Red Sox slugger was 'uncomfortable' with Netflix cameras around the team all season
One storyline from this past Red Sox season was Netflix following around the team for a documentary that is slated to come out next year. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill recently spoke with The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey on what it was like for cameras to be around all season and how he tried to get accustomed to the crew all season long.
“There’s been a lot of people, a lot of cameras in places there usually aren’t,” O’Neill said. “Even after games, just trying to like, wind down and still having to be subject to the camera’s eye was something to get used to, for sure. So it’s been a long year in that regard, not like keeping a guard up, but you always have to have some kind of layer hanging around there.”
Netflix’s presence was fine for some players in the locker room, while others wanted a little more privacy during the year. O’Neill played his first season in Boston, having some success at the plate while also dealing with the struggles of being hurt various times throughout the year.
O’Neill provided pop in the lineup from the right-handed side of the plate for Boston. He left the Sox with 31 homers while slashing .241/.336/.511 with 61 RBIs across 113 appearances. The veteran slugger will become a free agent this offseason and is open to returning to the club in 2025.
"It was an awesome year getting to experience Boston," O'Neill said of his first year in Boston. "Calling Fenway my home ballpark for a season. Getting to know my teammates. I wouldn't want to change it for anything. I think we accomplished a lot of good things this season, both in good stretches and bad stretches. We did it together.
"They got something good cooking over here in the Boston organization," O'Neill added. "We'll see what happens."
There’s uncertainty whether or not O’Neill will be back with the club next season, and the two-time Gold Glove winner would welcome being back without the Netflix cameras around.
“Just having the camera right by (Alex Cora) during the whole game, especially the big, important games, maybe you're not 100 percent comfortable sharing some stuff,” O’Neill added. “So it’s definitely an adjustment. And there were times where it’s been uncomfortable, of course. But that’s what the Red Sox wanted initially and the players from last year. So it is what it is.”
