Brandon's Roderick Shoulders visits Red Sox

BRANDON

The Green Monster, which majestically rises beyond left field at Boston's Fenway Park, stands 37 feet high and 240 across. But to Brandon's Roderick Shoulders, it might as well have reached the clouds.

"Amazing," Shoulders said of his visit to the famous field of the Red Sox. "You see it on TV but can't believe how big the Green Monster is until you're right up on it."

Shoulders joined other Red Sox draftees this past week for a visit to Boston. The team flew him up on the Fourth of July, the first trip he had ever taken without his parents.

"Just like any parent, you worry," his father, Rodney Shoulders, said. "But everything the Red Sox said they were going to do, they've done. They called us every day to let us know how he was doing, and they've held up their word all through this drafting process."

Shoulders flew in on July 4 and spent the day sightseeing with members of his family who live in town. The former Brandon High standout, who was selected by the Red Sox in the 20th round during June's Major League Baseball first-year player draft, also got acquainted with the locals and caught some of the fireworks display.

"I was in a store and a guy asked me where I was from," Shoulders said. "I told him I'm from Tampa and got drafted by Boston. He was real nice and told me they needed a catcher so good luck."

Shoulders then met with some of the Red Sox brass during lunch at the Bleacher Bar in Fenway's outfield wall. He took a tour of the park and the locker rooms, complete with a jersey hanging up in a stall with his name on the back. Shoulders then took a trip to the seats that sit atop the Green Monster.

"The view was incredible," he said. "And the locker rooms were so nice with flat-screen TVs and everything."

The highlight of the visit came over the next two days when Shoulders got to take batting practice and play in simulated games on the field. And Shoulders, known for his prodigious power, wasted little time putting it on display. He hit a pair of homers in batting practice into the right field bullpen, 400 feet from home plate.

"Right field ain't no joke there," Shoulders said.

He also banged some balls off the Green Monster in left field while Red Sox management and scouts looked on.

"It was just great to hit in the same box that Big Papi (David Ortiz) hits in," Shoulders said. "And then to realize I had power enough to hit balls out to right centerfield and off the Monster, it was a lot of fun."

Shoulders also got to ride a subway for the first time and meet Hall of Fame sports writer Peter Gammons.

"I shook his hand, and he said 'Hi, I'm Peter Gammons,' " Shoulders said. "Inside I was thinking, 'Of course I know who you are.' "

Shoulders said his trip to Boston has made him just want to work harder. Over the summer, he's working out with a personal trainer for two hours a day, hitting regularly, maintaining a running regimen and playing on two different travel teams.

"You realize everyone out there who got drafted has talent," he said. "Every one of them is a good player."

Shoulders, who has signed to play next year for the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, said he is still undecided about whether he'll sign with the Red Sox or not. He said negotiations will likely begin in early August.

Until then, Shoulders has a bat bag full of memories from his trip.

"The expression on his face when he got home was like a little kid at Christmas," Rodney Shoulders said. "That trip lit a fire under him and no matter how things shake out, not too many people can ever say they played on that field."

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