CLEVELAND (AP) — Jarren Duran has found plenty of support from his Boston Red Sox teammates and others outside baseball since he revealed in a Netflix documentary that he attempted suicide three years ago.
His openness has also exposed him to hecklers, though.
Duran said a fan in the front row Sunday near the Red Sox dugout in Cleveland said “something inappropriate” to him after the All-Star left fielder flied out in the seventh inning of a 13-3 victory over the Guardians.
Duran stayed on the top step of the dugout and glared at the fan as the inning played out. During the seventh-inning stretch, before the singing of “God Bless America,” Red Sox teammates and coaches kept Duran away from the area as umpires and Progressive Field security personnel gathered to handle the situation.
The fan tried to run up the aisle, but was caught by security and taken out of the stadium.
“The fans just said something inappropriate. I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
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After the game, the Guardians released a statement apologizing to the Red Sox and Duran. The team said it has identified the fan and is working with Major League Baseball on next steps.
Duran said it was the first time he was heckled by a fan about his suicide attempt and mental health struggles since the Netflix series “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox” was released on April 8.
“When you open yourself up like that, you also open yourself up to the enemies. But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches. There were fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome,” he said.
Boston manager Alex Cora was in the opposite corner of the Red Sox dugout but lauded security for how the incident was handled.
Cora was even prouder of Duran’s restraint. Duran was suspended for two games last season when he directed a homophobic slur at a heckling fan at Fenway Park when the fan shouted that Duran needed a tennis racket to hit.
“There’s a two-way street. That’s something I said last year. We made a mistake last year and we learned from it. We grew up, you know, as an individual and as a group,” Cora said.
The incident dampened what had been a solid game and series for Duran. He went 4 for 6 with an RBI and had at least three hits in consecutive games for the second time in his career.
In Saturday’s doubleheader nightcap, Duran had Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in 16 years.
Duran went 7 for 15 with three RBIs as Boston took two of three games in the weekend series. Six of his hits in the series came against lefties after Duran was just 3 for 31 against southpaws coming into the weekend.
“I’ve been getting some good swings on lefties lately, just hitting it right at guys. I’m trying to stay with my process and it just happened to work good for me this series. So I’m just going to keep at it,” said Duran, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and is batting .323 (20 for 62) with eight extra-base hits, including a home run, and six RBIs during that span.
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