The long-awaited Red Sox debut of top prospect Marcelo Mayer is finally upon Boston and its fans.
The 22-year-old took a bit longer to ship up to Boston from Worcester because he was reportedly looking for his lost car keys.
“I lost them like three weeks ago, and I never cared to look for them until when I needed to,” Mayer told reporters in the clubshouse. “So, thankfully, somebody drove me (from Polar Park to Fenway Park).”
Mayer admitted he got a ride with one of the WooSox’s clubbies named Dylan. He said he used the 44-mile drive from Worcester to Boston to respond to texts and calls from his family and friends. He was so focused on his phone that he never realized how long the drive took.
“There was a little bit of traffic, you know how Boston is, especially during the game, so there was a little bit of traffic,” Mayer laughed. “Honestly, I was (looking down) the whole time on my phone, so I barely realized it. But the clubbie was making jokes, ‘Get a police escort. Get everybody out of the way,’ because he was getting more nervous than me.”
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Getting the news that he was being called up to Boston was something Mayer has been working toward his entire life.
WooSox manager Chad Tracy called Mayer into his office before the first game of Worcester’s doubleheader against the Durham Bulls.
“He brought me in a little later and said something along the lines of, ‘You’re not playing. You’ll play the second game, but not here. You’re playing Fenway,’” Mayer explained. “I just got the craziest rush. … It’s surreal. I mean, the emotions were running pretty high. It’s something that me and my family have worked towards ever since I started playing the game. So, it was a moment that I definitely wanted to share with them before it got out to the media.”
Mayer’s family would have to watch his big-league debut on TV, but he hoped his parents would be able to fly out in time for Sunday afternoon’s game. For now, he will consider the clubbie Dylan and the members of Red Sox Nation as his cheering section.
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“It’s awesome to play for a city like this that cares so much about their team and is so passionate about the Red Sox and the Red Sox winning,” he said of the Red Sox fans. “It kind of holds everybody to a higher level of play, and it’s something that I’m looking forward to playing for.”
In his debut, Mayer played third base for the injured Alex Bregman and batted sixth in the lineup.
