Bard reflects on Fenway return

Daniel Bard’s story is by now a familiar one to most baseball fans.

An often-dominant setup man for the Red Sox from 2009-11, Bard became a starter in 2012 and within a few months lost his ability to throw strikes.

He dropped into the minors in 2013, quit the game in 2017, then unexpectedly returned in 2020 and has since been a valuable reliever for the Rockies.

There was a question long left unanswered: Was it becoming a starter that led to his issues?

“That wasn’t it,” said Bard, now 37. “I was already dealing with stuff when I showed up in spring training [in 2012]. I was dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome. My velo was way down. My body wasn’t working right. My confidence was shot. Starting was a piece of it but a very little piece.”

Bard also changed his delivery at the time, hoping to become more efficient.

“It really didn’t need much changing,” he said. “I had good intentions to become more efficient but it just wasn’t right for me.”

Over the years, some fans have blamed Sox manager Bobby Valentine for making Bard a starter. But it was Bard’s idea in conjunction with the front office at the time.

“I asked them to do it,” Bard said. “Hindsight is 20-20. I had an OK spring, but when we lost Andrew Bailey [to a thumb injury] I probably should have told them I’d go back to the bullpen and close. Maybe that would have helped me.”

Bard pitched his last game at Fenway Park for the Red Sox on April 27, 2013.

He returned on Monday with the Rockies and worked a scoreless inning.

Before throwing his first pitch at Fenway in 10-plus years, Bard took the time to look around and take it all in.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “I definitely enjoyed it. It was awesome.”

Bard’s wife, Adair, and their three children attended the series. He pitched two scoreless innings and picked up two wins.

It was the first time in his career Bard won games on successive days, a fitting coda to his experience with the Sox.

Extra bases

The Marlins are an increasingly interesting team. Luis Arraez is hitting .390 and 20-year-old righthander Eury Pérez is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his first seven starts. He was promoted from Double A. The Marlins started 39-31, carried by their pitching . . . MLB owners discussed the idea of proposing a salary cap during their meetings in New York last week. The collective bargaining agreement runs through 2026, so it’s more philosophical than anything else at this point. The Players Association has said repeatedly it would never agree to a cap . . . The Giants are using UConn product Reggie Crawford as a designated hitter and starting pitcher for Single A San Jose. He was 4 for 16 with two doubles and a homer in his first nine games as a DH and allowed five runs over nine innings in his first five starts with 15 strikeouts and three walks. Crawford had Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2021 and missed the 2022 season. The lefthander was still the 30th overall pick of the draft and made his minor league debut on May 24. Crawford pitched only 20‚ innings during his college years, including summer leagues, but touches 97 with his fastball and has command of a slider. He’s also a power hitter with speed. Crawford hit 14 homers in 262 at-bats with the Huskies . . . MLB’s sixday Draft Combine starts Monday at Chase Field in Phoenix. The 323 players who accepted invitations include Harvard righthanders Chris Clark and Jay Driver (Wellesley), Maine second baseman Quinn McDaniel, Boston College outfielder Travis Honeyman, and Eagles first baseman Joe Vetrano . . . Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto became the 17 th catcher to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat on Monday. He joined Carlton Fisk (1984 with the White Sox) and Rich Gedman (1985) on the list. Bet you didn’t know Geddy had 12 career triples. Slow-footed Bengie Molina completed a remarkable cycle at Fenway Park in 2010 when he tripled to center field in the eighth inning . . . Orioles rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson

hit a 462-foot home run to right field at Camden Yards last Sunday off Kansas City righthander Jackson Kowar. According to the Orioles, the shot was the longest onto Eutaw Street during a game. Ken Griffey Jr. set the record with a 465-foot drive that hit the warehouse on the fly during the 1993 Home Run Derby. The Orioles mark home runs that hit the street with small plaques . . . D’Angelo Ortiz, who has a broken hamate bone, is not playing with the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Baseball League . . . It was mentioned in this space last week that

Javar Williams, a center fielder from New Bedford and Tabor Academy, was headed to Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons also landed Antonio Morales,

a center fielder and middle infielder from Norfolk and Roxbury Latin. Thanks to loyal reader Jay Kannally for the information . . . Emerson College will host a free exhibit from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum from June 19-Aug. 4 at 118 Boylston Street in Boston. “Barrier Breakers: From Jackie to Pumpsie” shares the stories of players who integrated MLB teams, including

Pumpsie Green with the Red Sox in 1959. It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m . . . . Happy Birthday to Tom McCarthy, who is 62. The hard-throwing righthander from Plymouth Carver High was drafted by the Red Sox in 1979 and made his major league debut in 1985. He appeared in three games before being traded to the Mets after the season as part of an eight-player deal. McCarthy went on to make 37 appearances for the White Sox from 198889. He pitched professionally until

1995 and had a 3.61 ERA in the majors.