Red Sox Retrospective 2010: Knee Bomb Confessions

I'm just about to ruin my credibility when it comes to staunch proclamations that I do not like a particular player. Before you point your finger accusingly, I refer you to Julio Lugo, who, to this very day, remains one of my least favorite players of all time to have never donned pinstripes. So there.

I spent a good portion of 2010 insisting that I did not like Adrian Beltre. I would like to state, for the record, that when the announcement came last off-season, this was as a true a statement as could possibly be made. It had nothing to do with the position he was taking over; I just didn't like what I knew of him and I was less than thrilled that I would have to root for him to do well. (Lest there be any question, I *always* root for the laundry, even if the guy filling it is otherwise known as E6.) (For the love of Jobu, please let's never revisit that little experiment though.)

I heartily maintained my position on Beltre in Boston, but... I suppose I should come clean. There came a point--I'm not even sure exactly when--that I had to admit that he'd kinda-sorta-maybe grown on me. Despite an inordinate number of errors, it may have been his defense--my ultimate baseball weakness--that lured me over to the dark side. What he contributed with misplays, he more than made up for with face-in-the-dirt effort and some fairly spectacular fielding, though I was loathe to admit it even to myself. I pointed to the error column in his stats, my Angry Eyes firmly in place.

He chiseled away at my cold shoulder in other ways as well: The infamous head-rubbing escapades. Gritty displays of effort, often playing through various aches & pains that have been known to sideline certain other former members of the Red Sox. And quite possibly one of my very favorite qualities, the Knee Bomb. While many fans are drawn to the hitting aspect of the game, relishing the glorious arc of a ball bound for the moon, that is rarely what catches the eye of this defense-oriented girl. However, with each trip he made to the plate, I found myself hoping he would send one sailing into the Monster with his back knee resting in the dirt. I don't even have solid explanation for why that appealed to me so much, except that perhaps it just seemed another instance of all-or-nothing effort--quite easily my second favorite aspect of the game.

A fellow Sox fan or two *may* have approached me with their suspicions that my heart had warmed a bit in regard to the third baseman. I brushed off any inquiry with a disdainful sniff. Not out of shame, but because as he grew on me, I started to worry that Theo would send him the way of other players I had liked. (It is entirely possible that Theo caught on as well, come to think of it.) So I kept my mouth clamped shut and continued holding my ground: I liked what Beltre brought to the table, but it would go no further.

Now that the Fates have dealt their hand & we know he will be swinging his bat in Arlington in 2011 (and beyond), I feel it's finally safe to give him a long overdue nod of respect. And maybe a little apology for keeping it under wraps while he was still one of ours. I'll be among those fans who will applaud his return to Fenway as the opponent now, because he put on a heck of a show during his brief pass through Boston, the proof being my 180-degree change of heart.