Back in late June, it was reported that Red Sox pitcher David Price and NESN analyst and former reliever Dennis Eckersley got into a spat on a team charter flight. The incident was confirmed by manager John Farrell however no specifics were ever mentioned other than Price indicating he was standing up for his teammates.
And as of Sunday, Price’s recollection of the incident was correct to a certain extent.
Apparently, sources told Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe that Price took exception to a comment Eckersley made when the NESN broadcast cut to a graphic highlighting Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez’s line from a then recent rehab start with Pawtucket. That graphic illustrated a nine hit, five run outing over the course of three innings which Eckersley responded on air by saying “yuck”.
I know… the nerve an analyst could have for simply muttering the truth.
Anyways, when Price found out he decided to go all middle-school on the situation by blocking Eckersley’s path on the charter as the analyst was boarding the flight. And in front of teammates Price said “here he is – the greatest pitcher who ever lived! This game is easy for him!” according to Shaughnessy’s sources.
From there Price then told Eckersley to “get the (bleep) out of here!”
So there you have it. David Price is one of the biggest thin-skinned dickheads in the entire MLB. If he can’t accept the simplest of verbal criticisms for another teammate who certainly sucked in that aforementioned outing then we’re going to have further incidents like this. Especially in Boston.
Meanwhile, the shittiness of the Red Sox organization when it coms to this flows deeper than just Price. Sources close to Eckersley told Shaughnessy that he still hasn’t received an apology from Price or Farrell. Something you’d think would be demanded from the ownership and the Red Sox front office.