After a slow start to his tenure, Boston Red Sox first baseman Dom Smith has been playing well recently, making Boston's time waiting for Triston Casas to return from injury.
In his last 26 games, Smith has hit .303 with a .940 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBIs.
This stretch actually started not long after the Red Sox moved on from Garrett Cooper and made Smith their first baseman, and that's led to a ton of support from the fans.
However, speaking recently on the "310 to Left" podcast with Tom Caron and Alex Speier, Smith believes he had an instant connection to the fan base.
"I felt the connection right away. I can't even lie to you guys," Smith said. "From Day 1, I felt the excitement. Even when I would have a couple of bad at-bats or I wasn't hitting particularly well early in the season, I just remember walking up on deck and fans would be like 'I love you, Dom. Just keep grinding, keep going.'
"Just that level of positive motivation for me made me feel really good and made me really feel like the fans really gravitated towards me, my energy and just wanted me to do well.
"Then, a few weeks later, I did a Q&A with some of the fans... Just seeing their reaction, you can just tell that they really just enjoy watching me play. I felt like I wasn't even playing well at the time. They just kept saying they loved my defense. I'm like 'Dang, I just made like four errors.' It's just been awesome just to see how they've reacted towards me and just how much they love watching me. I just want to do what I can to help this team win, make it to the playoffs and get to the end goal."
It's clear that Red Sox fans appreciate Smith's efforts, and his recent performance has given them something to cheer for when hope was lost for productive first base play earlier in the season.
If he keeps playing like this, Casas will be able to take his time with his rehab assignment, and Boston won't feel like they have to bring him back too soon.
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