Reddick making his mark with a Flair

Published Origiinally by CSNNE.com on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

BOSTON -- In a clubhouse lined with red folding chairs in front of the lockers, a single black seat stood out. It was, appropriately enough, placed under a replica championship belt and an ornate Ric Flair “Nature Boy” robe hanging from the ceiling.

Josh Reddick had been waiting weeks for this, a gift from a friend who works for the WWE. It was a Triple H-themed folding chair, memorabilia of Reddick's favorite wrestler, with the wrestler's face on the seat cushion. 

“He’s always been a guy -- I know they say it’s all fake -- but he’s always someone I’ve enjoyed watching because it looks like a passion more than just a job and an entertainment,” Reddick said. “He takes it really seriously even though the situations, they say, are fake.”

The WWE became a topic of conversation in the Red Sox clubhouse this season when Reddick purchased Flair’s autographed robe on eBay for his lockermate, Dustin Pedroia, a fellow WWE fan. The flashy extra-large garb, with the nickname “Nature Boy” bedazzled on the back, has become a mainstay in their quarters above Pedroia’s locker. 

Reddick took his love for the WWE on to the field last month when he switched his at-bat music from Dropkick Murphys “Cadence to Arms” to “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” best known as the theme song from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It is also Flair’s entrance music.

“I never go out there trying to be too amped up, so I try not to pick something that’s going to be too intense. Everything I pick I’ve enjoyed hearing,” he said. “It clears my head more than anything.”

After a few games with the dramatic song, Reddick changed his at-bat music again. It was a song he had used in the minors leagues and had wanted to play in the majors, but was waiting for the right time -- “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. It’s hard, it’s hard rock,” he said earlier. With the regular season winding down, Reddick went for it and chose his wrestling idol’s entrance song, “The Game,” by Motörhead. 

“I like most of the wrestlers’ music,” he said. “Most of the guys that walk out in wrestling have the hard-core, head-banging kind of thing. That’s not really my taste in music, so I don’t really want that to be associated with me. But that’s always one that I’ve enjoyed. [Triple H is] old fashioned and obviously he’s a legend and everybody likes him, and the fans seem to get into it a little bit too.”

Reddick tries to catch WWE shows whenever they come to a town nearby (he spends his offseason in Georgia) and has met a few wrestlers as well. “I’ve actually been like four feet away from the Undertaker, who’s a big guy,” he noted. While he points out differences between them and baseball players, he says they have a common objective. 

“They obviously can get away with being a lot bigger than the average person and apparently baby oil is a huge objective for them to come out on TV (laughs). And they’re not afraid to come out in their sliders and spandex alone,” he said. “But they’ve got the awesome entrances with the fireworks and the videos and the music. They’re huge entertainers and we kind of share that in common.”

So if Reddick had the chance to spend a day in a wrestler’s shoes, what would his persona be?

“Obviously I’d have to put on about 30 more pounds,” he joked. “I feel like I’d be one of those high-flying guys that just jumps up off the ropes all the time doing all kinds of crazy flips, that kind of thing. I’d be loud -- I’d have to be loud. The quiet guys don’t really make it a whole lot. [I would] probably wear the standard Speedo with kneepads and boots. It’d have to be red. Red’s been my color since I don’t know how long. 

"But I don’t think there’s much room for country music in that kind of lifestyle, I haven’t heard anyone walk out to country music. I don’t know what [entrance song I would pick] because usually bands make up music for wrestlers like that. I think Nickelback would be a good one.”

While Reddick is focused on contributing to the Red Sox quest for a championship, he may have an opportunity to look like a pro wrestler, if only for a few hours. There is a tradition of rookies wearing costumes on their last road trip of the regular season, and the Ric Flair “Nature Boy” coat hanging from the ceiling in the clubhouse could be the perfect get-up. 

“I don’t know if I’m going to do it yet, but we’ve talked about it being my costume dress up for the last road trip,” he said. “I threw it out there that if I bleached my hair white, would I get to wear the robe and the belt and all that stuff? They (my teammates) said that wouldn’t be a problem, so we’ll see how that goes. At least it’d be something I can have fun with and enjoy. 

“And it’s not like my first year when I wore my blue fairy outfit.”