7 AFTER BIG PAPI, THE LITTLE THINGS
NEARLY EVERY spring training morning, coach Brian Butterfield instills the little virtues of team play in the Red Sox by reviewing the previous game with a humorous touch. These sessions are designed to establish the culture of having the right culture—which is why they are known in camp as "Culture Culture."
Players are acknowledged with a raised right fist for smart plays and hustle plays. (You might also see the salute during a game, for instance, after a batter moves a runner to third with no outs.) Dumb mistakes, or just silly ones, merit a raised left fist (as Mookie Betts, right, demonstrates) and a word unprintable here. It's a combination of the Instructional League, kangaroo court and a night at the Improv. "We want everybody to know how we won the game," says Dustin Pedroia. "It's not because of Hanley [Ramírez's] three-run home run. It was because Christian Vázquez slid in and had a good secondary [lead] and got on the second baseman to cause the throw to be up the line for the inning to continue. That's how we won."
