ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Standing on the turf in front of the third base dugout at Tropicana Field, Red Sox second baseman Christian Arroyo was about 70 miles from where he grew up and starred for Hernando High School.
Games 1 and 2 of the ALDS are a return to home and where Arroyo played for the Rays in 2018 and 2019. But in this series, Arroyo has found a home in the other dugout.
Arroyo was the San Francisco Giants’ first-round pick in the 2013 draft. The choice surprised many in the industry, who didn’t have the University of Florida-committed shortstop ranked that high. Unlikely to improve his stock Arroyo skipped college and signed.
He reached the majors four years later, but struggled, hitting .192. In the offseason he was part of the trade that sent Evan Longoria to San Francisco.
Struggling in San Francisco was hard, struggling at home was harder. He played just 36 games for the Rays over two seasons going up and down from Triple A Durham before he was dealt to Cleveland.
“I got to the big leagues when I was young. I had to deal with failure,” Arroyo said. “I had to deal with struggles and I probably didn’t deal with them as well as I should have, but I’ve had the right people around me to help me learn. That’s the most important thing.”
He might have been running out of chances when the Red Sox claimed him on Aug. 13, 2020 after he’d played just one game in Cleveland. He could tell quickly, though, that this felt different.
“Once I got here and started working with our hitting coaches and our entire staff, I felt a certain level of comfort,” he said. “It was nice to make adjustments and work on things and see those adjustments paying dividends.”
He’s built off that again this year. He had hits in six of his first eight games in April and caught a mini hot streak in July when he hit .300. A hamstring injury cost him time late in the month, and he tested positive for COVID-19 in August. Arroyo played just four games in September and October as Jose Iglesias, who was acquired too late to be postseason eligible, played well in his absence. Still Arroyo had shown Cora enough early to have a job waiting for him in the postseason.
“He has been solid. Saw him on TV last year; he did a good job towards the end. When we talked a little bit in the offseason, he told me a few things that he was going to try to do to get better, and I think physically he showed up in great shape,” Cora said. “Better athlete than what I thought he was. He played second base outstanding. Defensively he has been outstanding the whole season.”
Arroyo left tickets for his fiancé, mother, stepfather and little sister for Games 1 and 2, but he expected there’d be other family and friends throughout the crowd. He liked the version of himself they’d get to see.
“A year ago if you told me I’d be playing in the ALDS for the Boston Red Sox and starting at second base, I’d have told you, you were crazy,” said Arroyo, who has two of Boston’s nine hits in Game 1. “The best views come after the toughest climbs. It was a tough climb. At the end of the day this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a big leaguer. I wanted to play in the postseason. I wanted to be helping successful big-league teams. This is just a goal of every player that’s out there. I was given an opportunity and I was able to run with it.”
Ad Choices