Looking to make a good first impression in his inaugural year in Boston, Cameron played through serious pain in a constant effort to stay on the field. But he was never right. He looked slow on balls in the outfield from the first week on. Regardless, with the Red Sox short on outfielders, he played at half-strength or worse whenever he could.
Cameron went through a pregame routine that befit an Olympic gymnast –– contorting and stretching imself in intricate ways to loosen his body up enough to play a decent center field at age 37. To tell the truth, he surprised himself somewhat.
“If anything, looking back, what amazed me was to still be able to run out there and play center field and still run around a little bit,” Cameron said. “To set aside that [pain] threshold and still run around a little bit, and be considered as everyone says, ‘an old center fielder’ or ‘hurt,’ I think I did pretty damn good.”
...Cameron expects to be fine by Thanksgiving, and to begin baseball-related workouts soon after.
“I’ve got plenty of time,” he said. “It’ll come. I’m looking forward to it, though. Looking forward to feeling pain-free and let the gates open. I can’t wait to go out. I’ll probably play spring training as hard as I’ve ever played in my life.” The surgery itself, Cameron said, was miserable. Afterward, a groggy Cameron picked up the phone to call his manager, Terry Francona. He wasn’t quite ready to talk –– and Francona said he was shocked by how bad his delirious outfielder sounded.
“I’ve never heard somebody sound that bad. Then he called back [a day later] and he must have been aware of what he did,” Francona said.
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