Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox's Triston Casas Visualized Home Run Off Yankees' Gerrit Cole For Years

'That at-bat started years ago, years ago'

Scott Neville

Red Sox's Triston Casas Visualized Home Run Off Yankees' Gerrit Cole For Years
Red Sox's Triston Casas Visualized Home Run Off Yankees' Gerrit Cole For Years /
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Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas has never lacked confidence, and was well aware he'd get his fill of the historic rivalry against the New York Yankees.

The 22-year-old never had a doubt he'd not only make his big league debut shortly after being drafted in the first round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft but would have plenty of opportunities to make his mark in arguably the greatest rivalry in sports. 

In his mission to do damage against the Yankees, he naturally thought about Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on the other side of the matchup. 

"(Cole) signed the largest contract as a pitcher in baseball history and it was for the Yankees for nine years, and I figured that sounds about the amount of time that I should be here in Boston, and I feel like I’m going to face him, I’m going to have many battles with him," Casas told Rob Bradford on WEEI's "Bradfo Sho" on Wednesday. "I think he’s definitely a guy I want to get comfortable in the box against and it starts with the visualization part."

The hulking slugger did not take long to get comfortable against Cole, as he swatted a 411-foot, two-run blast in his first at-bat against the flamethrowing right-hander on Sept. 13. 

"That at-bat started years ago, years ago," Casas said. "I've been visualizing that moment, that at-bat versus Gerrit Cole really since he signed that contract with the Yankees. He's the best pitcher in the American League right now, in my opinion, whenever I closed my eyes and visualized a pitcher on the mound it was him. “That at-bat, it was crazy walking up to the plate for me, stepping in the box against him. It was really a surreal moment just how much he’s dominated the league and everything that he’s done. It was awesome to step into the box and be able to do that, first at-bat really kind of made me feel comfortable for sure."

Casas is hitting .267 with three home runs, six RBIs, a 3-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.367 OPS in six games against the Yankees. Not a bad start for a man committed to making anyone in pinstripes regret opposing him. 

More MLB: Yankees' Aaron Judge Hints At Which Team He Will Play For Next Season

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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