Chris Colabello gets gift from Steven Wright after beaning

Toronto first baseman Chris Colabello showed up at his locker at Fenway Park the morning after getting beaned by Steven Wright to find a present the Boston pitcher left for him.
“Steven decided that he was going to send over a gift,” Colabello said, moving his clothes and uniform out of the way to show a large bottle of liquor underneath.
“He didn’t have to,” he said Monday as he was getting ready for the annual Patriots’ Day game. “I’m sure that’s not cheap, too.”
On Sunday, Wright hit the infielder on the helmet with an 87 mph fastball, sending him to the ground. He sat on the ground for a while and was checked out by a trainer before getting up and trotting to first base.
“It’s just more of a token of saying I’m sorry,” Wright said. “I didn’t really want it to be a public thing because it was really between me and him.
“I know it’s not a necessary thing. The gift was more for me than it was for him to kind of ease it for myself for what happened.”
Wright was visibly upset on the mound, took off his hat and chatted with Colabello when he made his way to first.
The last thing Colabello expected was a gift.
“He went above and beyond in my eyes,” he said. “It was pretty obvious there was no intent. You could see by his reaction.”
Colabello said the act of a pitcher sending a gift to a player after hitting him “happens more than people know. You build relationships with people.”
Wright said he did it because it scared so many, including Colabello’s parents, who were in the stands. Colabello graduated from high school in Milford, Massachusetts and played college ball at Assumption in Worcester, Mass.
“I felt like it was the least I could do for scaring myself and probably his parents because I know he’s from around here and his parents were here,” Wright said. “I know that’s something I needed to do.”
The right-hander said he’s known Colabello for a few years and likely would have done it if it was someone else. He said he was glad when he heard the infielder was touched.
Colabello sent a thank you note back via his former teammate from last season, David Price.
“I’ve got to shoot a message to Price to tell him to say thank you,” Colabello said before the game.
Wright said after the game that: “Price said he sent him a text. It was nice he sent him a text to let me know. I’m glad. It’s the least I could do for scaring everybody.”
Heyward to Cardinals fans: Bring on the boos
Jason Heyward expected a harsh reception by St. Louis Cardinals fans. He sort of looked forward to it.
“If somebody boos me here, that means they were not happy to see me leave,” Heyward said Monday before making his first appearance in a Chicago Cubs uniform at Busch Stadium. “I’m kind of glad that people weren’t happy to see me leave. The fans should enjoy it and we’re going to enjoy it.”
Heyward got a $184 million, eight-year contract with the Cubs. The Gold Glove right fielder also turned down an offer from the Washington Nationals. He described it as a “life decision.”
“Chicago was always a place I loved to play,” he said “It was absolutely a tough decision but at the end of the day I need to be happy for myself.”
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said after 8 1/2 months together last year, there was no need to reach out to Heyward in the offseason.
“What more am I going to tell him over the phone that he hasn’t already seen up close and personal?” Matheny said. “He had all the information he needed about the St. Louis Cardinals.”
Heyward said his comments about being a part of a younger core group have been misconstrued in St. Louis. The Cardinals have several up-and-coming players, including Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong but their primary group is older.
Heyward had been concerned that over the years he was “not going to be there bonding with them, gelling with them for the majority of a 10-year contract.” He said ex-teammates understood his choice and that “off the field we still chit-chat, text and keep in touch.”
“Everybody’s not going to understand. Everybody’s not going to be happy when they do understand,” Heyward said. “That’s the only disappointing thing about the whole situation, that things got taken out of context and made to look a different way than what it was. And that’s OK, but I know me. They know me.”
Heyward is off to a slow start, batting .205 with no homers, two doubles and seven RBIs. He has hit more than 18 homers just once but the Cubs needed him to strengthen an order that includes Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant.
The NL Central-leading Cubs also signed John Lackey, who led the St. Louis staff last year, to a $32 million, two-year deal. Lackey started the series opener Monday.
Matheny said the 37-year-old Lackey did a great job of setting an example for younger pitchers and added, “It’s hard to imagine we’d have had the kind of season last year without him.”
Lackey was a 13-game winner for St. Louis, and also beat the Cardinals in the deciding game of the 2013 World Series when he was with Boston. Monday was his first regular-season start against St. Louis, the only team he hasn’t beaten.
Son of Mets’ Jacob deGrom comes home from hospital
Jacob deGrom and his wife have taken their newborn son, Jaxon, home from the hospital Monday. There had been complications with Jaxon following his birth last week.
DeGrom was placed on the bereavement/family medical emergency list as he and his wife, Stacey, dealt with the complications. DeGrom can return any point between Tuesday and Saturday.
The starter is scheduled to pitch a simulated game Tuesday, and the team will then make a determination of what his next step will be. He could pitch this weekend against Atlanta.
“If he can get his pitch count up to where he can be respectable, to start where we think he can get deep in the game, instead of looking at four innings or five innings,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Try to get him in a pitch-count situation where he can get us into the fifth or sixth inning.”
DeGrom’s spot in the rotation was slotted for Tuesday, but Logan Verrett will step in for the second time. Verrett threw six shutout innings against Miami in his first start last Wednesday.
“Seems like every time we need him to step up he does,” Collins said.