Coco Crisp in Pictures

My favorite Coco Crisp Memory is his catch in June 2006 against the Mets:

I'll never forget seeing him leap, fly, dive, and roll on the warning track from my clear vantage point in Loge Box 150; I'll never forget how wide my father's eyes were as he put his hands up in surprise and celebration. All 36,000 in the ballpark screamed for minutes on end, screamed and screamed and somehow no screams of joy and gratitude seemed loud enough.

I think most of us are left with the feeling that Coco Crisp never really reached the potential he was expected to in Boston. Personally, I thought the writing was on the wall at the end of 2007 after Jacoby captured RSN's heart and World Series playing time.

In contrast to so many of his former teammates, though, Coco was a constant smiling presence on the Red Sox (except, of course, when he was going apeshit on umpires), playing time or no playing time. He always gave maximum effort no matter what his personal situation, like when he came in for a single inning at the very end of Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS, but caught two of the outs. And he leaves simply because he is at a position where we have a surplus (outfield) and need to fill a position where we have deficits (middle relief). About as tidy a baseball deal as you could ask for.

Comments

[Bloggy]

ONOZ! I was too slow to see the Flickr thingy...it says it's no longer available. Stupid phone. :(

Anywho. I will miss Coco greatly. Watching him snag impossible balls in centre center more than made up for the up and down offense for me, somehow. And he just seemed likable. Some kid's trying to take his job? "Hey, the kid's good." Just a class act.

My personal favourite memory (aside from him charging Shields, of course) is his interview during one of the 2007 celebrations (embarrassed to say I'm not sure which one) where he had this ecstatic look on his face and just said that this was the greatest time of his life. Oh, jeez, I just wanted to hug him. A big manly straight-guy hug.

I'm glad he's got a regular job in a great ballpark with decent-looking uniforms on a team with a bunch of youngsters where I hope he can act as a leader.

Not in the East. ;)

[beth]

hmm...maybe it's the phone? i haven't tested the blog or flickr slideshows on any phones--i'm on a PC and see the slideshow now. might want to try it on a dinosaur computer. :)

i totally thought about him charging shields when picking a favorite moment...but that catch was the one that jumped to mind first, so i went with it. coco was a nice guy, but totally unafraid to throw down.

[Kim]

I'm really going to miss him too. My favorite moment was his catch to end and win the 2007 pennant. Also the "I aint got my taco" with Royce was freakin hilarious! I was waiting in line for tickets for the 2007 opening day. The night before, I wandered into the park at gate D to see what was going on. It was late, maybe 11-11:30. I was just standing there watching all the workmen putting their finishing touches on the park, who's standing next to me watching the same? Yep, Coco himself. I just said "looks great huh?" he says "Yeah, it's exciting" He walked off down the hall and I stood there in awe. Dang, I'll really miss him. Good luck Coco, the Nation will miss you!

[beth]

awesome story about meeting coco! thanks for bringing up 'i ain't got my taco'--i had forgotten about that!

[Justin Brindger]

Your Digging Your Own Grave

http://www.fanzak.com/fzrants/MLB__Your_Digging_Your_Own_Grave