JVE FTW
One night after watching the Tribe walk off with a win (thanks to an amalgamation of mishaps and mistakes from the guys in grey), on Wednesday night it was time for the Red Sox to return the favor and snag a victory in extra innings. And in addition to a spectacular effort by the bullpen, a lot of the credit for the W goes to one Mr. Jonathan Van Every.
I’m a sucker for a good story, and Jonathan Van Every has a doozie.
The 29 (almost 30) year old slowly but surely made a Chris Coste-ian type journey up through the minor leagues, toiling away for years and years trying to catch a break. (And, incidentally, if you haven’t read Coste’s memoir “The 33-Year-Old Rookie” yet, you really need to.) JVE was drafted 876th overall (29th round) in the 2000 draft by, wait for it, the Cleveland Indians. He bounced around the Indians farm system for 7 years — from low A-Lake County to AAA-Buffalo — but was never given a single big league shot by Cleveland. He’s a rare brand of outfielder because he can legitimately play all three spots, and works perfect to slot in on the bench. So when JVE became a minor league free agent after the 2007 season, the Sox snagged him up and signed him to a minor league deal. During ‘08, he spent most of the year in AAA-Pawtucket, but was able to jump up and grab three cups of coffee with the big boys in Boston.
2009 didn’t start off so great for JVE – he sprained his right ankle during spring training, and started the season on the DL. In fact JVE just finished up a rehab start in Pawtucket a week ago when he got the call up to fill in on the merry-go-round caused by Rocco Baldelli’s absence.
And not a moment too soon. Right place, right time and all that — because with the injuries to Youkilis and Drew, JVE stepped in to start in right field and made two spectacular Web Gem catches. And if that wasn’t enough, in the top of the 10th inning, just as Joe Castiglione mused that “Now would be a great time for Jonathan Van Every to hit his first major league home run,” he proceeded to do just that… and knocked in what turned out to be the game-winning tater. That his first big league home run came against the club that never gave him a chance at the bigs is just a little bit of icing on the cake.
Not bad for a rookie.
So congratulations to you, Jonathan Van Every – you knocked in your first major league home run, but more importantly, you’ve earned Baseball Boyfriend of the Day honors.
I wonder if he can play shortstop?
I love JVE. That is all.
He mentioned talking to Castiglione after the game that while he was with the Indians, Jensen Lewis was one of his roommates! He said he enjoyed competing with him, and against him.
Should we pose the question as “I wonder if he can play short stop at least as good as Lugo”? I say give him a shot.
I wonder if he can play shortstop?
It’s worth a shot, eh?
I was impressed by him last night and do hope he spends more time in the majors.
What a game last night.
What an exciting show he put on last night! One that he AND Red Sox Nation will remember for a long time…
What a great way to come up and make a difference. I didn’t know him all that well, but paid attention after I heard he hit a grand slam HR down in Pawtucket. His defense and offense…have been impressive so far. He’s a great guy to have on the bench. And yeah…maybe it is even a little sweeter to hit his first bigs HR against the Indians, a team that never gave him the chance to come on up and play with the big boys.
He’s officially on my list of Sox boys I love seeing in the lineup. It’s a long list and he’s a welcomed member.
And once again, beardoftruth is awesome: And for an encore, Van Every will save 27 orphans from a burning building, while helping an old woman cross the street, making a quiche.
amazing player!!!! so glad he is on our team! I think him and nick green should switch off with the short stop position! its worth a try right! ???