CLEARWATER, Fla. – Will Middlebrooks wore a bracelet Sunday morning on his left wrist. He received it from a friend this offseason to serve as a constant reminder of how he wanted to attack this season after feeling his career had reached a crossroads.
FEARLESS, the black bracelet said in white lettering.
Middlebrooks had struggled to find the success he had in 2013 when he won a World Series as a rookie with Boston. He had been nagged by injuries and played mostly in the minor leagues. This season, he thought, would be different.
So the 29-year-old wore the bracelet when he reported last month to spring training, hoping to carve a role on the Phillies’ bench.