Westfield’s Cole Brannen likes family feel of Red Sox organization

Former Westfield baseball standout Cole Brannen comes from a large family, and that same kind of feeling is what makes him feel comfortable with the Boston Red Sox.

Brannen signed a contract with the Red Sox on Thursday, after he was drafted in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft earlier this month.

“Coming from a family of seven and with four younger siblings, family has always been very, very important to me. With the Red Sox, they’re the same way, and it’s not just the players in the clubhouse,” Brannen said Friday. “It’s everything together. It’s the city of Boston, what they’ve been through, what they’ve overcome and in my eyes, the best fans in baseball, hands down. The history of the park, Fenway, and the players who have put that jersey on, the coaches and managers, too.

“The whole city of Boston, it’s just family-like, and to be drafted by them and to be wanted by them, I’m beyond blessed.”

According to Jim Callis from MLB.com, Brannen signed for $1.3 million. He was selected with 63rd pick and is being looked at as a center fielder. Brannen is already in Fort Myers, Florida, with the Red Sox’s rookie ball team in the Gulf Coast League. The team’s first game is Monday.

“It’s awesome. I can’t wait for it,” Brannen said. “I don’t get nervous. I love pressure. It makes me perform better. It allows me to separate myself from people who can’t handle the pressure. I’ve had pressure a long time, especially the last three, four years. I personally think pressure is a blessing.

“There is absolutely no nervousness. There’s not a nervous bone in my body. I’m ready to get out there and show them what I can do.”

The main thing Brannen says he is ready to do is to learn. His manager, Tom Kotchman, is a longtime scout and minor league manager whose career includes a stint as the manager of the Macon Peaches of the South Atlantic League in 1981.

“I’m going to do everything they tell me to do. Our manager is an old-school guy,” Brannen said. “It’s really cool because he’s been in the game for 40-plus years, so you’re talking about some incredible knowledge to learn from with him. He says, ‘If someone on the coaching staff tells you to jump, then halfway up, you say, ‘How high?’ That’s just awesome.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Westfield’s Cole Brannen likes family feel of Red Sox organization."