Jonathan Van Every got the call today he may have thought would never come. Van Every, 28, and in his eighth season in the minors, was called up to the majors.
Van Every, centerfielder for the Paw Sox, was needed by the Boston Red Sox for today's game against the Baltimore Orioles because of J.D. Drew's sprained wrist and Coco Crisp's combination of a migraine and upset stomach. Van Every went 1 for 3 today with a single against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Spare yourself reading the box score because the Sox lost, and instead check out the Red Sox.com story on Van Every's call-up.
Van Every was drafted in 2000 by the Cleveland Indians, and until this year, had been in the Indians minor-league system the entire time. The Red Sox organization signed him as a minor-league free agent in December 2007 and assigned him to the Paw Sox over the winter.
Although he'd previously spent his entire career with the Indians organization, Van Every had already made a name for himself around here. Between stints with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A and the Akron Aeros in Double-A, Van Every played against every Red Sox minor-league position player now on the big club: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Cash. He also likely faced pitchers Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Clay Buchholz and Craig Hansen in his eight years on teams that opposed the Lowell Spinners, Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox.
It was during his seasons with the Akron Aeros that we first saw Van Every in action. While his high level of play made him a standout in regular games against the Sea Dogs, Van Every put himself on our map -- and likely many others -- in the Double-A All-Star Game in 2005.
The game was held in Portland, Maine on July 13 and pitted the cream of the crop from the Northern Division of the Eastern League against the top players from the Southern Division. As fans of the Sea Dogs and with seven 'Dogs selected for the All-Star team, we were firmly in the camp of the Northern Division. But that didn't stop us from being impressed when Van Every sent not one, but two home runs flying over the fences at Hadlock Field for the Southern Division.
Were it not for some shaky pitching by Van Every's teammate Chris Cooper, the Southern Division would probably have won the game and Van Every would have most likely been the MVP. Instead, MVP honors went to the New Britain Rock Cats' Danny Matienzo for a good, but less spectacular performance than Van Every's.
(BTW, check out some of the people who played in that game: Hanley Ramirez, now with the Florida Marlins; Tom Gorzelanny of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Dan Ortmeier of the San Francisco Giants; Shelley Duncan, who regularly goes back and forth between the New York and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees; and Brandon Moss, more often on the Paw Sox but technically still with the Boston Red Sox, although sidelined after an appendectomy.)
In December, we heard that Van Every had been signed by the Sox (on the recommendation of Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, who was also formerly in the Indians system). We were excited that this player was finally on our side.
Van Every signed his deal with the Red Sox in time to be one of the top prospects invited to greet fans at the Paw Sox annual Hot Stove Party on Jan. 19 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I. We never miss this event, and were particularly looking forward to meeting Van Every.
The experience didn't disappoint: When we got up to the table where Van Every was signing autographs (shown here alongside Justin Masterson and Paw Sox skipper Ron "R.J." Johnson), J had the chance to tell Van Every that we'd seen him hit those two home runs. "Oh, finally, somebody knows me," Van Every quipped with a smile, adding, "I could have been MVP if my teammate hadn't blown the lead."
He didn't need to tell us twice.
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