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| Xander Bogaerts Photo from Sports on Earth |
The Sports On Earth Blog just published a terrific article about the process by which Xander Bogaerts made if from the small island of Aruba to stardom with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. I found the article particularly interesting because during the last part of the 2013 season, after Xander was promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket to Boston, I had several opportunities to interact with the Bogaerts clan, including his mother, Sandra Brown and his uncle, Glenroy Brown. They are wonderful, down-to-earth people, and it is thrilling to see the success that Xander is experiencing early in his major league career.
Here is a short excerpt from the article written by Jorge Arangure, Jr. I encourage you to click on the link below to read the entire article:
"By the time he became a teenager, Bogaerts had begun to overshadow some of the other players on the island. He played on select teams and participated in tournaments in places like St. Thomas, St Croix, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Although he always considered his brother to be better, few on the island shared that opinion.
Yet Bogaerts was virtually unknown in the scouting world.
He didn't get noticed by a major league team until he was discovered by a shaggy-haired, unkempt, beach-loving hippie who had spent the day unimpressed at a tryout in Aruba, and then asked one simple question, the defining question in Boston's signing of Bogaerts. It spoke of the inquisitive mind and persistence of the person whom the Red Sox had entrusted to scout faraway destinations in search of hidden gems.
"So," the man asked, after hours of tryouts on a dusty field, "have I seen everybody on the island I need to see?"
Sports on Earth Article on Bogaerts
Xander can be seen tomorrow as he takes the field for Opening Day at Fenway Park to receive his World Series ring and to take his place at shortstop in defense of the title of World Series Champions!
Go Sox!
Al
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