Carl Crawford on playing in Boston: 'I don't want no part of it'
Carl Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox in 2010, but wound up only spending an injury-riddled season and a half with the team. He did not enjoy his time there, telling WEEI 93.7 on Thursday that he's trying to put it "as far behind me as I can."
Crawford called his stint in Boston "the toughest time in my life" and compared it to "a scar that I think will never go away."
"That place is going to be the same forever and I don't want no part of it," Crawford said.
The outfielder said his mistake was he didn't do any research on Boston or ask other players who had played there about it before he signed with the team.
"I would like to think I know when it's time to make big decisions in your life you know to do a little more research," Crawford explained. "Look into a little bit more. I decided to sign with the Red Sox in five minutes. I didn't have no time to think about it."
Having spent nine seasons in Tampa before heading up north, Crawford said he wasn't prepared for the Boston media and "didn't know how to handle it and it showed in my game."
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Crawford batted a career-low .255 in his first season with the Red Sox, then injured his wrist in January of the next year. He played in 31 games in 2012 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and being traded to his current team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in August of that year.
It is not the first time the 33-year-old has spoken coldly about his former home, as he called Boston a "toxic" environment in February 2013.
- Molly Geary
