At the beginning of spring training, Boston Red Sox No. 2 prospect Triston Casas arrived with his nails painted. A gorgeous red color with some sparkle added to his ring fingers. He evened it out with white toenail polish.
Why?
Well for starters, why not? But he did offer some context via The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.
“The nails are something that I’ve been doing for a little bit of time now,” Casas told The Boston Globe. “It started off with my mom. I’ve always got to get my nails done. It was this little bonding thing we had always done and a couple of months ago after the season ended, I was just like, ‘I’m just going to get a color …’ My mom was super surprised. She’s like, ‘What?!'”
The first baseman was drafted in the first round of the 2018 Draft and was instantly known for his raw power at the plate with his ability to control the strike zone and make hard contact.
He got his major-league call-up last season after slashing .281/.389/.500 with an .889 OPS and 78 hits in 76 games.
On Tuesday, the lefty hit his first homer of the Grapefruit League season for what looks to be a preview of his American League Rookie of the Year run.
“I want to make sure that I do good with my platform,” Casas added. “I feel like as a baseball player, sometimes I lose focus and perspective as to what really matters.”
He wasn’t alone in putting on a show on Tuesday, either.
A not-so-friendly feline interrupted the game while NESN’s Tom Caron was on dugout duty. Caron jumped out of his seat as the cat jumped on the Red Sox dugout railing.
What a day.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.