Red Sox prospect Christian Koss' reaction to his walk-off home run against the Rays
Red Sox prospect Christian Koss showed some major pop at the plate last Friday in the win over the Rays. The 24-year-old prospect had a multi-homer game, including the walk-off winner in the ninth to send the JetBlue Park crowd home happy.
Koss sat down with Jake Ignaszewski of Locked on Red Sox Podcast and talked about the exciting moments before, following the game and the fan reactions.
“I think just going back to the game before the St. Patrick’s Day game, the first game there, just seeing, like walking on the field before and seeing all the fans there that, um, kind of being back in that atmosphere you it was crazy,” said Koss during the Locked on Red Sox Podcast.
The crazy atmosphere popped off following Koss’ walk-off home run. However, heading into his at-bat in the bottom of the ninth, he was trying to put the ball in play with the hopes of scoring Jeter Downs with a single.
Downs led the inning off with a single to left and he would try to steal second base and was thrown out. Koss changed his approach at the plate and worked the count to 3-and-2 and the rest is history.
“When I got to full count, you know it was a guy who throws hard and I was expecting an elevated fastball. I just kind of reacted to spin and sometimes you clip it good,” said Koss.
Christian Koss could provide position versatility within the system
Last season, Koss defensively saw the majority of his playing time with the Greenville Drive at shortstop. The 6-foot-1, 182 pounder played 842 1/3 innings at short committing 15 errors. He also played 73 innings at second base, committing no errors at the position.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora spoke highly of Koss and the player he could become. “Good moves. Great defender,” said Cora, in addition noted that the shortstop communicates well and acts as a leader on the field.
“He’s not afraid,” Cora said to MassLive. “In ‘19, we had a lot of young kids (in camp) that they were trying to impress us, trying to put up numbers and all that. These kids, they just enjoying playing.”
With the versatility to play both shortstop and second base, Koss can provide versatility for the Portland Sea Dogs this upcoming season. The 2022 season is important one for Koss because he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career. Boston will need to add the versatile infielder to their 40-man roster by late November in order to prevent another organization from selecting him.
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