Red Sox
“He was paying (Williams) a compliment, to be honest with you.”
Triston Casas has hit four home runs so far this season. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Triston Casas might have upset some Ted Williams fans with his comments Saturday night.
The Boston first baseman played golf in the stands at Fenway Park during Saturday’s 7-2 win over the Angels — with his tape measure exploding ultimately landing 429 feet away.
But with his big fly still well short of the famous “Ted Williams seat” in right field, Casas cast doubt on whether the Red Sox legend had actually managed to send a ball more than 500 feet.
“It’s my best ball, for sure,” Casas told reporters. “I had a stronger hit, an outing in terms of velocity, last year. But this Ted Williams seat is starting to look more and more like a myth.
On Sunday morning, Alex Cora came to the defense of Casas, who was apparently receiving a lot of criticism online for questioning “The Splendid Splinter” and his ability to send launches into orbit.
“It was probably a very windy day when he (Williams) hit,” Cora said of Williams’ home run, as transcribed by Sean T. McGuire of NESN.com. “I don’t know the conditions that day. But it’s a long way. It’s a long road. … “Triston told me they were crushing him on social media. He was paying (Williams) a compliment, to be honest with you. But it’s a long way.
Casas is far from the first Red Sox to question whether Williams actually hit a ball 502 feet from home plate on June 9, 1946.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever kicked a goal up there,” David Ortiz said in 2015. “I went up there and sat there once. That’s far away, bro. Look, do you see the number 1 (Bobby Doerr’s retired uniform number on the facade above the right field stand) I hit it once You know how far away that number 1 is. from the plate? Very far.
“And you know how far that red seat is from No. 1? That’s another 25 rows. That’s the farthest I’ve ever hit the ball, and no one else has reached number 1. . Closest I’ve ever seen – I remember one day match, I hit a ball in that tunnel. But still, I crushed one and it wasn’t even close to that.
On Sunday, Cora remembered Ortiz’s previous comments about the red seat.
“See, and no one picked on David,” Cora said.
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