The Red Sox’ quest to make Duran a leader was always going to end badly originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Jarren Duran is many things on a baseball field – athletic, driven, energetic, exciting. But a description the team tried to force on him always rang false.
Leader.
Six weeks ago in Cincinnati, coach Alex Cora said Duran could effectively become the face of the franchise. He explained that when the next generation of prospects arrived, someone would have to show them the way, and he knew just that guy.
“As a group, we need someone people look up to, right?” Cora told reporters, including MLB.com and The Boston Globe. “Who better than your starting guy who plays every day? And he’s been great around the club. He’s been open about his situation the last few years.
“So I’m trying to find the leader of this organization who’s going to help us not just this year, but who’s going to help everyone in the future. He loves it and understands it. He’s becoming a guy.”
It looked good, but anyone present on Duran’s journey from seventh-rounder to can’t-miss prospect to big leaguer and ultimately All-Star scrunched up their faces like they’d just bitten into a lemon. He? Isn’t he still a bit immature? Isn’t he thin-skinned? Why place such a huge responsibility on a player who is so tense that there is always the fear of an explosion?
And now it’s clear how ill-equipped Duran was to take on the role.
On Sunday, a NESN hot mic caught him responding to a questioner with a homophobic slur. He released a postgame statement apologizing for using “a truly horrible word” and for not serving as a role model. “I will take this opportunity to educate myself and my teammates and to grow as a person,” he said in the release.
We hope so. Duran has been open about his struggles with mental health and it wouldn’t be surprising if this incident challenges him in that regard. But Duran is not a victim. It’s disheartening how he reflexively invoked such a repulsive word, especially in response to a mild taunt that he should pick up “a tennis racket.”
The punishment did not fit the crime. You just don’t go there.
What Duran did should tell us everything we need to know about his ability to set an example for Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and company.
It’s a failure of team building that the Red Sox have built a roster without players who can guide their future stars as they acclimate to the big leagues. While Dustin Pedroia had David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell to look up to in 2007, and Xander Bogaerts could develop under the watchful eye of Ortiz, Pedroia and Jon Lester, the next generation of Red Sox stars will join a club devoid of of experienced leaders. Rafael Devers doesn’t want the job, and most of the other veterans are fungible.
So that left Cora looking for someone else, and he opted for a risky and imperfect solution.
Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal recently detailed Duran’s shortcomings as a Worcester farmhand, when his obvious talent could be replaced by his bad temper and immaturity. In light of Sunday’s incident, this column is worth reading again, highlighting, for example, the way Duran disrespected popular former All-Star Rich Gedman during batting practice. The warning signs have always existed.
That’s not to say Duran can’t grow, learn and become a better person. But that calls into question any plans to hand over the clubhouse to him. Some guys just aren’t cut out to fill that role.
Duran plans to resolve the incident on Monday, likely before the Red Sox face the Rangers. He will undoubtedly express regret and the organization will support him, even if he faces the possibility of suspension or some other league-imposed discipline.
In that moment, Duran might sound like someone who understands his mistake. It may be the last transgression of his career. But it should also be a permanent reminder that while the Red Sox look for someone to lead their club, they’re better off looking elsewhere.
