Pablo Sandoval Says He Has ‘Nothing to Prove’

Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval showed up in Florida on Sunday morning to get his spring training started. Like all Red Sox “superstars” do when they arrive, he met with the media.

But this wasn’t the normal “I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get this team a championship” pre-season jibberish. Well, he did say that, but that’s not important part.

So what did our resident Kung Fu Panda tell the media?

Sandoval said he has nothing to prove in 2016, according to the WEEI’s John Tomase.

"Striking a defiant tone with reporters on his first day in Fort Myers, the Red Sox third baseman said no one on the team told him to lose weight, that last year wasn’t a disappointment, and that he only cares about wins, not stats. He also admitted losing confidence, particularly from the right side of the plate, and said he wants to better for his fans and teammates.“No, I don’t got nothing to prove,” he told reporters after reporting to camp on Sunday morning. “I just prepare myself to perform well, for my teammates to perform well, to try to get to the World Series. That’s what I’m doing. I put some goals in my mind, and I’m working hard to get it done on the field.”"

Nothing to prove, Pablo? OK. You know, we appreciate you want to help bring this team to a World Series. At the end of the day, that’s all the fans want, too. But to say you have nothing to prove? Well, that’s just silly. You have everything to prove in 2016.

You weren’t just bad in 2015, Pablo. You were terrible. You had the worst season of your career. You were literally the worst third baseman in baseball … and it wasn’t even close! Only two full time third baseman finished with a negative WAR last year. Yup, you took the cake with negative 2 wins. NEGATIVE TWO WINS. The Tigers’ Nick Castellanos was in front of you at negative .1, so even he was almost even or plus.

You were also, literally, the worst defensive third baseman in baseball last year. It was your worst defensive year of your career.

Let me reiterate: In a nutshell, you were terrible. To expound on that further, you were terrible.

So you have “nothing to prove”? As a Red Sox fan, that offends me. You were given a giant contract last offseason (no pun intended) to come to Boston and produce. And you did the complete, exact opposite. I believe I speak for all Red Sox fans when I say I would expect you’d work really hard for the 2016. You know, try to reverse what you did in 2015. Instead, you claim last year “wasn’t a disappointment.”

It’s not even a weight thing, Pablo. We’ve seen you play some amazing baseball (in San Francisco) with some extra weight on the frame. That’s why I don’t care if you didn’t lose a ton of weight this offseason (although John Farrell said he lost 20 pounds). It’s just about producing. It’s about caring that you sucked last year and working your ass off to make 2016 the best year of your career.

So you might have nothing to prove, but you’re proving to Red Sox fans you’re not worth much — regardless of what that contract says.