Thursday night in Dodger Stadium, the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> will have a new right fielder. He is a Gold Glover and World Series champion \u2014 Josh Reddick. Earlier Thursday, the Diamondbacks called him up from the Triple-A Reno Aces, where he hit .304 in 11 games. He will play right field and bat fifth Thursday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was a slow offseason for Reddick as far as teams calling. This came despite being a 12-year veteran who played for the Boston Red Sox<\/a> (2009-11), Oakland Athletics<\/a> (2012-16), Dodgers (2016), and Houston Astros<\/a> (2017-20). The Diamondbacks reached out to him to fill a need in right field, something that meant a lot to Reddick. As a result, on April 12, Reddick signed a minor-league deal. He was eager to get back on track in the minors so he could get to the majors as soon as possible and help the club start winning.<\/p>\n Reddick didn\u2019t feel upset about having to go back to the minors first if it was what he had to do to get back to the big leagues. \u201cI was put on this earth to play baseball, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m determined to do,\u201d Reddick said, regardless of what level it is. He wants to play long enough for his 19-month-old twin boys to be able to go to the park and watch him play.<\/p>\n Reddick began his career with the Red Sox organization. They drafted him in 2006. When he played for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 2010, their manager was current Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. Reddick said they didn\u2019t get to know each other super well while he was in Pawtucket, but when he arrived at Dodger Stadium Thursday afternoon, they picked up where they left off.<\/p>\n Another member of the Diamondbacks organization Reddick knew in Boston was Mike Hazen, the current general manager. They \u201cbutted heads a little bit.\u201d However, Reddick said that was mostly from \u201cmy own immaturity.\u201d The main conflict, according to Reddick, was his own eagerness to swing at just about anything. \u201cI thought I could hit anything you threw up there,\u201d Reddick recalled. \u201cIf you threw the rosin bag, (I believed) I had a good chance of hitting it for a double in the gap.\u201d Hazen wanted Reddick to take pitches more often and develop patience at the plate, something Reddick is now grateful for. He said that despite \u201cbumping heads,\u201d they had \u201ca great relationship.\u201d Reddick \u201ccan\u2019t wait to see Mike again. It\u2019s been too long.\u201d<\/p>\n It was unusual for Josh Reddick to have to \u201cscrounge around to get a job,\u201d in the words of Barry M. Bloom, given Reddick\u2019s age and experience. It made Reddick a little angry, but he also has accepted the reality of the situation. \u201cI needed to take a step back and humble myself to realize this is how things work right now. It\u2019s out of my control, so the best thing I can do is put it behind me and keep pushing forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Reddick hasn\u2019t had much of a chance to get to know guys on the team. However, he knows catcher Stephen Vogt very well, dating back to their days in Oakland. They were close then and have kept in touch ever since. He knows Madison Bumgarner \u2014 a former San Francisco Giant \u2014 competitively from facing him during the Oakland days. They do not know one another personally yet, though. Since they\u2019re both \u201cbackwoods Southern guys,\u201d as Reddick put it \u2014 Reddick hails from East Georgia, while Bumgarner is from North Carolina \u2014 Reddick feels like they\u2019ll get along very well.<\/p>\n Reddick, having joined the club hours before this writing, is still getting to know everyone. \u201cThat\u2019s the toughest part about getting to a new team \u2014 learning names, learning whom to talk to and what to talk to them about.\u201d He enjoys meeting new people. Consequently, he is \u201cexcited to get to know a lot of these guys.\u201d But above all, he is \u201creally excited about this opportunity to help these boys win.\u201d<\/p>\n Main Photo:Connections between Diamondbacks and Josh Reddick<\/h3>\n
Joining a New Team<\/h3>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>