FORT MYERS, Fla. — David Price is at the perfect point in his career to take center stage in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.
The Red Sox, who have gone through major changes in philosophy, have an ace again. The Yankees don’t.
This will be interesting.
“Earlier in my career I might not have been ready for it,’’ Price told The Post on a busy Wednesday at JetBlue Park. “Right now, where I’m at mentally, where I’ve progressed mentally, I feel like I’m ready for anything. Whatever this world wants to throw at me I feel like I’m ready for it. It feels good to be able to say that.’’
Price brings a level of talent and leadership that is vital. He is 30 and owns 104 victories.
His signing marked a change in direction for the Red Sox, who thought they could contend without an ace, and on Wednesday, Red Sox owner John Henry doubled-down and admitted the Red Sox have relied too heavily on analytics.
Bill James take a back seat. Scouts come forward.
“I’m fully accountable for this, we have perhaps overly relied on numbers,’’ Henry, the numbers guy, said. “We have made significant changes. Too much of a reliance on past performance and trying to project future performance. That hasn’t worked in three of the last four years.’’
Having an ace is a big step forward.
“When you have an ace, you are essentially replacing your No. 5 starter,’’ Henry said. “There’s no doubt about it, having an ace is a terrific thing.’’
Here’s some numbers that matter. Price was 9-1 with the Blue Jays in 2015 after being traded to Toronto from Detroit. He threw 220 ¹/₃ innings combined, finishing 18-5 with a 2.45 ERA.
When Price mentions being ready for this challenge now in his life, the left-hander notes that he has spent a lot of time preparing for this role.
“It’s going to be extremely exciting,’’ he said. “It’s something I’ve definitely thought about from the previous teams I was on when we played the Red Sox or Yankees.
“I’d always say when you walk in the clubhouse, we must be playing the Yankees today, or the Red Sox, there is nowhere to park in the players’ lot. I have no service on my cell phone. Now I might not be able to park in the players’ lot.
“I’m ready for all that.
“To be a part of a rivalry that has as much history as the Red Sox and Yankees have, that’s just special.”
With the Rays, Price surrendered Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit, a home run, and was there in the Stadium last season when Alex Rodriguez got his 3,000th hit, a home run off Detroit’s Justin Verlander.
“I’ve definitely seen a lot of history with the Yankees — Jeter’s 3,000th hit, A-Rod’s 3,000th, Mariano Rivera’s last appearance in Yankee Stadium,’’ Price said. “There is so much history that I’ve felt I’ve seen. I’ve seen a lot of stuff in old Yankee Stadium and new Yankee Stadium and it’s been a pleasure. You are not always going to be on the good side of stuff.
“I’m not going to go out there and dominate every fifth day, I understand that. I work hard and I want to dominate every fifth day but I’ve come to terms that that is not going to happen. These major league hitters are working just as hard.
“It’s too easy to be negative,’’ Price said. “ I want to surround myself with positivity. I want to have positive visions going through my head. It’s like I’ve told all the guys through the years, if you ever have that bad vision on the mound, right before you throw a pitch, that’s not good.’’
Henry admitted the Red Sox starting pitching last year was “terrible.’’
A lot of things went wrong, that’s why Dave Dombrowski was put in charge.
The Red Sox still have issues, like Pablo Sandoval’s weight. Henry actually said it’s better than last year, when Sandoval came to camp with 21 percent body fat, now it’s only 17 percent. Also whether Hanley Ramirez can play first is an issue.
But at least they have an ace in David Price.
That’s a start.