‘Story Camp’ Takes Off Again Thanks To Red Sox Leader

Boston Red Sox star Trevor Story recently put the finishing touches on his new baseball facility in the Dallas area.

It was the perfect spot for the veteran shortstop to hold his second annual “Story Camp” this week with some of his Red Sox teammates.

Triston Casas, Rob Refsnyder, Vaughn Grissom and baseball’s No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony all joined Story to go through daily workouts and bond off the field. It might not seem like much, but Story believes that spending time with that group as they train can go a long way in helping the Red Sox end their playoff drought this season.

“It’s just good to get together in a setting where we can really grind on the details,” Story told NESN.com on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of team chemistry stuff that goes on. We just get to be around each other, get to be comfortable and just build the relationships, man. I think that’s what the best teams are built on is really good relationships and good communication. It’s nice to start that here and then just have that be something we roll into spring training and into the season, too.”

Days at Story Camp consist of lifting, running, hitting and fielding. Trade secrets among the players are shared, too, as they try to help one another any way they can.

“We can all learn from each other and we’re always just bouncing ideas off of each other on what makes us successful,” Story said.

The focus Tuesday for Story was taking ground balls up the middle with potential double play partner Vaughn Grissom. Story said he did the same when David Hamilton and Connor Wong came to visit him in early December.

Story and Grissom could be Boston’s starting middle infield, though, and they are looking to build their chemistry. They didn’t get much time together on the field during the 2024 campaign since Story missed a majority of the season due to a shoulder injury and Grissom dealt with injuries while struggling to stay in the big leagues after being traded to Boston. The pair started just five games in the middle infield together, all of which came in the final week of the regular season.

“We just haven’t had much time there,” Story said. “I think that’s a big part of the middle infield is being able to be comfortable with your guy up the middle. It’s kind of a by rep thing. That’s where you get the comfortability and the communication is from the practice.”

Story wanted to put on this camp again to pay it forward. He went through something similar during his time with the Colorado Rockies when Troy Tulowitzki invited him to his home in Las Vegas one offseason when Story was still a minor leaguer.

The time with Tulowitzki stuck with Story for not just seeing how the five-time All-Star trained and prepared, but for how he took Story under his wing in that moment.

Story wanted to do something similar once he joined the Red Sox. He came to Boston prior to the 2022 season looking to take on an active leadership role. And the veteran shortstop certainly fulfilled what he set out to do, bringing a strong leadership presence to the Red Sox, especially with his Story Camp.

“It was something I was kind of coming in to my last couple of years there in Denver. It was something I wanted to embrace. I think you have to if you want to be good at it,” Story said. “I had a lot of great leaders that kind of showed me their way and I’ve taken different pieces of their style and kind of made it my own. It’s definitely something that you have to want to do. I’ve embraced that and hopefully some of the guys can feel that.”