A multitude of men stand around the foul lines of Dudy Noble Field, decked out in maroon shirts and white baseball caps that give testimony to their origins as Mississippi State baseball players.
Batting practice begins for the 2006 Alumni Baseball Game as former Diamond Dawgs from as early as 1939 compare stories from their times at the university.
One of the younger attendees has garnered the most attention, though, receiving handshakes and autograph requests from young and old.
This standout is Boston Red Sox mega-closer Jonathan Papelbon, who has returned to Polk-Dement Stadium despite contractual obligations that prevent him from pitching in the game.
Papelbon, who filled a relief-pitching role at MSU as well, takes the attention like a professional, as someone who has constantly dealt with hordes of fans for the past seven months.
“It’s been to the point where me and my wife can’t go eat at too many places,” he said. “You got to prepare for that. It’s part of the game. It’s part of being [in the majors] and you’ve got to be able to socially accept it.”
The past season has seen him rocket from a rookie from Louisiana with a good arm to a all-star major leaguer with an impeccable record, ending his season 4-2 with a 0.92 ERA in 59 appearances.
His time at MSU under head coaches Pat McMahon and Ron Polk, helped prepare him for his drive to the majors.
“You’re playing against great competition [at MSU],” Papelbon said. “That’s what prepared me for what it takes to play top-notch baseball. Major League Baseball is obviously the top, but you try to play at the top level at every spot in baseball: minor leagues, college. You try to be the best you can be, and that’s what playing [at MSU] taught me.”
During his time with the Bulldogs, Papelbon became a draft pick twice: once in 2002 for the Oakland Athletics, which he passed on, and then again in 2003 for the Red Sox, trading in his No. 19 Bulldogs jersey for his more recognizable No. 58 Boston version.
This switch brought about opportunities for the rookie pitcher to learn from veteran major leaguers.
“It’s great to play with guys like Curt Schilling,” he said. “You can go to them for advice any time you need it. He helped me with the splitter. He showed me the grip and how to throw it, and I just worked and worked and worked on it ’til the next thing I know it started to develop a natural arm action for me.”
Coming into the majors, Papelbon was unsure where he would sit in the pitching lineup.
Once the 2006 season began, though, he found his place in the bullpen as a reliever.
The closer role, however, didn’t present itself to him until the first game.
“The next thing I know, it’s opening day and they’re giving me the ball in the ninth,” he said. “I kind of took the approach of, ‘All right. They’re going to give me a chance at this role as a closer, so I’ll just take the chance and roll with it as best I can.'”
And roll he did.
Papelbon’s ability to slam the door on a game earned him the Rookie of the Month award for April and a streak of 20 saves that did not end until June 10 when he blew a save against the Texas Rangers, the same team that gave him his first save.
The Red Sox still managed to outscore the Rangers in that game, Papelbon finished out the ninth and was awarded a win in place of his usual save.
Much of Papelbon’s success can be attributed to his relationship with Red Sox catcher and team captain Jason Varitek.
“He’s huge,” Papelbon said. “A veteran catcher like that has known these hitters for years and years. He definitely makes me better.”
When Papelbon takes the mound, it’s clear that pitching is the only thing on his mind.
“I usually have a plan for hitters every time I go in there,” he said. “I know I’m facing these three or four or five guys, so I my total mindset is just everything, every ounce of energy that I have, every focus is going to Varitek. Sometimes I just forget about hitters being in that box. I’m just trying to throw that ball through Varitek. That’s my whole purpose.”
This intensity came in handy as the young pitcher entered into arguably the strongest rivalry in sports: Red Sox and Yankees.
“It’s total chaos,” Papelbon said. “It’s everything from the media to TV to the people that are there to warming up in the bullpen in the ninth.
“Getting hazed on and shouted at in the bullpen. Having batteries thrown at you. It’s fun. I like playing away at Yankee Stadium as much as I like playing at home.”
The Yankees/Red Sox rivalry also brought Papelbon up against the man he considers the toughest to pitch to in the entire MLB, Hideki Matsui.
“He covers so much of the plate,” Papelbon said. “With some players you know you can get them out [inside]. They’ll cheat in sometimes. But there’s no exact way to pitch to him.”
He also entered the toughest situation of his career during a game against the Bronx Bombers.
“We were playing a five-game set with the Yankees, and I came in with bases loaded in the eighth with no outs,” he said.
After a sacrifice fly by Jason Giambi that yielded one run, Papelbon closed out the inning by striking out Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada.
When inning nine came around, though, a double by Melky Cabrera led to an RBI by Derek Jeter, tying the game and blowing Papelbon’s save.
“Frickin’ Jeter,” Papelbon said.
This did not offset an otherwise outstanding season by the right-hander. His 35 saves set the Red Sox rookie record, and his performance in the first half of the season led to a spot on the American League All-Star team.
“I never had a goal to go out with the All-Stars my rookie year,” Papelbon said. “I didn’t really expect that, but basically I took the ball, ran with it and never looked back. The next thing you know I’m being referred to the All-Star team, and then I’m actually on the team. It was like a whirlwind experience. I was like, ‘What am I doing from here?’ It’s hard to even talk about because you just don’t expect that.”
Papelbon’s plans from this point revolve mostly around the decision to place him in the Red Sox rotation next season.
He stays confident that the fans that followed him so closely as a closer will do the same with his starting role.
“I would sit in the bullpen all day, and they’d be yelling ‘Become a starter! We need you in more innings!’ and this and that,” he said. “I know they’re going to love it.”
The new position will require a completely different practice regimen for Papelbon, but he’s started before and feels he can do it again.
“I’m going to have to switch my mindset and go out there prepared to throw 170 innings, not 70 innings of relief,” he said. “It’s going to be a little different twist for me, but I’ve started in the big leagues and I’ve closed, so I know what’s expected.
“I’m just going to take it one day at a time and one week at a time. [I’ll] look at every out, not look ahead and not look behind and see what comes up.”