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Red Sox made light of ‘worst flight’ experience, creating a new celebration out of it
"I put two and two together. I was like wow, that’s a sick celly. I like it."
Red Sox rally around in-flight turbulence: Following Sunday’s win over the Dodgers, the Red Sox boarded a flight for Minnesota ahead of the three-game series against the Twins. It proved to be an excruciating experience, requiring an unforeseen stop in Detroit (and a heavy dose of turbulence throughout).
“Rough flight last night,” manager Alex Cora told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Monday. “Very rough. For them. I don’t know, I slept through it. There were a lot of people banged up after that flight. We had to go through Detroit and then come here. When we got to Detroit, I fell asleep and all of the sudden, we were here. But it was pretty tough over there.”
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While Cora — perhaps fittingly, as a manager — was able to successfully tune out the turbulence, others had a more difficult time.
“At least on a roller coaster, you know when the drop is coming or you know when you’re rolling right or rolling left,” Boston starter Lucas Giolito remarked, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “You can see it. But sitting on a plane, it was like, oh boy. At one point, I kind of flew up out of my seat. OK, it’s time to put the seat belt on.”
Giolito’s account was shared by several of his teammates.
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“The boys were struggling,” said Trevor Story, who added to Healey that the turbulence in the second flight went on for “an hour straight, no break.”
“It was awful,” Story explained. “Probably the worst flight that I’ve been on, turbulence-wise. I don’t get motion sick, but it took everything in me not to let it out.”
The leftover effect of the flight proved to be a challenge on Monday, when the Red Sox lost the series opener to the Twins (compounded by a separate but no less unusual circumstance of a 90-minute rain delay prior to the final inning). Boston went through the game without pitcher Garrett Whitlock, who was still woozy from the flight (per Cotillo).
By Tuesday, the team was fully recovered, and began to embrace the unexpected adversity with a new celebration: Airplane wings. Exactly which Red Sox player started it is a matter of debate, but Story said he first noticed it after Ceddanne Rafaela cruised into third with a triple. The 24-year-old celebrated by rocking his outstretched arms up and down, mimicking the airplane turbulence.
“I saw him doing it and was like, what is that?” said Story. “Then I put two and two together. I was like wow, that’s a sick celly. I like it.”
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Boston soared to a win on Tuesday, evening the series with an 8-5 victory over Minnesota.
“We’re embracing it,” Story concluded. “We’ve got games to play, and we’re going to come with our best.”
With the win, the Red Sox (58-51) kept hold of one of the American League wild card spots.
Trivia: Trevor Story was selected 45th overall in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Rockies. What notable outfielder did the Red Sox draft five spots ahead of Story that year?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He went on to win a Gold Glove in 2018, and was also ALCS MVP that season for Boston.
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox defeated the Twins 8-5 on Tuesday, with Trevor Story hitting his 16th home run of the season (totaling three RBIs in the process).
The two teams conclude the three-game series this afternoon in Minnesota at 1:10 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- Story’s homer and Giolito’s strong outing lift Red Sox over Twins 8-5
- 5 takeaways from Day 6 of 2025 Patriots training camp
- Patriots jump 18 spots into top-10 of ESPN’s ‘under-25’ talent rankings
- Deion Sanders reflects on support from Randy Moss during cancer battle: ‘He called me every other day’
- Derrick White humorously recalled finding out about 2022 Spurs-Celtics trade from Gregg Popovich
- Alex Cora discussed Red Sox priorities ahead of MLB trade deadline
Slow-motion strikeout: Blue Jays catcher Ali Sanchez recorded a strikeout on a 35 MPH pitch during a blowout loss against the Orioles on Tuesday.
On this day: In 2013, the Red Sox traded for starting pitcher Jake Peavy prior to the MLB trade deadline.
Daily highlight: Ceddanne Rafaela once again made an extremely difficult play look routine during the Red Sox win on Tuesday.
Trivia answer: Jackie Bradley Jr.
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