
“The hands, the range, the athleticism all jump out at you,” farm director Mike Hazen said. “I think everyone will get to see that when he first steps into camp. Offensively, we just don’t have enough at-bats. The fact that he held his own in the fall league is very impressive. He’s got a very simple, fundamental swing. We think that’s going to translate very nicely.”
For now, the lessons continue. Iglesias studies American history to better understand the culture, and he hopes to one day meet fellow Cuban Luis Tiant, the reason his father always has been a Sox fan.
He’s already proving a good student. He hit his second and final homer of the fall league in November and didn’t showboat.
He respectfully dropped his head and sprinted around the bases.
Red Sox’ Jose Iglesias has wow factor
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By John Tomase | Thursday, January 21, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Boston Red Sox
<!--//Byline box end//--><!--//article Image//-->
Photo by Matthew West
<!--//article Image//--><!--//article//-->The lessons are coming fast and furious for Red Sox [team stats] prospect Jose Iglesias, some more visceral than others.
Take Iglesias’ third game in the Arizona Fall League last October. He blasted a two-run homer in his first at-bat and celebrated in the style of his native Cuba, thrusting his arms aloft and joyously circling the bases.
That joy departed with a groan one at-bat later when Cardinals prospect Scott Gorgen drilled him in the ribs.
Lesson learned.
“Call it a rookie mistake,” Iglesias said yesterday through translator Eddie Romero. “It’s very different from where I come from in Cuba where (celebrating) is something normal. . . . I learned from the bruise. Hopefully it won’t happen again.”
Iglesias was on hand at Boston College yesterday for the Red Sox rookie development program, and the youngster seemed impressively poised for his age (20), particularly considering he’s experiencing an entirely new culture.
Though Iglesias conducted most of his interview through a translator, his nascent English was remarkably clear and accent-free. He didn’t speak a word when he arrived stateside but said he has learned by watching films like “Avatar.”
“I try every day,” he said in English. “I watch TV. It’s not easy, but I try. If you want it, you can do it.”
The same might eventually be said for Iglesias as a big league shortstop. Minor league teammates marvel at what he’s able to do defensively, and if he hits like he did in Arizona (.275, .745 OPS), the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder might turn out to be a steal at $8.25 million.
“He does some stuff (defensively) that you just kind of sit there and go, ‘Wow,’ ” pitching prospect Casey Kelly said. “You don’t know what to say. He’s only 20 years old. He’s going to get better and better as he goes along. There were a couple of plays he made in Arizona where everyone in the dugout looked at each other with just a stunned face like, ‘Did he just do that?’ ”
Iglesias is happy to bide his time. Poised and confident in front of the cameras and microphones yesterday, he realizes he has a ways to go before he’s ready to be a big leaguer. The first step will be spring training.
“For me it’s going to be a tremendous experience,” he said. “I just turned 20 years old very recently. I’m kind of going into it wide-eyed. I won’t be intimidated.”
Seeing snow for the first time was an eye-opener. But even more so was stepping on the field at Fenway Park [map] with the stands empty in the dead of winter.
“It was quite an experience,” he said. “I found myself in that stadium and it was a really pretty thing. I just felt like I had this chemistry with the ballpark and I could see myself at one point playing there and it was just a tremendous experience.”
The Red Sox are thrilled with Iglesias’ progress.
“The hands, the range, the athleticism all jump out at you,” farm director Mike Hazen said. “I think everyone will get to see that when he first steps into camp. Offensively, we just don’t have enough at-bats. The fact that he held his own in the fall league is very impressive. He’s got a very simple, fundamental swing. We think that’s going to translate very nicely.”
For now, the lessons continue. Iglesias studies American history to better understand the culture, and he hopes to one day meet fellow Cuban Luis Tiant, the reason his father always has been a Sox fan.
He’s already proving a good student. He hit his second and final homer of the fall league in November and didn’t showboat.
He respectfully dropped his head and sprinted around the bases.
hno:
