FORT MYERS, Fla. – Within the minutes after their Wild Card collection defeat final October, as members of the Boston Purple Sox sat within the Yankee Stadium customer’s clubhouse, talking in hushed tones and ruminating on a postseason run that was over earlier than it had even begun, one participant went to talk to his supervisor.
“Instantly. We had that dialog 5 minutes after the final out in New York,” Alex Cora stated of Trevor Story. “He got here into the workplace, he’s like, ‘I’m in. I ain’t going nowhere.’”
The six-year, $140 million contract Story signed in March 2022 included a membership possibility for ’28 and an opt-out after the ’25 season. Loads of gamers in his place would’ve taken the out. Although Boston’s first successful season and playoff berth since ’21 had simply come to a crushing finish within the Wild Card collection, Story was coming off his finest season in over half a decade. Together with his thirty third birthday a month away and a piece stoppage seemingly when the Collective Bargaining Settlement expires on the finish of the ’26 season, it could have made sense to aim to hunt a longer-term contract whereas his comeback season was nonetheless contemporary in groups’ minds.
However Story, partially as a result of he felt loyal to the Purple Sox for sticking by him by way of his accidents and struggles, selected to remain.
The shortstop’s choice was notably necessary as a result of the Purple Sox have been about to lose fellow veteran leaders Rob Refsnyder and Alex Bregman to free company. (Bregman opted out of the remaining two years of his three-year, $120 million contract in November.)
“Enthusiastic about him,” Cora stated after watching Story take batting apply on Friday morning. “He’s night-and-day in comparison with (spring coaching) final 12 months. Final 12 months, he was looking for himself. At present, there was a whole lot of confidence in that batting apply.”
Story reported to camp final February having performed a mixed 69 video games over the earlier two years. Offseason elbow surgical procedure value him practically the complete ’23 marketing campaign. He was wholesome for the ’24 preseason, solely to endure a left-shoulder subluxation, which required one other surgical procedure, within the eighth recreation of the season. Initially anticipated to overlook the rest of the 12 months, he returned 134 video games later. However by then, the Purple Sox have been falling out of the postseason race.
Final season started on shaky floor, too. Story slashed .216/.260/.326 in 56 video games between Opening Day and the tip of Could. Hypothesis grew that the veteran shortstop was liable to getting benched, or worse.
“There was a recreation in Milwaukee,” Cora stated, recalling the group’s remaining Could street journey. “I feel it was the seventh or eighth, and he bunted on his personal. That’s the place he was offensively.
“However we stated that the god of baseball, the baseball gods, form of like, rewarded him after that baseball play.”
From June 1 till the ultimate recreation of the season, Story slashed .289/.334/.492, with 114 hits, 26 doubles, 18 house runs, 73 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 101 video games. He performed 157 video games, matching his career-high with the 2018 Colorado Rockies. Story additionally set a formidable American League document by starting the season 31-for-31 in stolen base makes an attempt earlier than getting caught in late September. It’s the second-longest streak to start out an MLB season since 1951, when caught-stealing grew to become an official stat in each leagues.
“He was probably the greatest hitters within the massive leagues the final 4 months of the season,” Cora stated. “Think about, if he had an honest Could, (we’re) speaking All-Star.”
“I feel Could was wanted,” Cora continued. “(Story) took in the future off, and I don’t know what occurred there, however he reset and got here out swinging in Atlanta.”
Story advised MassLive’s Chris Cotillo he remembers the Yankee Stadium dialog going a bit in a different way, however his thoughts was already made up.
“It wasn’t ever like, ‘Hey dude, I’m coming again, I’m opting in,’” he stated. “It was extra about speaking concerning the future, and I feel there was simply an understanding that that is the place I wish to be, and he knew that. I knew.
“You’ve kinda obtained to play the sport slightly bit or no matter, however clearly, I knew.”
