For instance, I was impressed with his knowledge of the Red Sox farm system and the young players who may soon be ready for the majors. Price clearly did his homework prior to signing with the Sox and is committed to the idea of being on a competitive team throughout the length of his contract.

Spending two days with Price in his Nashville was revealing because we were able to talk about topics more in depth than would be possible during the interviews that typically happen during the season.

Hopefully you had a chance to see the story on David Price we published a few days ago.


Price also spoke about leadership and clubhouse chemistry and how he was diligent in not letting his personal struggles interfere with that aspect of the game.

“On the day I pitch, it’s different than the other four days,” he said. “I can let it go and be myself the next day. I’ll still get there early because I want to be in the clubhouse and be around the guys. Whatever happens with me, good or bad, you want to be the same person.”

Obviously, how fans view Price will be determined by how well he pitches. Nothing can change that. But I can say he seems far more willing (and able) to ride out the storm than players like Carl Crawford or Adrian Gonzalez were when they were here.

Price has offered no excuses and has been self-critical when warranted. This is not a player blaming his environment.

It’s also overstated to suggest that 2016 was some kind of bad season for him. It was not up to his standards, certainly. But he had a .314 batting average on balls in play, the highest mark of his career. So there was a degree of bad luck involved.


Price was eighth in the American League in FIP, a statistic that measures a pitcher’s success in preventing home runs, walks, and hit batters and causing strikeouts.

Fangraphs.com had Price seventh in the AL with a 3.52 WAR.

So this is not some bum needing a turnaround. This is a guy who needs some adjustments, and there was plenty of evidence that happened in the second half, his playoff start aside.

Much of what I asked Price ended up in the story. But here are a few comments that didn’t make it that you might find interesting.

On the future of the Red Sox: “It’s exciting. We didn’t give up a single big leaguer and we got Chris Sale in return. That’s crazy.

“To watch Mookie [Betts] develop into the player he is, he has no idea how great he can be. He understands that he’s a very good player but he doesn’t act that way. That’s very special. I enjoy being around people like that.

“I look at Jackie Bradley and Andrew Benintendi. That kid is going to win batting titles. He can be in the running with [Houston’s Jose] Altuve every single year. [Xander] Bogaerts, [Blake] Swihart, [Christian] Vazquez, our youth is insane.”

On who should start on Opening Day: “For me, it’s Rick Porcello. Every team I’ve been on, you earn that from what you did the year before. He won the Cy Young Award, so he earned that. I hope it is him.”


On his relationship with David Ortiz: “It was like he said, once we became teammates, everything was forgotten. I loved being around him. What I enjoyed the most was seeing his relationship with his son. D’Angelo is such a well-mannered young man. That is a byproduct of how he was raised.

“When he had to, David put his foot down when something was wrong. I told him that, too. I really respect how he raised his son. I’ve seen kids in the clubhouse all my career and you can tell which ones were raised right.

“That’s the biggest compliment you can pay a father. I want somebody to come up and say that about my son someday.”

I also learned that Price recently participated in the Gastroparesis Pie Face Challenge to help out a Red Sox fan from Lynn named Andrew Belliveau.

Gastroparesis is a stomach disorder that stops the movement of food into the small intestine. According to Andrew, it causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain/bloating, and malnutrition.

It’s a rare disorder and so far incurable. To raise awareness and funds for the support group G-PACT, Andrew started his own challenge. It involves smushing a whipped-cream pie in your face.

Price was the first Red Sox player to take him up on it.

Spurred on by Price, Brock Holt was next:

Soon Andrew Benintendi took the challenge.

Jackie Bradley Jr. followed.

To learn more information or help out the cause, check out the Facebook page Andrew set up. And good for Price and his teammates for helping out.


Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.