MONTERREY, Mexico -- Not long before Kristian Campbell boarded the Red Sox¡¯s team charter to Mexico on Sunday, marking his first time out of the United States, manager Alex Cora gave him a pop quiz.
Could Campbell name other MLB players who went to Georgia Tech?
Even though Campbell didn¡¯t necessarily ace his history test, Cora gave him some good news.
On Opening Day in Texas on Thursday, Campbell will join Red Sox legends Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek as well as other noted players like Mark Teixeira, Kevin Brown, Jay Payton and Charlie Blackmon as Georgia Tech alums to play in the big leagues.
It was Cora¡¯s creative way of telling the 22-year-old Campbell he had made the club. Though Cora chose not to elaborate on Campbell¡¯s role, he is likely to be the team¡¯s primary second baseman.
¡°We do believe he can contribute,¡± said Cora, speaking prior to the Red Sox's 10-1 win against the Monterrey Sultanes on Monday at Estadio Mobil Super in the first of two exhibition games. Campbell went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, scoring two runs. ¡°We have different ways of doing it, and I thought that was a good one. He still needs to learn about the history of baseball at Georgia Tech. But he¡¯s done a good job.¡±
A day after receiving the news, MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 7 overall prospect (Red Sox's No. 2) was still beaming.
¡°It¡¯s a dream come true, for sure,¡± said Campbell. ¡°It was really exciting. I had to call my mom and dad, my brother and sister and let everybody know. It was cool. They were yelling on the phone. They were super excited for me. It's definitely something I worked for my whole life. It's a really special moment.¡±
Campbell is part of Boston¡¯s highly touted Big 3 of prospects along with Roman Anthony (Red Sox's No. 1 prospect) and Marcelo Mayer (No. 3). But he will be the first one to play in the Majors despite being drafted in 2023, two years after Mayer and one year after Anthony.
Considering he entered 2024 Spring Training as the Red Sox's No. 30 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, it has been quite the leap.
¡°I'm super happy for him,¡± said Mayer. ¡°The year that he had last year, the player that he is, obviously, we know he didn't have the spring that he wanted to [at the plate], but everyone in this clubhouse knows the caliber of player he is. So I'm super excited to see him play in the big leagues.¡±
In 58 plate appearances in Grapefruit League action, Campbell mustered just a .576 OPS with two doubles, a homer and two RBIs. But his at-bats got progressively better in the last 10 or so days of camp as he started getting a better feel for the nuances of what it takes to play second base in the Major Leagues.
Judging by all the hands-on work Cora (a former MLB second baseman) did with Campbell during drill work, it was obvious how invested the Red Sox were in positioning him to make the team.
¡°Early in camp, you guys saw me turning some double plays and all that. That was the reason,¡± Cora said. ¡°I wasn't trying to make the team. It¡¯s been refreshing. It's been good. He¡¯s made some plays the last five, six days. The double play is night and day compared to what it was in Fort Myers on February 5. It¡¯s just details, hand placements, what we teach our kids.
¡°He¡¯s such a good athlete that probably he can get away with it in college or the Minor Leagues. But at the big league level, you got to be on point. He¡¯s a quick learner, a learner by observation. He watches you do it, and he picks it up right away.¡±
While Campbell has worked tirelessly over the last couple of months to earn a roster spot, he noted the work started long before that.
¡°I look at it as I¡¯ve been working for it my whole life for that moment, so it¡¯s not even about the last six or seven weeks,¡± said Campbell. ¡°It¡¯s about the last 15 years, in my opinion. So it's a really big opportunity for me and my family. It's a really big deal coming from Chattanooga, Tennessee, all the way to Boston. It¡¯s a big deal to everybody in my family, so I think that's more important.¡±