April 2, 2010

BP Unfiltered

Five Minutes with Boof Bonser

by David Laurila

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Boof Bonser is…well, Boof Bonser. The burly right-hander is one of a kind --not just anyone would have their name legally changed to “Boof” -- and he readily admits to being a clubhouse character. Bonser, who went 18-25 in 96 appearances with the Twins from 2006-2008, is currently in the Red Sox organization.

On how he is perceived: “Well, people look at my name weird; I guess you could say that. I like to joke around. I would say that everybody takes me as a smart aleck, because I like to have a good time and bust people’s chops. I would think that’s how I’m looked at.”

On clubhouse-character protocol: “The thing is, in the clubhouse it’s one of those [things] where you have to know when to do it and when not to do it. Early in the morning, you can do it. But if you get a guy who, God forbid, makes an out and is one of those guys who takes it hard, and you go up and say, ‘Hey, you missed your pitch’ -- just joking around -- you can’t do that. Other guys are like…they walk up to me and start laughing because they know that I’ll have some smart-alecky thing to say. I don’t even need to say it because they’ve started laughing already.”

On players who are just like him: “You know, it’s hard. I really don’t think there is anybody just like me. Maybe I wouldn’t call myself totally unique, but I will throw it out there and not worry about it. I guess you could say that I‘ve always been kind of a smart aleck.”

On his personality on the mound: “It’s definitely a Jekyll-Hyde thing. From the time I come into the game, I’m in attack mode, no matter what. When I get on the mound I want to kill somebody. Once I’m done, I’m ready to go back to joking around and having fun.”