How much pride do you take in being a New Englander playing Major League Baseball?
“I take a ton of pride in it. Just talking with other guys from the area, we all do.
"It’s not easy to come from the Boston area and make it in baseball. Our window to play during the year is shorter than everywhere else in the country and people didn’t take us seriously for a long time. Essentially until you prove yourself on a national stage, people would say, ‘How good could you possibly be if you’re from New England?’ It’s a mentality that I feel like a lot of guys have. When you get out here, people know where everyone is from. Other people from the South or wherever, they have this image in their head of what a New England player is like — pretty tough, gritty and hard-working. That’s something I am proud of.
"I love being from where I’m from and wouldn’t change it for the world.”
