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BOSTON – Earlier in the postseason, Alex Cora told a story about Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts. His message: "You guys are good, you should play the part."
In other words, it's OK to show a little emotion out there.
"They're great kids, they're awesome, very humble," Cora explained. "But I think they should know who they are, they are really good at me, and they are very good at me. And that's what it's all about, this is October. "
This World Series is a matchup of two historic franchises from opposite coasts with big payrolls and rosters full of stars. It's also, in part, a showdown of swagger. The Dodgers have the ultimate showman in Yasiel Puig and a more controversial sidekick in Manny Machado. The Red Sox … well, maybe it's not exactly where you want to go to school, but you're not going to see them. The celebration is changing the culture of baseball, but do not tell the Red Sox.
Bogaerts remembered the meeting, if not the message.
"It was me, Jackie and Mookie," he said. "I do not remember if there is one more guy. [Cora]. Whether we are going up or down, whether we're struggling or playing good, just try to remind us how to stay t get too high, too low. "
Bursts of emotion from Betts are so rare that they could pinpoint a couple of them.
"I have not seen his teammate," he recalled. "Two times that I really remembered it was a hit in Milwaukee that was very special, that was last year, pretty sure it was in the top of the eighth inning, this year the big slam hit – I forget how many pitches it was, but it was against JA Happ and that was such a big at-bat. "
That celebration from Betts is one captured in MLB 's commercial postseason, titled "Rewrite the rules," which features Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., his hat backward, declaring, "No more talk, let the kids play. MLB is giving birth to these spontaneous moments of joy:
"I think the culture of the game obviously has changed," said Dodgers infielder David Freese, who first reached the majors in 2009. "If you agree with it or not, it is about the kids. It is important to think about it, but it is important to think about it. "
Puig had one of his patented displays in Game 2. With the Boston crowd chanting "Beat L.A! Beat L.A.!" in homage to the old Celtics-Lakers rivalry, Puig singled out in the fourth inning and when he met a basketball player taking a shot. Puig does, it was a "love it or hate it" kind of moment.
You're not going to see that from the Red Sox. That does not mean they're a bunch of robots. Even Betts showed some significant emotion when he scored on J.D. Martinez's go-ahead single in the fifth inning. He gave a couple of hardy high-fives to teammates, including a two-handed, arms-above-the-head one with Bogaerts, and then pointed to Martinez at first base.
That's the kind of reaction Cora does not mind seeing his players. When he talked about that spring training meeting, he invoked the World Baseball Classic from 2017, when he was the general manager of the Puerto Rico team.
"I think we won the hearts of the baseball fans, what we did with the hair and all the celebrations and Javy Baez pointing at people," Cora said. "That was fun. That was awesome, and not because I was the GM. … They [still] played the game right and it was fun. I'm not saying bleach your hair and go to the extreme, but have no problem with emotion on the field. "
A team like the Astros certainly plays with a certain swagger, with Alex Bregman staring into cameras on top of some of their unique home run celebrations in the dugout. Many will argue, however, that Puig in particular takes it too far.
"We got these questions after Puig's homer in Milwaukee, but we have a blast," Freese said. "It makes this game fun." Fans want to see it. "Do not tell me players on Boston do not have a good time and do not have a personality. a blast playing this game and it's hard to do that, it's hard to consistently, genuinely have fun playing this game in the public eye. "
Still, you're not going to see anybody on the Red Sox leap at home. They have more subtle ways of reacting, like playing "New York, New York" in the visitors clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after eliminating their rivals in the division series or Price mouthing "Post that" in the dugout in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Bregman's Instagram posts.
Plus, the idea of the Dodgers possesses more swagger than the Red Sox may not exactly be correct anyway.
David Price and J.D. Martinez lived up to their big contracts by helping deliver Boston a Game 2 World Series win.
L.A.'s all-righty starting lineup did not get the job done in Games 1 and 2 at Fenway. Can Dave Roberts find the right mix going forward?
From the wild-card round the World Series, we'll have the 2018 postseason covered.
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"There's only one guy that shows a lot of emotion on our team," Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp insisted. "Come on, you know who it is." "You know, baseball is changing." "Guys are celebrating, it's fun." Fans love to see Puig doing all the different things.
That gets to the point of the commercial: Baseball is concerned about the future of its fan base, one that skews older than other sports (four-hour postseason games are not helping to win over the kids). The game is changing, whether you like it or not.
"We have all these unwritten rules," Kemp argued. "You can not celebrate." "You can not celebrate." "You see football players doing dance." It's the same thing. Gold almost the same. "Baseball's a bit bit different though," Kemp pointed out, "because there are a lot more things to do, so you can be careful with your celebrations and you can not talk as much."
Kemp then referenced the commercial: "Players are starting to accept it, especially when you have one of the greatest hitters of all time doing business with your backward hat."
That's a reminder that older generations are not as old school as you can believe. Reggie Jackson admired his home runs. Dennis Eckersley wagged his finger at batters after strikeouts. Griffey wore his hat backward. In Boston, think of the 2004 Red Sox, with Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar. That team was excited about showing off the field and letting their opponents know how good they were.
So Puig makes like Magic Johnson? That's not going to ruin the game. Just do not like Kevin McHale and Kurt Rambis.
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