February 17, 2011
THE SUBTLE BRILLIANCE OF THE 2010 ROSTER:
Cameron talks of helping to recruit Crawford (Gordon Edes, 2/17/11, ESPN)
Cameron, it turns out, had played an active role in the recruitment of Crawford, even though his arrival meant Cameron would become no better than the fourth outfielder on this team. As far back as October, Cameron said, he had talked to Crawford about coming here.“We just talked about what it was like playing in Boston from the other side,’’ Cameron said. “He made a choice to come to one of the best teams in baseball to add to what we already had here.
“I was just like a college recruiter,’’ agreeing with a reporter who suggested that analogy. “Tell him about the positives, let him figure out what he wanted to do. My experiences, the things that might change for him. I definitely think it will be something he will enjoy.’’
Cameron said he appreciated that general manager Theo Epstein called him even before Crawford signed to inform him of what was happening.
Even into the aughts Boston carried a, mostly deserved, reputation as a team and a city that was inhospitable to black players. But Theo went out and added Cameron and Billy Hall last year, knowing he'd be pursuing Crawford this Winter.
