Baseball, culture provide 'great experience' for Sox in DR

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- From an arrival party on owner John Henry’s yacht to sightseeing with tour guide Rafael Devers to the unique sights and sounds of the two wins at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal against the Rays, the Red Sox maximized their unique experience in the capital city of the Dominican Republic this weekend.

• Sox, Rays get to be kids again in PLAY BALL event in DR

For the Red Sox, Sunday’s 7-6 victory over the Rays -- fueled by a go-ahead grand slam by Bobby Dalbec and a save by Santo Domingo native Joely Rodríguez -- capped a memorable weekend of baseball and culture.

“It was a great experience,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “This is the purest form of baseball. This is what we do, and it should be fun. I think both organizations did a great job being ambassadors of baseball.“

While Devers and Brayan Bello -- who formalized his contract extension Saturday with his family and friends present -- were the headliners of the trip for the Sox, it was a fulfilling journey the whole team will remember.

And for good reason. By many accounts, the experiences in the Dominican brought the team closer together.

Perhaps it was Henry and his wife, Linda, who set the tone with their hospitality on the water, hosting the team just hours upon landing in Santo Domingo on Friday.

“It was awesome,” said Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. “Just having everybody together like that, joking around, having fun, spending a great time on a boat like that, I think it’s good for morale and makes us feel like we’re family. When you’re at the field, it feels like we’re close, but we’re also at work. Doing stuff off the field like that makes it more like a family thing.”

Henry’s yacht, which was docked at Zona Colonial, was the perfect venue for the Red Sox to start a memorable weekend.

“I think John and Linda went above and beyond accommodating the guys and having that private event,” said Cora. “There's a few things in Spring Training that you try to accomplish. And one of them is that -- getting together as a group and start building who we are. And between Joely singing and guys having a few [drinks] and smoking cigars and talking for three hours in a nice setting, I think it was a great start.”

After the festivities on the yacht ended, the Red Sox spread their wings around Santo Domingo by surveying the cuisine at various eateries.

The food was good. But to the Red Sox, the laughs were probably better.

“It’s great from a team chemistry side of it,” said Sox righty Kutter Crawford. “Over the course of this trip, you learned more about your teammates spending more time with them.”

The atmosphere at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal is something the Red Sox wish they could bring back to Fort Myers, Fla., as they grind through the dog days of Spring Training.

One big hit for all the players? The walkup music doesn’t just play prior to the at-bat but in between pitches. You wonder if this could be a trend that makes its way to MLB ballparks.

“I love how they always play the walkup song during the whole at-bat,” Duran said. “I think we need to bring that over to the MLB side. It keeps everyone engaged. It keeps the energy high.”

There was a certain pageantry that Red Sox righty Garrett Whitlock noticed while spectating Saturday and performing at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on Sunday.

“It’s really cool with the bands and the drum line,” said Whitlock. “It’s almost like a college football game back home.”

There were moments from the games that stood out, such as the way the crowd roared when Dalbec mauled his grand slam to account for most of the damage in a five-run sixth inning.

“It was great,” said Dalbec. “I was super grateful to be here in the first place and experience all of this.”

Ceddanne Rafaela, vying to be Boston’s starting center fielder, ripped a solo homer in the fifth inning after belting a two-run double in Saturday’s 4-0 win.

“It was like a playoff atmosphere,” said Rafaela.

And when it came to a feel-good moment, Rodríguez closing out the festivities in the city where he was born and raised was a fitting way for the weekend to conclude.

“As soon as we got off that plane, he let everyone know he was from here,” said Cora. “He was very loud and clear about that. He had a blast. He let everybody know how it works here.”