Red Sox’ Jarren Duran suspension over: ‘It’s still something I feel terrible about’
Jarren Duran served his two game suspension and was penciled back atop the Red Sox lineup for the series finale against the Rangers at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
Prior to his suspension, Duran apologized Sunday night for the use of a homophobic slur during his sixth-inning at-bat. He then addressed the media on Monday, showing remorse for his actions while telling the media he would miss the next two games.
The 27-year-old spoke with reporters prior to the game on Wednesday night, reiterating that he felt badly for the incident on the field.
“I’m still kind of upset at myself, and I know there’s a lot of people upset at me,” Duran said. “So I don't know how I’m going to take today. But I’m just going to go out there and just try to focus on some baseball.”
Duran is not sure if playing will help him take a step forward and move past the incident.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Duran said. “I feel like it will probably be a step in the right direction. But it’s still something I feel terrible about, and I’m just gonna work better to be better for myself and for everyone around me.”
The All-Star MVP said he was excited to get back with his teammates after keeping his distance over the past two days.
“I’ve just kind of been trying to stay away from them. I don’t want to bug any of them with this,” he said. “It’s none of their problem. So I just feel like I should leave them out of it because I don’t want to bug any of them with this.”
The previous two days haven’t been easy for Duran, who has been the topic of the baseball world.
“I can’t really put them into words,” Duran said. “Just a mistake that I made, and I had to deal with those two days by myself. And it was tough.”
He also sat down and had a conversation with his manager, Alex Cora, over his two-game ban.
“He’s ready to play,” Cora said. “I think obviously there’s other stuff that is going on for him to keep getting better off the field. We know that. But on the field, just go out there and compete. He’s done that throughout the season, so I won’t be surprised if he goes out there and has a good game.”
Duran went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts in the Red Sox’ 9-7 loss to the Rangers in extra innings.
