Boston Red Sox: David Price Ready to Prove Himself in 2017

David Price signed a huge contract with the Boston Red Sox a year ago, but he disappointed in his first year with the team. He’s ready to prove himself in 2017.

When David Price signed with the Boston Red Sox last year, both fans and Price himself were excited about his arrival in Boston. That feeling of excitement and happiness didn’t last for long. In just his second start on the team – and his first in Boston – he went only five innings while giving up five earned runs. Two starts later he lasted 3.2 innings and surrendered eight earned runs. Two starts after that was seven innings and six earned runs. It never got much better from there.

David Price struggled to locate his fastball all season long. As with most pitchers, the fastball is used as a setup pitch to get ahead in counts. Price was never doing that. It led him to leave balls over the plate, which subsequently left the park or were hit at a high velocity. That meant a season where he threw 230 innings, but had an ERA of just 3.99 with 1.20 WHIP and a 24.0 percent strikeout rate. That was his worst season ERA since 2009 with the Rays before he was fully established in the league.

This incredibly poor season for Price came, of course, on the heels of him signing a huge contract with a team under heavy scrutiny. Naturally, it appeared as though the pressure of the contract and city were too much for Price to bear. He shut down that possibility in a recent interview with Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

In the same interview he talks about how he was treated by Boston fans during his struggles, which is, to say, not very kindly. It’s part of the game, and Price is aware of that. But he hopes to give fans less reason to do so in the coming season. Step one is to start having more fun on the mound. Price said in the interview, “Last year was the first time I didn’t have fun when I was on the field. When I’m pitching well, I’m smiling. There wasn’t a lot of smiling.”

Price’s enjoyment of the game certainly stems from his high level of success playing it. If he wants to be cheery on the the mound, he’s going to have to pitch well enough to feel that way. Some of that may be adjusting to hitters and adjusting to his new, more home run friendly surroundings. The important thing is that Price is focused on being a much better pitcher in the coming season.

“I’m not trying to prove anybody wrong. I want to prove myself right. I know I can handle Boston. I know I can be successful in Boston. I’ve been successful my entire career. Going to Boston ain’t going to change that.”

Price knows the type of pitcher he has been and can be. He knows that he can succeed in Boston. Now all he has to do is go out there and do it. Perhaps the addition of Chris Sale, who is known to be a ferocious competitor, can pick up some of the slack from him at the top of the rotation. With the Boston Red Sox set up to win a lot of games in the coming season, David Price shouldn’t have to look too hard to find a reason to smile. Increased personal success should stem from there.

As far as his playoff reputation goes, Price addressed that as well. The bottom line is that he’s aware of the mistakes he’s made in those postseason scenarios and looks to improve. That may be another area where his new rotation mate, and overall increased talent in the rotation, could help ease the pressure.

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David Price signed in Boston with a goal in mind. He wants to win a World Series. Last year he didn’t feel that he did enough to help push his team in the right direction. He’s staying in Boston for the duration of his contract to achieve that exact goal. If he can prove to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball once again this season, the Red Sox have a good chance of accomplishing that goal. What a joy that would be for David Price and Chris Sale, who have both been starving to win something since they entered the league a few years ago.

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