Donald Trump heaped TONS of praise on the Boston Red Sox at the White House -- calling out individuals like Chris Sale and J.D. Martinez ... while leaving out the key players who didn't show up.
As we previously reported, Sox manager Alex Cora boycotted the trip because he doesn't "feel comfortable" with Trump over the way POTUS handled the hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
Other Red Sox players who refused to attend include Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, David Price and Red Sox legend David Ortiz.
Betts was the A.L. MVP last season and Price CRUSHED IT during the playoff run -- but got NO LOVE from Trump since they didn't show up to the White House on Thursday.
Same with Alex Cora.
Trump had glowing remarks for Chris Sale -- complimenting his World Series performance and the fact he struck out 14 batters Wednesday night in a regular season game against the Orioles.
Trump also invited the Red Sox players and staff in attendance to a personal tour of the Lincoln Bedroom -- a room that's supposed to be off-limits to the public.
TMZ Sports shot footage of some of the key execs arriving at the White House before the ceremony -- including VP of Baseball Operations Tony La Russa, owner John Henry, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and others.
Earlier Thursday, the Red Sox visited the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the D.C. area -- where they visited patients.
Originally Published -- 11:42 AM PT