CENTER FIELD :: J.D. Drew Is A Meast

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J.D. Drew Is A Meast

Everyone is drinking the J.D. Drew Kool-Aid these days. (tastes like strawberry!) Not so long ago, people were booing him and calling him "Nancy" and throwing water bottles at him... wait, that last one was Eric Gagne. People wore #7 shirts ironically and thought up new and inventive jeers to holler at him from the right field bleachers.

Not anymore.

Batting a cool .441 from the 3-spot, covering a Papi-sized hole, and notching 9 homers, 21 RBI, 7 doubles, 2 triples and 14 walks in 17 games will do that for a guy. Yesterday afternoon, against the boo-filled Philly crowd, he went 4-for-5... including a spectacular 3-run bomb.

The Kool-Aid level has risen so high, he's drawing comparisons to Carl Yastrzemski. Even the New York Times is paying homage.

I'm happy Drew Kool-Aid has become popular mostly because I'm just a big ol' sap, and therefore I'm a sucker for all the stories about his kid. From the Herald (condensed):

"I talked to [son Jack] on the phone last night," the Red Sox outfielder after his team's 9-0 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park, "and he said, 'Daddy, hit a home run tomorrow.' I don't even think he knows what a home run is, but it's still pretty neat."

Drew obliged his 2-year-old son.

[I]t also provided the perfect punctuation for a yearlong story he wished never had to be told.

As he prepared to leave the park yesterday, Drew's life couldn't have been more different than it was on Father's Day a year ago. Around this time last year, when Drew mired in his struggles with a new team (hitting .241 with just four homers through June 15), he also had to start staring down his firstborn's newfound health problems.

"I did think about it when I was going back on the field," Drew said of his son's home run demand from the night before. My family is by far the joy of my life. I look forward to getting home to them as quick as I can, and being with my family as much as I can."

Drew said that the current happiness at home "maybe" has something to do with his recent tear, in which he has hit .447 (21-for-47) in his last 14 games. But, no matter the cause, the 32-year-old has put himself in an ideal position.

His son asked him to hit a home run on Father's Day, so he did it.

Sniff! Pass me some of that Drew Kool-Aid!

Comments (6)

[ jules ] says:
on June 19, 2008 10:03 AM

I'm so glad that JD is coming into his own on the Sox. While I was disappointed in his performance last year, I hated it when people called him "Nancy."

Great story about his son--too cute.

[ Liza ] says:
on June 19, 2008 1:49 PM

JD has been one of my favorites for a while, but I'm really glad everyone else is starting to like him now.

[ mouse ] says:
on June 19, 2008 2:58 PM

While I was disappointed in his performance last year, I hated it when people called him "Nancy."

Hear! Hear! It's like, "rather than just say we don't think he's tough or passionate enough on the field, let's call him a girl's name and be sexist jerks as well! Hooray!" Grr...

I'm happy that Drew's found his niche in Boston. I had a feeling he would. As frustrating as he could be at times last year, he's just way too talented to suck that badly over the life of his contract. A clean slate and a healthy kid can do wonders, apparently. :)

[ Katie ] says:
on June 19, 2008 3:47 PM

I was also disappointed in Drew last year but there was never really any doubt in my mind that this year would be better for him.
and this story is just too adorable and fantatstic and made of furry bunnies and glittery rainbows

[ Jolie ] says:
on June 19, 2008 5:29 PM

I just started crying. Man, JD, I had so much faith for you. I'm glad we could prove them haters wrong.

More like I like to rub it in every boy in my class' face. I like being a girl and right about baseball :)

[ Rachel O ] says:
on June 19, 2008 10:06 PM

great to see Drew's turned it around from a year ago and is finally living up to that huge contract! also, random note here, when i saw he fell a triple short of the cycle the other night, i realized that younger bro stephen also fell into that category. just wondering how often that happens :)

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