Verdugo: 'Nothing better than hitting a HR in NY'

NEW YORK -- Playing at Yankee Stadium isn’t for every visiting player. Particularly if that visiting player dons a Red Sox uniform. However, it would be hard to find anyone who enjoys the experience more than Alex Verdugo.

Fiery by nature anyway, Verdugo says the hostile fanatics in the Bronx bring his adrenaline to another level.

And it was there for all to see on Saturday when the left fielder provided Boston's signature moment in an otherwise nondescript 4-2 loss that dropped the Red Sox to 0-2.

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In the top of the second, Verdugo unloaded for a towering, two-run homer to right off Luis Severino that had an exit velocity of 104.1 mph and traveled a projected distance of 382 feet.

As the ball soared out of the yard, Verdugo followed through on the swing with extra emphasis with his release hand, and then he strutted out of the box for the first few steps.

“This is emotion,” Verdugo said. “Honestly, there’s nothing better than hitting a home run in New York.”

When Verdugo got between second and third, he waved to the fans in left field who had been giving it to him when he was on defense. And as he crossed third, he shouted with excitement at his family members who were in the stands.

So, what about those fans he was waving to?

“I mean, left field, just a bunch of dudes were talking, chanting and then talking how they talk with me,” Verdugo said. “When I rounded second, I wanted to make sure they knew, ‘I got you.’ And then in the family section, I’ve got my family here. So obviously rounding third I pointed at them, at my mom, my girl and my kids. Special moment.”

This isn’t to say Verdugo quieted his “fans.” When he ran back out to left field in the bottom of the second, they were ready.

“Always,” Verdugo said. “They don’t stop. Whether I do good or bad, they don’t stop. They just keep going. It’s funny man, I like it, I really do.”

The only thing Verdugo likes more than the give-and-take with Yankees fans is taking away hits from New York batters.

He did that several times in these first two games, with a series of sliding catches near the left-field line, including one against Kyle Higashioka in the seventh inning on Saturday.

“I’m going for a Gold Glove, regardless,” Verdugo said. “I’ve got to go for a Gold Glove this year. And also, I figure you can’t do it on the offensive side every single time but the defense side is something we can control. Just try to get anything I can and make it easier on my pitchers.”

Now in his third year with the Red Sox, Verdugo is reveling in the Boston baseball experience and especially those games against the Yankees.

“When you play big league baseball in general, it’s the best thing. I’m blessed to do this as a living and call it my job,” Verdugo said. “Every time I step on the field and do this, I’m a little kid again. I’m just enjoying it and to start it out here in New York, it’s a cool experience.”

It didn’t take getting to the ballpark on 161st Street in the Bronx for Verdugo to get pumped up on Saturday. He was there well before that.

“You wake up with that [feeling] that just comes from the constant [trash] talking that they have,” Verdugo said. “It’s just a matter of, you’re already on edge, fired up. It’s built-in adrenaline.”

Does Verdugo think that Yankees fans respect him because he’s willing to enjoy the give-and-take with them?

“I feel like in a sense, they should,” Verdugo said. “They should just know it’s hard to get under my skin, it’s hard to get in my head. The guys, they rag me enough on the team. So whatever [the fans] say, it’s not a big deal. They bring up family, they bring up everybody, and you’ve just got to chuckle and laugh and use it as fuel to make a play or get something going.”