Minutes after the Red Sox suffered a 7-1 loss to the Orioles in their home opener on April 9, Jarren Duran was despondent. At the same time Trevor Story broke down in tears over the news he’d need to undergo shoulder surgery that was expected to be season-ending, Duran’s emotions got the best of him in another way in a tense home clubhouse at Fenway Park.
Jarren Duran led baseball in plate appearances and posted one of the best seasons in recent Red Sox history in 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)AP
Duran, who had dropped a fly ball with two outs in the fourth inning, leading to two key Baltimore runs in the ugly defeat, angrily punched his locker, then tore into himself in a brief, somewhat stunning conversation with reporters. Just eleven games into the season, Duran let loose.
“I just (expletive) suck, man,” Duran said after that game. “It’s my (expletive) fault, dude. If I make that play, we get out of the inning and then none of those other (expletive) things happen. I just (expletive) suck, honestly.”
“I might have to buy another journal for how much I’m going to have to write about myself tonight,” he added. “(Expletive) happens, man. I (expletive) it up. That’s on me. I’ve just gotta be better.”
In the aftermath of Duran’s media scrum, multiple teammates — and even some reporters — approached his locker to offer encouragement. Those who tried to convince him that a season wasn’t made or broken on a random day in April were met with resistance from a player who is harder on himself — at least publicly — than most.
What transpired over the next 5½ months was both unthinkable and remarkable. Duran, previously an up-and-down, role player for the Red Sox, emerged as a star and had a fantastic season that put him among the league leaders in many important categories on both sides of the ball. He led the majors in outfield assists (12), doubles (48), triples (tied with Corbin Carroll at 14) while finishing in the top five in extra-base hits (4th with 83), hits (5th with 191) and the top 10 in runs (8th with 111) and steals (tied for 9th at 34).
Duran led baseball in plate appearances with 735. He became the second player ever to lead the American League in doubles and triples, joining Ty Cobb, who did it three times before 1917. He became just the seventh player since 1900 to lead the majors in doubles and triples (including ties), joining a list that includes Honus Wagner, Cobb, Bobby Veach, Stan Musial (twice) and Lou Brock. He was the first to accomplish that feat since Brock in 1968.
By Baseball Reference’s rankings, Duran finished fifth in all of baseball in WAR (8.7), trailing only superstars Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Gunnar Henderson. The only Red Sox to have more valuable seasons than Duran’s 2024, by bWAR, are Ted Williams, Tris Speaker, Carl Yastrzemski, Mookie Betts, Wade Boggs, Fred Lynn, Rico Petrocelli and Babe Ruth. To boot, Duran was the All-Star Game MVP in July.
Most players would look back at all that and be satisfied. Not Duran — yet.
“I think it’s going to take me a little bit in the offseason to realize the kind of season I had,” Duran said after the season finale on Sept. 29. “I’m sure it’ll hit me eventually when I’m sitting down on the couch with my boys and they’re telling me they’re proud of me. I’ll actually be able to realize I had a pretty good season.”
Duran’s emotions after the final home game of the season two weeks ago were much different than they were after the home opener. The juxtaposition was somewhat striking. A player who, back in April, was still trying to establish himself as a big leaguer was still, then, in the mode that every mistake could be his last with the Red Sox. But even without satisfaction, Duran gave himself an increasing amount of grace as the season went on. Looking back more than five months later,
“In that moment, I was like, ‘I’m the worst player ever,’ I was so hard on myself,” he said. “But as the season went on, it opened my eyes on that one play. You get a million other plays that whole year. That was something, because I wasn’t used to playing every single day. I had that one play and weeks went on and I made some good plays. It was like, ‘Oh, I have all this opportunity to make up for that play.’ That didn’t feel normal because I hadn’t had that opportunity.
“Truthfully, I still feel like I’m really hard on myself and I still think those bad thoughts all the time,” he added. “But having such a great support system with all my teammates and coaches has been really helpful throughout the entire year, to be able to be with them for a full year.”
Duran’s season, though, didn’t come without its blips — the most notable of which was an ugly incident in which he directed a homophobic slur at a fan during an August 11 game against Houston. That incident led the Red Sox to suspend Duran, without pay, for their next two games. Without that suspension, Duran likely would have been one of just five big leaguers to appear in all 162 games this season and the first Red Sox player to appear in every game since Dwight Evans did it in 1984.
Duran underwent league-mandated sensitivity training in the immediate wake of the incident and donated his salary from those two days to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Those actions won’t mark the end of the healing process. Since August, team officials — including manager Alex Cora — have frequently talked about how Duran still has work to do in response to the incident, and according to sources, there have been a series of calls between team officials and Duran’s camp in recent weeks about exactly what those steps will look like. With the season over, the expectation is Duran will have more time to focus in that area.
As that work continues in the months before spring training, so does Duran’s quest to build on a breakout year and prove it wasn’t a fluke. The Red Sox’ surplus of outfielders — plus the expected 2025 debut of top prospect Roman Anthony — means some kind of trade is likely and Duran, with his value high, could be moved. If not, he’ll be a major part of what the Sox are trying to accomplish in 2025 and beyond. Never satisfied, he thinks the best is yet to come.
“I was proud of myself to be able to do something like this when I didn’t have a full offseason to train my legs,” Duran said. “I don’t have an injury to deal with this (winter) so I’m excited to see what I can do in the offseason.
“(I’ll) just train hard,” he said. “Go out there and do what I do every offseason. Keep pushing myself to be stronger, faster and everything and just have fun. That’s the most important thing, making sure I’m having fun and not making this game a job.”
