Jackie Bradley Jr. Prepared To Embrace Spotlight For Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's never easy for any athlete to step in as the "next guy" after a star player leaves a team, but when it comes to the challenge, Jackie Bradley Jr. is choosing to embrace it rather than hide from it.
With Jacoby Ellsbury jetting to New York for a big-money contract, the defending-champion Red Sox are left with a bit of a question mark in center field. Bradley, 23, certainly impressed with a .419 batting average last year in spring training, but he struggled in the regular season and showed he wasn't quite ready for the big leagues. This year, the Red Sox are asking a bit more from Bradley.
"I'm being watched. I know I am," Bradley said Tuesday in Fort Myers. "That's a good thing, though. I'm ready to embrace it."
At the plate, Bradley won't be asked to replace Ellsbury in the leadoff spot. It's in center field that Bradley will likely have to step up and be an every day player. And defense is an area where Bradley looked MLB-ready last season.
"I take a lot of pride in it," Bradley said of his defense. "I've always played center field. I feel normal out there, just because it's something that I have worked on for so long. I think of it as fun out there, being able to track down fly balls. I always used to watch the top 10 plays and tried to emulate those guys."
Despite the Red Sox' relative lack of backup plans for center field, Bradley knows that no jobs are ever just handed out in professional sports.
"You're always trying to earn your spot and earn your stripes, so I'm constantly in that battle of trying to compete and I think that's the best way of explaining it," Bradley said. "I'm not trying to replace anybody. I'm just trying to be myself, trying to work hard and play hard."
Bradley said that he's putting extra effort into listening and learning in his third season of professional baseball.
"I feel more comfortable, knowing the routine and knowing what you're going to go through. I feel like I got that experience a little bit last year, and I'm looking forward to being more comfortable as the year goes on," Bradley said. "You have to be a student of the game. If you don't, you're not going to learn. When you do, you're going to figure out -- why didn't I learn this a lot sooner? Well, it's because you weren't listening. So I really pride myself on listening. The game's a lot faster, so that way it'll come to me a lot easier."
