Arroyo finds end of long road
CINCINNATI — With his long, straw-colored locks and undying passion for guitar-centric classic and alternative rock, Bronson Arroyo hardly looks, acts or sounds like your typical 40-year-old baseball player.
He’s as authentic as they come, though, because there’s nothing ordinary about him or his career. In a little more than a week, that will draw to a close after five minor league and 16 big league seasons.
In the community of pitchers, Arroyo is a physical freak, a slender, 6-foot-4 right-hander with the Radio City Rockettes leg kick who defied body type and conventional wisdom by never going on the disabled list and never missing an outing because of injury from 2000-14, a 369-start stretch.
In the world of the Red Sox, Arroyo was one-fifth of the magical 2004 Red Sox rotation that never missed a start and, in case you hadn’t heard, went on to win the World Series.
He tried out corn rows, he jammed with Eddie Vedder and his boss, Theo Epstein, he had Alex Rodriguez slap a baseball from his hand. He was a free spirit who very much fit the bill as one of the “idiots” from that team.
Dustin Pedroia gifted him with a Fenway Park scoreboard “61” in a pregame ceremony yesterday, during which he watched video greetings from a conga line of 2004 greats including Epstein, Jason Varitek, Kevin Millar and Terry Francona.
Arroyo is a symbol of individualism and durability. The latter legacy, fittingly, is his most lasting.
That bears significance to this 2017 Red Sox team and all future squads. Arroyo is a symbol of the woe that can befall a general manager or club president who trades away such a long-lasting starter.
Epstein flubbed when he dealt Arroyo to the Reds in spring training of 2006 for the inaccurately reported “power bat” of Wily Mo Pena. That bat had a few holes.
“(Epstein’s) told me a few times (about the mistake),” Arroyo said. “The most prominent time was ’06, just before the All-Star break. He called me and said, ‘Bronson, I just want to tell you you’re having a fantastic year, and I can’t walk down the street without somebody screaming out of the car, ‘Why in the hell did you trade Arroyo?’ ”
In hindsight and present sight, there was no good reason. And Arroyo knows it. His long-lasting presence seemingly rubs off on his teammates. Not only did the 2004 Sox rotation never miss a start, but neither did his 2012 Reds team.
“Both teams won the division, and that’s the thing that’s so fantastic. You only get to see a thing like that once in a blue moon,” Arroyo said. “I got to do that twice in two different spots. And you realize that starting pitching is what’s going to get you to the promised land.
“When I think about my accomplishments, those are probably my two favorite seasons, ’12 and ’04.”
An explanation for his longevity is not readily available. But his career sure has gone by fast.
“Year to year, you just try to stay in the present tense. Let’s make it every fifth day, and you turn around and 10 years have gone by,” Arroyo said. “It didn’t feel like anything special to me, but I definitely had more pride about that than just about anything else in the game. If you’re not successful, you would have gotten yanked regardless.”
After yesterday’s game, Arroyo took to the stage at Great American Ballpark to perform a blistering ninesong concert set for fans.
Before the game, he held a meet-and-greet, the playlist in the room skipping from Stone Temple Pilots to Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers to Weezer, background music for anyone willing to pony up a modest sum for charity.
Making the 13-hour drive from Norwell were brothers Myles and Rob Blakeslee. Myles wore his No.61 Red Sox jersey and was sky-high after the encounter with Arroyo. He was only 10 in 2004, but he and his brother knew all about Arroyo.
“It’s one of those things, they were such a good group of guys in ’03 and ’04, and we loved those ‘idiots’ and ‘Cowboy Up,’ ” Myles Blakeslee said. “I loved the corn rows, I loved the high leg kick. My Wiffle ball leg kick was his leg kick, the long-legged thing.
“I have his CD and brought it in my car. When my phone dies, that’s what I listen to. We had to make the trip for Bronson.”
Arroyo, who responded to the Blakeslees’ direct message on his Instagram account for help with tickets, appreciated the visit, but he has no second thoughts about saying goodbye to baseball.
“It feels now like my senior year in high school and I’m ready to get out,” Arroyo said. “I’m honestly ready to go.”
He is not sure what he will do next. He will take his time to decide.
When he does, there’s little doubt he’ll do it for a long, long time.