For some Red Sox players, it was a frightening incident. Josh Beckett, known for his mercurial temper, returned to the locker room after a workout the other day, only to find a cockroach crawling across his sandwich. In killing the insect, many felt he used excessive force.
“Some felt he could have just knocked it to the floor and stepped on it,” said a clubhouse worker, who said clubhouse cockroaches can range anywhere from two inches to three feet in size. “This was one of the smaller ones.”
Instead, Beckett repeatedly pounded his fist into the creature, breaking through part of the wall, while screaming, “Don’t…ever…touch…my…food!” Although the cockroach was clearly dead after the first strike, it was estimated Beckett threw 70 punches in all. He had reportedly taken out a fire torch, but was restrained by teammates.
But he wasn’t done. Beckett then took the mangled cockroach corpse and got a hammer and nailed it to the wall. He then posted a message, warning other cockroaches that the same fate could happen to them. Some cockroaches did gather around their mangled comrade in a moment of solidarity and mourning, before an enraged Beckett attacked them. The cockroaches were able to quickly scurry to safety.
“Yeah, he went too far,” said Dustin Pedroia. “But that’s Josh. That same fire won us four post-season games last year. And lemme tell you, the things he does to rats? I...I...just wouldn’t feel comfortable telling you.”
Terry Francona said he planned to speak to Josh about the incident. “We all hate cockroaches,” he said, “but while I understand Josh was mad, I think he went a too far with the l’il fella. We sprayed his locker and put some traps in there, so we’re going to try to prevent this from happening again. Beckett, however, was still steamed."
“They better stay away from my locker,” he threateningly fumed. “You think that’s the worst thing I can do to a cockroach?”
bill@callofthegreenmonster.com
