So much has been said and written about Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran and what he’s been doing this season that it’s easy to forget the what-ifs of previous seasons.
As in: What if the Red Sox had cashed out on Duran two years ago by trading him for some Double-A relief pitcher? Given the amount of work the organization has done with him — from addressing mental health issues to ordering up toe surgery, which means we’re literally talking about a head-to-toe approach — it’s clear the Red Sox never gave up, and, thus, never entertained a trade. Even more important, Duran never gave up.
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Which brings us to Sunday’s announcement that Duran has been named to the American League All-Star team. That’s a good thing, and on about a hundred levels. Chiefly, this year’s All-Star Game audience is going to get better acquainted with one of baseball’s most exciting all-around players. Duran, who turns 28 in September, has a slash line of .276/.338/.475 with 10 home runs, 10 triples and 21 stolen bases, and according to the Red Sox, he’s the first American League player in history to amass 10 home runs, 10 triples, 20 stolen bases and 100 hits before the All-Star break.
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Duran’s outfield defense, which just two years ago had fans covering their eyes when balls were hit to his zip code, has been superb. He makes all the routine plays, and lately he’s been making plays that fans talk about on the way home and for days after.
Duran runs the bases fast and with flash, almost as if he’s running from something rather than to something. And in a good way. I recall a period several seasons ago when Red Sox baserunners seemed to run the bases as though instructed to keep going until they were thrown out. Duran has been doing just that, except without the getting thrown out part.
"My mom told me to say congrats" 🥹
Jarren Duran is receiving all the support after making his first career All-Star roster 👏 pic.twitter.com/JSJoNK87vG
— ESPN (@espn) July 7, 2024
The best that can be said about a ballplayer, beyond great stats and good deeds, is that he’s fun. And, Lordy, has Jarren Duran been fun this season. (Side note: A couple of years ago my autocorrect had an annoying habit of changing “Jarren” to “Warren.” But autocorrect apparently has been watching Duran this season and likes his game, so it’s Warren no more.)
Jarren Duran is doing it all for the @RedSox 🔥🔥#DirtyWater | @TheMayorsOffice pic.twitter.com/p2t0N47ARx
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 25, 2024
For those who wonder if a straw man is being rushed to service here to make the argument that Duran could have been traded two years ago, the fact is it’s Duran himself who once posed that scenario. “A lot of fans would want me out of here,” Duran told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo in 2022. And if the player has that in his head, regardless of what’s being mulled up in baseball ops, that’s not healthy.
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Duran was having a tough go of things at the time, including a memorable episode in July of ’22 when he found himself frozen in the Fenway dusk and lost a fly to center. After the ball splashed down well behind him, he appeared to stand around as the Toronto Blue Jays’ Raimel Tapia circled the bases for a you-don’t-see-that-everyday, inside-the-park grand slam.
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During an Aug. 7 game at Kansas City, Duran began jawing with Royals bleacher fans, things getting to the point that he had to be gently restrained by Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo. To be fair, Duran was merely adding his name to the thousands of big-leaguers from over the years who have exhibited very public displays of annoyance with fans, a roll call that includes, ahem, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. So … no biggie in the grand scheme. That Teddy Ballgame once spat at the Fenway crowd isn’t mentioned on his Hall of Fame plaque. But Duran’s behavior looked mighty bad at the time, with everything else going on.
Duran’s past troubles, when bookended with his stupendous 2024 successes, serve as a reminder, as if any of us needs one, of the extraordinary pressures that come along for the ride when an athlete makes it to the big time. I’m fond of dredging up an old David Ortiz quote — “The game is hard, man” — when writing about struggling athletes. It’s just that the first time I remember Big Papi speaking words to that effect was between games of a day-night doubleheader in Kansas City when he was limping around with all kinds of ice bags and wrappings in place to keep his aging and achy legs from caving in on him. But the quote works just as well for athletes working to combat the mental toll of competing in professional sports.
The AL All-Star reserves rake! 💪 pic.twitter.com/UjgF5LEyq3
— MLB (@MLB) July 7, 2024
Based on what we’re seeing this season, it’s clear Red Sox manager Alex Cora and the past two heads of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom and Craig Breslow, have worked to put a system in place that’s been to Duran’s benefit. We’ve read of the many people who have been put in place to lend their skills to the Jarren Duran cause, including this piece during spring training by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. Duran has bought in, as evidenced by an Instagram post in which he referenced “the mental demons that almost got me.”
Almost. But now Jarren Duran is in a good place. And speaking of places, he’s headed to Arlington, Texas, where he’ll find All-Star clothing waiting for him at Globe Life Field.
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
