LOS ANGELES — Alex Verdugo grew nostalgic as he thought back to his days as a Dodger.
From breaking into the major leagues with them in 2017 to helping them win 106 games in 2019 in one of the most complete seasons of his career up to this point, Verdugo loved playing in Los Angeles.
Which is why it bothered him so much when he was sent to the Red Sox in the Mookie Betts deal following that season.
“I was upset. I was pretty clear I didn’t want to go anywhere,” Verdugo said Thursday on the eve of the World Series. “I understood it from a business aspect and all that, but I was pretty hurt by it.”
At this stage, all the motivation needed is winning a World Series championship, but beating his old team would provide something extra for Verdugo.
“You want to win and you want to kind of show them, ‘Hey, you guys got rid of me and maybe it wasn’t the right decision,’ ” he said.
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Verdugo has faced the Dodgers a few times since the trade, but this is his first time back at Dodger Stadium. There were admittedly some mixed emotions for the Yankees’ starting left fielder.
“It’s special to finally get back here, to play in front of this crowd,” he said. “This fan base showed me nothing but love. … It’s going to feel good to come out here, play in front of the Dodgers crowd again. Just feel that atmosphere, that was one thing about playing here.”
He added: “I go through this in my mind a few times. Part of me wants to get a little bit of, ‘Hey, man, welcome back,’ and then it’s like, ‘All right, it’s the World Series, we’re going to boo you.’ We’ll see. At the end of the day, I still love this palace. Nothing is going to change that — that feeling when I was here.”
After four seasons with the Red Sox, Verdugo was traded a second time this offseason.
He started hot, but cooled off considerably, to the point that there was a time in September when it looked like top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez could replace Verdugo in the starting lineup.
But manager Aaron Boone went with Verdugo over Dominguez, and he has enjoyed a solid October, playing well defensively and getting a few big hits.
“Obviously for me, I thought it was the right decision,” the 28-year-old Verdugo said. “For [Boone] to kind of stick with his guys and go with experience was big for me. He gave me the confidence I needed to come through, get a couple of big hits here and there and a couple of key RBIs.”
