Gathright waiting for his stolen moment
Joey Gathright has never played in the playoffs, but he loves baseball and he watches them every season. In October 2004, he huddled around a television with friends and watched Dave Roberts emerge from the Fenway Park dugout in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, walk to first base, then take his lead.
“I was watching the whole thing,’’ Gathright said yesterday. “Wondering if he was going to get it.’’
This October, if a Red Sox player crouches a few feet off first base, ready to steal second even though everyone knows he’s about to try, that player will probably be Gathright.
Gathright has made only 11 plate appearances in 15 games since he joined the Red Sox Sept. 1, but his unique skill set may land him on the postseason roster. Gathright, who has 80 stolen bases in 109 career attempts, could become a pinch-running specialist in the postseason.
“You’re always looking for that - and maybe here more than anywhere - that Dave Roberts guy,’’ manager Terry Francona said. “That’s probably a long shot to think that would happen. But, you know, he’s a guy that can impact the game with his speed.’’
The Red Sox acquired Gathright from the Orioles Aug. 29, an afterthought among the summer additions of Victor Martinez, Alex Gonzalez, and Billy Wagner. He reported to Triple A Pawtucket, then joined the Red Sox in Tampa Bay.
As Gathright stood in front of his locker, everything around him new, a face he recognized approached him. It was Roberts.
In Tampa Bay to broadcast that night’s game on NESN, Roberts wanted to meet Gathright. Gathright mostly listened, nodding as Roberts spoke.
Roberts’s message: “Just really embrace this,’’ Roberts recalled after their talk. “It’s just a great team and a great organization to be a part of.’’
Gathright remembered Roberts telling him not put any extra pressure on himself in the playoffs, to do what he always did.
“I always admired his ability seeing him play,’’ Roberts said. “He has unlimited ability.’’
Gathright is one of the fastest players in the game, and his athletic ability may be unrivaled in the Red Sox clubhouse. He played running back on his high school football team in Louisiana, and Louisiana Tech recruited him as a slot receiver. In a clip that surfaced on YouTube, Gathright jumped over a parked
Gathright began the season with the Cubs, playing 20 games before the Orioles traded for him and shipped him to Triple A Norfolk. He played there most of the season without complaint, never thinking he would land in a pennant race.
From afar, Gathright always hoped he would play for the Red Sox. He loved playing at Fenway Park because the fans came for baseball and nothing else.
“If I get on the roster and go to the playoffs, I don’t care what my role is,’’ Gathright said. “I’ve never been to the playoffs. This is one of my favorite teams. So being on this team, going to the playoffs, you don’t really care what your role is. You just want to get in there and do your job.’’
If the Sox add Gathright to the postseason roster, he’ll watch every game from the dugout, trying to stay warm. He may never see the field. Or he may have a chance to make one of the most pivotal, indelible plays of the postseason.
So far, Gathright has been inconspicuous. That could change. In 2004, the Sox traded for Roberts about 10 minutes before the deadline, the same day they moved Nomar Garciaparra. No one noticed Roberts, either. He met the Red Sox in Tampa Bay.
