Tolle’s talk, complete with a slideshow, was a rip-roaring success, sources familiar with the situation said.
“A lot of flying beer in there,” Cora said.
“It will never be topped,” Justin Slaten said.
“He brings the energy,” Trevor Story said.
The energy was the point.
“You’re here for two months. And trust me, there’s certain days that I’m like, ‘Man, what are we going to do today?’” Cora said. “So we decided a few days ago that he was going to give us a lesson on the United States of America. And he did a good job.”
Cora has mixed in such presentations during spring trainings past. Tolle’s was the best, he said, beating out Alex Verdugo’s mariachi band.
In recent nights, Tolle went home and went to work on PowerPoint. He messaged Chestnut on Instagram to add another element.
Tolle introduced Chestnut as The Sultan of Sausage.
“I have never worked this hard on a presentation in my life,” Tolle said. “I tried to get a bald eagle in and tried to get a George Washington impersonator in … It’s my duty that was put upon me by AC.”
Did Chestnut eat hot dogs in his video?
“He didn’t,” Tolle said. “But he sure talked about them.”
Tolle described the content as “pretty elementary.” But that was plenty good enough.
“With Nate Eaton being on Great Britain’s team [for the World Baseball Classic], I made sure to mention that we beat them in the Revolutionary War,” Tolle said. “That was a fun moment.”
Hours later, Tolle appeared in the game at JetBlue Park. He allowed two runs and three hits (and threw a wild pitch) in 1⅔ innings.
“He did a better job on his presentation,” Cora said, “than on the diamond.”
Caleb Durbin played second base for the first time in camp, smoothly turning a double play — a focus, he said — and completing a nifty glove flip on a slow ground ball to the right side of the infield.
The Sox haven’t decided whether Durbin will be the regular at second or third.
“They’re testing the waters right now,” Durbin said. “They want to see for themselves what it looks like in person.”
Marcelo Mayer practiced at third on Thursday and will play second against the Braves — his first exhibition game of the year — on Friday.
A tweak for reliever Greg Weissert: He is back to pitching on the third-base side of the pitching rubber, an effort to be better against righthanded batters.
Last year, Weissert was OK against righties (.235/.280/.392) and more effective against lefties (.214/.310/.296) — a significant reversal over 2024, and not necessarily in a good way.
“That’s probably my most important job,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s what I’m most likely coming into the game for, a righty pocket. So I need to be able to take care of that.”
Weissert had gone to the first-base side last year in an effort to throw more strikes. It didn’t work, so he scrapped it and decided to do what is more comfortable.
“Being on the third-base side allows me to just rip it right at the righty, just let it go,” he said of his breaking balls. “It just keeps my mechanics more linear, keeps me in a better spot.”
Infielder Brendan Rodgers was due to get an MRI on his right shoulder Thursday after injuring it Wednesday. “We don’t know what’s going on, so we’ll have more in the upcoming days,” Cora said … Mo Vaughn was at the game with his family and spent time with former Sox teammate Pedro Martinez in a suite. The Hit Dog, 58, owns a baseball training facility in Boca Raton … Cora said Martinez is not working with anybody in particular during his week in camp. “The more guys he touches, the better,” the manager said. “His knowledge is amazing” … Johan Oviedo was under the weather, so the Sox sent him home for the day. He also didn’t feel well when he pitched poorly Wednesday, Cora said. “That’s something that we always talk about in camp,” Cora added. “If you’re sick, just go. Because that can throw everything off” … Life advice from a “recovery reminders” tip sheet hanging on a water fridge in the Sox’ clubhouse: “Taking just a [less than] 30-minute nap can improve your alertness, concentration, motor performance and mood … Try out a nap for yourself this week and see how you feel.”