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Hanley sees mirrored path with Red Sox rookie Moncada

Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty

A current Boston Red Sox corner infielder sees some of himself in the team's third baseman of the future.

Yoan Moncada - the presumptive future third baseman - arrived in the big leagues in early September for his much-anticipated debut, but his departure Thursday to Fort Myers, Fla. to prepare for Arizona Fall League abruptly ended his 2016 MLB campaign.

Moncada went 4-for-19, but - starting Sept. 12 - spent the rest of his Red Sox tenure on the bench after striking out in nine straight plate appearances. The bench role for a highly touted prospect was unfamiliar and unnatural, but not entirely unheard of, notes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez found himself in a very similar situation when he was called up by the Red Sox for the final two weeks of the 2005 season, when the then-21-year-old struck out in his only two plate appearances.

“I was him,” Ramirez told Speier. “You’ve got to wait for your time. Easy. Common sense.”

Ramirez believes the short time he spent in the big leagues that season prepared him for what was to come the following spring - when, after a trade to the Marlins, he began a season that ended with the National League Rookie of the Year award.

He, along with other Boston veterans, has shared lessons with Moncada about the process.

“As a young player, you’ve got to learn that - it’s not easy. Everything, you’ve got to earn it. You’ve got to learn to focus on the game and I’ve got some butt to kick tonight,” said Ramirez. “I was happy to be in the big leagues, first of all. Then, (I learned about) preparation, how they go about their business every day, and that the Red Sox are all about winning. I got that taste. … I was watching those guys, what they do before the game, what time they get there, their preparation and mind set.”

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