Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and some teammates put away sticks to take BP at Fenway Park
BOSTON (AP) — Jeremy Swayman and eight of his Boston Bruins teammates traded their hockey sticks for baseball bats on Saturday and took some cuts during batting practice at Fenway Park.
A couple of them even managed to slap a shot over the Green Monster.
“I’m used to stopping it and not hitting it,” Swayman, the Bruins’ goaltender, told The Associated Press. “It’s fun being over the plate and being on offense for once.”
The players batted against a pitching machine before the Red Sox faced the Kansas City Royals in the second of a three-game series.
Forward Morgan Geekie cleared the wall, sending a drive from the right side of the plate over a billboard above the Monster seats and completely out of Fenway. Another right-handed hitter, forward Tanner Jeannot, hit two over the Wall, one bouncing off the cement behind the last row and out of the park.
Who had the best swing?
“I would say Geeks and Jeanno,” Swayman said of the pair. “Both technically sound.”
Nikita Zadorov, a 6-foot-7 defenseman, was trying to shag fly balls with others in the outfield. Swayman, being a goalie, flashed some leather on a few well-struck balls in the outfield. Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle came out in a back-and-gold Bruins sweater, with his name and No. 70 on the back, to watch near the cage.
As for the left-handed hitting Swayman, he was at a bit of a disadvantage with Fenway’s deep right field beyond the Pesky Pole.
He hit a couple down the right-field line that rolled around the track.
When told he’d have a stand-up double, at least, or maybe a triple with his speed, he went into his goalie stance while answering.
“Yeah, with my lateral speed,” he said, smiling, while crouching slightly and moving sideways.
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