Whether it's a line drive or a one-liner, Kevin Millar has been coming through for the Boston Red Sox.
It didn't look like much to laugh about a few months ago when the Red Sox were in an international tug-of-war with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan to get Millar. But just three months into his Red Sox career, he's emerged as a team leader with off-the-cuff jokes that brighten Boston's clubhouse. Win or lose, the smile rarely leaves his face.
"I'm enjoying every day we come here, to be able to be a part of Fenway Park and the Red Sox," Millar says. "I just like to have fun."
And his teammates love having him around.
"Kevin just makes you laugh even when you don't want to," David Ortiz said.
Millar couldn't joke about the anxiety of the offseason. He spent six weeks wondering if he'd be playing in North America or Asia. He worried about being abroad with a war in Iraq on the horizon.
"It was scary," he said.
The Florida Marlins paid Millar US$1.05 million last season, but had too many right-handed hitters and sold him to Chunichi for US$1.2 million.
He said he probably would have signed in the majors for US$1.5 million and a chance to play every day, but the two-year, US$6.2 million deal he agreed to with Chunichi in January was too good to pass up. But first, Florida was required to put him on waivers. After the Red Sox claimed him, Millar said he never signed the Dragons' contract.
US and Japanese baseball officials began talks. Chunichi released its claim on Feb. 14 and his rights returned to the Marlins. The next morning, the Red Sox obtained him for cash considerations.
Millar was so thrilled -- and relieved -- that he got in his car that day and drove 16 hours from his home in Beaumont, Texas, to Boston's training camp in Fort Myers, Florida. He signed a two-year, US$5.3 million contract plus a US$3.5 million player option for 2005 that would become guaranteed if he has 800 plate appearances this year and next year.
Millar found it curious that a 31-year-old player with an undistinguished past drew so much attention. He wasn't drafted, but began his pro career with the independent St. Paul Saints in 1993 and spent the next four seasons in the minors.
He was hurt most of the 1998 season before joining Florida to stay from May 21, 1999, through last season. In 500 games, he hit .296 with 59 homers and 251 RBIs.
Millar has played first base, outfield and designated hitter, and got off to an outstanding start. He hit .404 through the first 16 games and, as part of one of baseball's best lineups, has hovered around .300 since then.
Boston general manager Theo Epstein was confident he'd end up with Millar, a hard-working, blue-collar type player with average speed and fielding ability but a good bat.
"We got exactly the guy we thought we were getting in all phases of the game, even in the clubhouse," he said. "We knew he would be a good leader."
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS