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Section 10 Podcast Episode 103: Rocco Baldelli

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On Episode 103 of the Section 10 Podcast, we’ve got Rhode Island’s own, former Red Sox and Tampa Bay Ray, Rocco Baldelli. In our interview with Rocco, we ask him if he was a Red Sox fan growing up, he talks about how his first at-bat was against Pedro Martinez and how his first major league hit was a double off of Pedro Martinez, how growing up playing baseball in New England shapes you as a player, his rare muscle fatigue condition, how it was scary not being able to do normal things like run without tearing something, and the biggest difference between going from the front office to back down to field level.

We also get into how difficult it was for him to sit on the sidelines while the Rays had their greatest season ever in 2008, how he was able to contribute in the postseason, how that comeback story earned him the Tony Conigliaro Award and what that meant to him, what it meant to join his hometown team in 2009, the support that he got from Red Sox fans even before he signed with Boston, and how he was the first player to wear No. 5 after Nomar Garciaparra was traded.

From there, we got into a discussion about players who went from Tampa to Boston and what the biggest differences are, his favorite Terry Francona story, the moment that he knew his career was over, and how he’s doing today physically.

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