In less than a decade, Xander Bogaerts has gone from up-and-coming prospect to elder statesman in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse.
"It's kind of crazy to think how time flies that quickly," Bogaerts told reporters in a Zoom call from spring training on Monday. "I was young, man. I just wanted to get to the big leagues, and make it from my little tiny Aruba.
"Now I'm eight years in the big leagues and I've accomplished some stuff so far at a young age," he said. "That fuels me to to continue to do it, to continue to be better and set an example.