The Cincinnati Reds celebrated with holiday joy by celebrating Christmas six months before the holiday. A Christmas tree was displayed on a table in the clubhouse, and players participated in a gift exchange. They celebrated the holiday on Wednesday.
“Christmas in June”
Reds newcomer Nathaniel Lowe organized the event; he credits his former team, the Washington Nationals, for the idea. Lowe signed a minor league contract in free agency this offseason.
“The guys in D.C. did it last year, and it was so much fun,” Lowe told Reds beat writer Mark Sheldon. “Trevor Williams deserves a lot of credit for that idea.”
There were no “white elephant” exchanges. Players drew a name out of a hat and bought for the player they drew. Reliever Tejay Antone received his gift from Chris Paddack, who was designated for assignment earlier this week and elected free agency.
“He got me a really, really nice custom chessboard,” Antone said. “There were some guys spending a lot. Some guys spent over $1,000.”
The player Antone drew was Elly De La Cruz. He got De La Cruz a high-performance controller for his PlayStation 5. Graham Ashcraft’s gift was a life-sized 3D deer hunting target. Brady Singer received a Yeti cooler from Zach Maxwell. Will Benson’s gift was cologne, and Singer made sure he received it in Louisville after he was optioned down to Triple-A on Tuesday. Lowe received cologne from Noelvi Marte, and clubhouse staff members received gifts too. They did not have to buy gifts.
“One of the staff members got a new Traeger grill,” Antone said. “It was a really, really nice gift. That will be at his house forever. Those things last a long time.”
The Reds have not been playing well over the last two months, sporting the worst record in Major League Baseball since May 1.
The Team is Focused on Each Other in the Midst of a Rough Stretch of Baseball
Having everyone involved is great for team chemistry, especially with how things have gone lately for the team. The Reds have lost 13 of their last 21 games and take on another division opponent on the road Friday, facing Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road.
“It was neat,” Singer said. “It took our minds off the game a little bit. We got to enjoy that.”
“We obviously don’t get to do that for Christmas,” Singer said. “It was cool for us, but it was cooler for the staff. We were able to spend some money on the staff. They obviously do a lot for us, so to kind of spoil them a little bit with something like that was really cool.”
While he’s cooled down over his last few games and doesn’t have a home run over his last 15 games, Lowe is making a big impact not just on the field, but in the clubhouse as well.
The Reds sit three games under .500 and are last in the National League Central. They’re just 4-16 against the division. Even though they were swept at home against the Brewers earlier in the week, they did take two out of three against the New York Yankees one week ago and have played well outside of the division. They’ve beaten the Pirates in the first two games of the series and will go for the sweep on Sunday.
You can read Sheldon’s full article on Christmas in June with additional quotes here.
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