Kyle Teel was undoubtedly excited to get selected with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. One slight complication? He went to the Boston Red Sox, his lifetime rivals.
The Boston Red Sox made out like bandits in the 2023 MLB Draft, selecting Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with the No. 14 pick. Teel was the No. 6 pick in the FanSided Mock Draft, but he fell into Boston's lap for reasons we may never know.
For Teel, this is a momentous occasion — the culmination of a lifetime of hard work. He has spent pretty much his entire adolescence working toward this very moment. How could he not be excited?
There is, however, one mild complication: Teel grew up in Mahwah, NJ, a stone's throw away from New York. His favorite team? You guessed it, the New York Yankees. I dare any diehard Yanks fan to think up a worse nightmare than wearing the Red Sox emblem across your chest.
Boston Red Sox select diehard Yankees fan Kyle Teel in MLB Draft
The Red Sox will hope Teel can develop into their next star behind home plate. Boston has had its share of elite catchers over the years, from Carlton Fisk in the '70s to Jason Varitek in the 2000s. Boston is one of the most storied franchises in MLB history; Teel has big shoes to fill.
Of course, if there's a more storied franchise in MLB history, it's the Yankees. Teel would probably have preferred to join the ranks of Yogi Berra instead, but sometimes life throws curveballs. The Yankees held the No. 26 pick, and there was simply no way a player of Keel's caliber would ever drop that far.
For Teel, there's no denying his Yankee fandom — it's plastered on his social media forever. But now, he claims to be all-in on Boston.
Look, if the team I hated most offered to pay me thousands, maybe millions of dollars to play my favorite sport at the professional level, I might soften my stance too. The Red Sox made the cold, calculated business decision. Keel will now have years — presumably — to get comfortable in Red Sox paraphernalia.
It can be hard to bleed red after years of worshipping pinstripes, but there's a deeper life metaphor swimming around here somewhere. We all "bleed red," in a literal sense. Life is all about growth and adaptation. Keel will have the opportunity to turn over a new leaf and embrace change, all while celebrating the single greatest accomplishment of his young life.
Keel isn't the only player to feel the keen sting of involuntary betrayal tied to this rivalry. Below is a photo of Aaron Judge wearing a Red Sox t-shirt in college. Now he's smacking dingers and winning MVPs in New York. We're all capable of change.
Our friends at Yanks Go Yard propose the possibility of Keel acting as a mole in the Red Sox dugout. That level of risk probably isn't in Keel's immediate interest, but hey — never say never.
