Charlie Hoke

Teams and players agree to long-term contracts to stay together for a long time. When player or team performance start diverging is when a long contract often isn’t. With opt-out clauses, no trade clauses, deferred payments, long-term contracts can be just a short-term splash to drive higher fan attendance, cable contracts, and money for owners, who don’t expect to pay the full cost of these often-high priced contracts. Rafael Devers’ 10-year contact was supposed to keep him a Red Sox for the rest of his career, yet 2 years into the contract, Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants. One reason for the trade was his reluctance to change positions from 3rd base after the Red Sox had signed Alex Bregman to a 3-year contract to play 3rd base. Now Bregman stayed with Boston for only 1 year, using his opt-out clause to go to the Chicago Cubs for a 5-year contract with a full no trade clause and deferred payments. Alex Rodriguez almost became a Red Sox in 2003, before the 4th year of his 10-year contract, the Texas Rangers put him on the trading block. The MLBPA intervened and said that a proposal to reduce the amount of his contact would not be approved and nixed the deal. Rodriguez subsequently signed with the Yankees and used an opt-out clause in 2007 to renegotiate and sign another ten-year long-term contract, but with declining performance, he retired during the 9th year of the contract. In 2014, Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13-year contract with a full no trade clause intended to keep him with the Miami Marlins for his career, only to be traded to the Yankees in 2017, three years into the contract. This was after rejecting trades to the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. Most of the time when players on contract leave, they go elsewhere, yet in the case of Carlos Correa who left the Houston Astros and signed with the Minnesota Twins to a 6 year contract with 4 club option years, ended up waiving his no trade clause and accepting a trade back to the Houston Astros in year 5, when the Twins decided to go for a full roster overall and rebuild. Many of today’s players who appear to be on one team for the rest of their career may be on the move, but usually by their choice as most are protected by full no trade clauses and the 10 and 5 rule allowing players with 10 years of major league service and 5 years on the same team to veto any trade, effectively granting them a no trade clause if not already in their contracts. So, nothing is forever, most of all long-term contracts in this day of age of MLB.

Boston's last home game of the season has been moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Being forced to fly back and forth from Florida before the start of the AL Wild Card Series is an exhausting forced road trip. Weather has forecasted heavy rains and high winds for the North Eastern US and forced the rescheduling and relocation of Boston's game with the Chicago Cubs. Because the Cubs Wild Card seeding is dependent upon the results of this last game, MLB has decided the game must be played. If the Red Sox fail to get pass the Yankees in the AL Wild Card round, do we have the weather to blame?

Curt Schilling in 2008 wanted to have surgery immediately at the start of Spring Training, but the Red Sox said he could still pitch with "rest, rehab, and cortisone" and "threatened to void his contract if he went under the knife." Ultimately Schilling had season and career ending surgery in June, 2008 and never pitched again. https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/tomase-curt-schillings-beef-with-red-sox-ownership-explained/171631/

Yes, Dick Allen also had died before his induction to the Hall of Fame this year.

I'll have to check it out. Back when I ran a replay league, I'd love creating fictional funny quotes about the games.

It’s Hall of Fame weekend, but many deserving players are still unrecognized. For some it is too late. Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant has the unfortunate record for the most Hall of fame ballots without election at 15 BBWA ballots and 7 Veteran and Era Committee ballots. Luis Tiant died in 2024 without receiving this honor. Many players have died before they are elected to the Hall of Fame. While posthumous election is a remarkable tribute, is it not better to get recognition within one’s lifetime? Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown annually welcomes new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, who are elected in the previous December and January. New members are generally enshrined by a vote of the Baseball Writers of America (BBWA) who vote on players after they have been retired for 5 years. Players become Hall of Famers if they are on 75% or more of the ballots. Failing that, they can remain on the ballot for up to 10 years as long as they appear on 5% or more of the ballots. This was changed from 15 years in 2015 to the current 10 year maximum limit. Once those 10 years are up, players may be elected by the Era Committees of baseball, formerly the Veterans Committee. Approximately 52% (184 of 354) of the Hall of Fame have been elected by this second means after their eligibility with the BBWA expires. This is also the only means by which executives, umpires, and managers can be elected. Often there is a long wait for the Eras Committee (formerly the Veterans Committee) to elect players, and many players have died well before they are ever enshrined. The player committees are comprised of two: Contemporary (from 1980) and the Classic Era (before 1980 including the Negro leagues) meet once every three years alternating along with the managers/executives/umpires committees. This year, Dick Allen, who died in 2020, was elected to the Hall of Fame on his 22nd ballot now leaving Luis Tiant alone with 22 ballots with no election. Many of the classic players from the 1970’s and 1980’s and now in their 70’s and 80’s, and many will pass before they enter Cooperstown’s hallowed hall. The current process for electing players is too infrequent and limited in the ability for voters to elect worthy candidates. With the excitement of new members being elected each year, I propose the following to bring help get recognition before it’s too late. Increase the frequency Rather than every three years, the committees meet every year to consider players, managers, executives, umpires. Expand the voting franchise by one or more of the following: All living Hall of Fame members Baseball scholars who meet certain standards of research and/or publication Baseball Writers of America Emeritus members The best way to recognize worthy players is to expand the voter base to include more of their peers, scholars, and writers who know their impact and history. Increasing the size of the era committee, the size of the ballot, and its frequency to annually. The BBWA has already waived eligibility rules in the case of players dying early. Roberto Clemente, Thurman Munson, Darryl Kile, and Roy Halladay notably were placed on the BBWA ballot immediately after their deaths. For many of the Era committee eligible players, they are now waiting and with the current frequency and difficulty of entry may die before they receive their recognition. Luis Tiant is the latest to die before recognition. Dick Allen, who had as many ballot appearances as Tiant, was elected this year. For others, like Minnie Minoso, Nellie Fox, their honors came posthumously. Let’s honor some of these deserving players like Dwight Evans, Lou Whitaker, Gary Sheffield, Tommy John, Dale Murphy, Steve Garvey, Curt Schilling, Bill Freehan, Don Mattingly, Hal McRae while they are still alive or at least relieve them of the uncertainty.

So why did they bring up Bobby "ice water in his veins." Sprowl from AA for three starts in September instead of Tudor or Rainey from AAA?

Yep, they should have., I wrote a blog entry about Stapleton here:

Manager Don Zimmer was so enthusiastic about Bob Bailey, naming him the first player to make the club during Spring Training and saying "He'll win us 6 games off the bench" before the start of the season. Rob Refsnyder was the Red Sox's primary right-handed batter against left-handed pitchers for 4 years and after leaving in free agency was a consensus great pickup for the Mariners in the off season. Both Bailey and Refsnyder bat right-handed and predominantly face left-handed pitchers with the platoon advantage. Bob Bailey hit .191 for the year, hit .130 in the 2nd half and did not have a hit in September and October. Rob Refsnyder now has the same number of plate appearances at this point in the 2026 season as Bob Bailey had in all of 1978. and is hitting .133 after 49 games at the end of June. Bob Bailey was the first player to hit 100 career home runs for the Montreal Expos, played on the 1976 World Series winning Reds, and joined the Red Sox at the end of 1977. For Bob Bailey, his final appearance was a 3-pitch strikeout to Hall of Famer Goose Gossage in the Oct 2, 1978, in a winner take all game. Bob Bailey Career Stats Season Age Team Lg WAR G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 1962 19 PIT NL 0 14 50 42 6 7 2 1 0 6 1 1 6 10 0.167 0.271 0.262 0.533 44 1963 20 PIT NL 2.7 154 640 570 60 130 15 3 12 45 10 9 58 98 0.228 0.303 0.328 0.632 82 1964 21 PIT NL 2.5 143 582 530 73 149 26 3 11 51 10 8 44 78 0.281 0.336 0.404 0.74 109 1965 22 PIT NL 1.7 159 702 626 87 160 28 3 11 49 10 14 70 93 0.256 0.33 0.363 0.692 95 1966 23 PIT NL 2.9 126 433 380 51 106 19 3 13 46 5 3 47 65 0.279 0.36 0.447 0.807 124 1967 24 LAD NL 0.1 116 372 322 21 73 8 2 4 28 5 5 40 50 0.227 0.31 0.301 0.611 83 1968 25 LAD NL 0.5 105 365 322 24 73 9 3 8 39 1 2 38 69 0.227 0.308 0.348 0.656 104 1969 26 MON NL 1.1 111 405 358 46 95 16 6 9 53 3 3 40 76 0.265 0.337 0.419 0.756 111 1970 27 MON NL 4.4 131 429 352 77 101 19 3 28 84 5 3 72 70 0.287 0.407 0.597 1.004 167 1971 28 MON NL 3.6 157 654 545 65 137 21 4 14 83 13 7 97 ## 0.251 0.359 0.382 0.741 112 1972 29 MON NL 1.5 143 560 489 55 114 10 4 16 57 6 7 59 ## 0.233 0.315 0.368 0.683 93 1973 30 MON NL 4.9 151 607 513 77 140 25 4 26 86 5 8 88 99 0.273 0.379 0.489 0.868 137 1974 31 MON NL 2.6 152 614 507 69 142 20 2 20 73 4 7 100 ## 0.28 0.396 0.446 0.842 131 1975 32 MON NL 0.3 106 279 227 23 62 5 0 5 30 4 4 46 38 0.273 0.392 0.361 0.753 107 1976 33 CIN NL 0.5 69 141 124 17 37 6 1 6 23 0 0 16 26 0.298 0.376 0.508 0.884 148 1977 34 2TM 2LG -0.1 51 94 81 9 20 2 1 2 11 1 1 12 11 0.247 0.34 0.37 0.711 90 1978 35 BOS AL -0.3 43 116 94 12 18 3 0 4 9 2 1 19 19 0.191 0.328 0.351 0.679 83 17 Yrs 28.8 1931 7043 ### 772 1564 234 43 189 773 85 83 852 ## 0.257 0.347 0.403 0.75 111 162 Game Avg 2.4 162 591 510 65 131 20 4 16 65 7 7 71 94 0.257 0.347 0.403 0.75 11 Despite coming off the bench 16 times, Bob Bailey had only 1 RBI from a homer in an 8-1 blowout win. Would Bob Bailey been allowed to stay on the roster for the whole season today, with social media and advanced stats? In the pre-internet age, you’d have to peruse the box scores to see how players performed and if a player didn’t meet the minimum at bats to qualify for the batting title, you wouldn’t even see their cumulative stats in the published batting average lists. A player could easily be hidden away for the whole season back in the day. Now we see a similarly low level of performance for Rob Refsynder: a .133 average and -1.1 WAR (as of June 27, 2026). Rob Refsynder Career Stats (through June 27, 2026) Season Age Team Lg WAR G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2015 24 NYY AL 0.5 16 47 43 3 13 3 0 2 5 2 0 3 7 0.302 0.348 0.512 0.859 132 2016 25 NYY AL -0.2 58 175 152 25 38 9 0 0 12 2 1 18 30 0.25 0.328 0.309 0.637 73 2017 26 2TM AL -0.5 52 98 88 8 15 2 1 0 0 4 1 8 17 0.17 0.247 0.216 0.463 25 2017 26 NYY AL -0.3 20 40 37 3 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 8 0.135 0.2 0.216 0.416 10 2017 26 TOR AL -0.2 32 58 51 5 10 1 0 0 0 2 1 5 9 0.196 0.281 0.216 0.496 36 2018 27 TBR AL -0.1 40 103 84 10 14 3 0 2 5 0 2 18 26 0.167 0.314 0.274 0.588 66 2020 29 TEX AL 0 15 34 30 4 6 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 11 0.2 0.265 0.233 0.498 40 2021 30 MIN AL -0.1 51 157 139 21 34 7 0 2 12 1 0 17 40 0.245 0.325 0.338 0.663 86 2022 31 BOS AL 1.2 57 177 153 25 47 11 0 6 21 1 1 15 46 0.307 0.384 0.497 0.881 143 2023 32 BOS AL 0.4 89 243 202 31 50 9 1 1 28 7 2 33 47 0.248 0.365 0.317 0.682 87 2024 33 BOS AL 0.9 93 307 272 32 77 16 1 11 40 2 2 28 78 0.283 0.359 0.471 0.83 133 2025 34 BOS AL 1.2 70 209 182 29 49 12 0 9 30 3 0 24 54 0.269 0.354 0.484 0.838 133 2026 35 SEA AL -1.1 49 119 105 8 14 0 0 3 9 0 0 7 32 0.133 0.203 0.219 0.422 21 11 Yrs 2.4 590 1669 ### 196 357 73 3 36 163 22 9 173 ## 0.246 0.333 0.375 0.708 96 162 Game Avg 0.7 162 458 398 54 98 20 1 10 45 6 2 48 ## 0.246 0.333 0.375 0.708 9 Today, we have the ability to measure down to an individual at bat’s launch angle to see if a player is off his game? Rob Refsynder Advanced Stats (through June 27, 2006) Season Age Pitches Batted Balls Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit Velocity Max EV Launch Angle LA Sweet Spot% xBA xSLG wOBA xwOBA xwOBA con Hard Hit% K% BB% 2015 24 184 36 2 6.3 4.3 89.5 106.7 1.4 33.3 0.286 0.426 0.363 0.329 0.373 44.4 14.9 6.4 2016 25 673 125 1 0.9 0.6 88.9 108.9 4.3 32 0.265 0.342 0.282 0.303 0.323 39.2 17.2 10.3 2017 26 354 71 3 4.5 3.1 85.5 108.9 6 22.5 0.229 0.323 0.209 0.276 0.295 32.9 17.3 8.2 2018 27 429 58 4 7.4 3.9 88.2 110.2 12.6 32.8 0.22 0.35 0.276 0.324 0.356 33.3 25.5 17.6 2020 29 149 20 0 0 0 93 104.7 15 30 0.208 0.305 0.229 0.261 0.341 50 32.4 5.9 2021 30 669 100 7 7 4.5 89.2 111 9.3 40 0.258 0.45 0.296 0.342 0.419 41 25.5 10.8 2022 31 732 110 12 10.9 6.8 89.9 109.9 13.1 49.1 0.283 0.493 0.381 0.378 0.476 44.5 26 8.5 2023 32 1004 157 6 3.9 2.5 87.7 106.8 11.9 42 0.257 0.388 0.314 0.342 0.358 34.4 19.3 13.6 2024 33 1202 195 19 9.8 6.2 89.6 111.5 10.7 32.8 0.248 0.417 0.358 0.327 0.4 43.1 25.4 9.1 2025 34 887 130 16 12.3 7.7 92 112.2 12.1 34.6 0.243 0.457 0.359 0.338 0.413 52.3 25.8 11.5 2026 35 477 77 5 6.5 4.2 86.1 109.6 19.1 23.4 0.169 0.289 0.195 0.249 0.294 33.8 26.9 5.9 Player 6760 1079 75 7.1 4.5 89 112.2 10.6 35.2 0.247 0.401 0.313 0.325 0.378 40.8 23.3 10.4 MLB 7.6 4.9 88.6 122.9 12.5 33.3 0.243 0.408 0.316 0.316 0.369 37.1 22.2 8.4 Source: Statcast We can see that Refsnyder's Barrel %, Hard Hit% is down as his Launch Angle Sweet Spot % meaning he's not hitting the ball as well as in previous seasons. Would knowing this in the past have made a decision to keep a player playing easier?

In the one game playoff between the Red Sox and the Yankees, did either team take advantage of the expanded rosters on Sep 1? From what I understand, everyone on the 40 man roster could have been eligible to play in that final regular season game. I know the Red Sox had rookie Bobby Sprowl start 3 games in September, but were there other players who could have been available for that final game or during September? The Red Sox had 34 players accrue MLB stats in 1978 and the Yankees had 41, though both teams did not use that many players in the final game; The Yankees used 15 and the Red Sox used 17.

Firing a Red Sox manager has worked before, but usually you have to wait till next season. Here's what happened to the Red Sox after they fired previously successful managers.

Here are right-handed bats the Red Sox picked up during the season in their recent World Series runs.

The Red Sox are looking for that one missing piece, a right-handed batter. Can one player be the difference between getting into the post-season and not? In previous Red Sox World Series years, one added batter may have made all the difference. Will it now? In 1986, the Red Sox got Dave Henderson from the Mariners. In ALCS game 5, down 3 games to 1 and facing elimination, Henderson’s 2 out 2 run homer in the top of the 9th of game 5 tied the game and won it with a sacrifice fly in the 11th, and the Red Sox subsequently went to the World Series. Despite Henderson hitting .400 with 2 home runs, the Sox fell to the Mets. . In 2004, the trading away of at the time, perennial all-star Nomar Garciaparra for Orlando Cabrera seemed like a bad trade, but Cabrera learned to take advantage of the Green Monster in left and hit .294 for the season, .379 in the ALCS against the Yankees, and helped win the World Series for Boston for the first time in 86 years. In August 2007, free agent Bobby Kielty signed and ended the season with the deciding run, a pinch-hit home run in the World Series against Colorado in game 4. In 2018, the Red Sox found Steve Pearce at the trading deadline, getting him and cash(!) from the Blue Jays for minor league prospect, Santiago Espinal. Pearce had a .300+ BA, .400 OBP and .500+ slugging line against left handed pitchers that year and provided the right-handed half of the 1st base platoon with Mitch Moreland, though he also played in the corner outfield spots. Climaxing with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in a 5-game Fall Classic series, Steve Pearce was the World Series MVP. Who will be this year’s Steve Pearce, Dave Henderson, Bobby Kielty, or Orlando Cabrera?

Baines had 4 voters on the committee: team owners (Gillick and Reinsdorf) former manager (LaRussa), teammate (Alomar), who probably voted for him and persuaded others to do so. Not too many Red Sox on that Eras committee. And most of the Eras Committee are old school players and managers who look at things traditionally.

Alex Cora joins a list of previously successful Red Sox managers who have been let go during a season. Relieving a manager can energize a team to post-season success, or it can demotivate them and lead to many years of meandering. What does history show? Dick Williams after a successful World Series run in 1967 was fired in 1969 with a record of 82-71 with the Red Sox ending in 3rd place. It took 8 years before the Red Sox again appeared in the post-season in 1975. Darrell Johnson, who managed the Red Sox to the epic 7 game 1975 World Series loss, was fired in the middle of the next season with a 41-45 record. The Red Sox would go 11 years and through 3 other managers before returning to the post season in 1986. Despite taking the Red Sox to a Game 7 in the 1986 World Series, John McNamara was dismissed mid-season in 1988 with a record of 43-42. The Red Sox won the AL East after his departure that year. Tapped as temporary manager, 3rd base coach “Turnpike Joe” Morgan went 46-31 the rest of 1988 to take the Red Sox to the ALCS and again in 1990. However, the Red Sox were swept 4 straight by the Oakland A’s in both years. After a 2nd place finish in 1991, Morgan was fired with one year left on his contract and succeeded by Butch Hobson who was not successful with 3 consecutive sub-.500 seasons. The Red Sox did not see the post season again until 4 years later in 1995, when Kevin Kennedy replaced Hobson. Kennedy was replaced himself after failing to reach the post season in the following year. Jimy Williams came next and took the Sox to the 1998 ALDS and 1999 ALCS but was fired in 2001 with a 65-53 record, 2 games out of the wild card and 5 games behind the division leading Yankees. Replaced by pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan, the Sox plummeted losing 26 of 43 and ended the season 13.5 games behind the Yankees and 20.5 games out of the Wildcard, missing the postseason. Grady Little came next and went to the 2003 ALCS, losing to the Yankees. His decision to leave Pedro Martinez in the game after throwing 100 pitches and leading 5-2 in the 8th inning of Game 6 was heavily criticized and contributed to his contract not being renewed. Finally, with their 6th manager since 1992, the Red Sox won the World Series under Terry Francona in 2004. Francona won a second World Series in 2007 and had two more post-season runs, but in 2011, after the Red Sox lost a playoff spot on the final day of the season, Francona’s option was not exercised and he ended his Red Sox tenure. The Red Sox missed the post season in the following year but won the World Series in 2013 under John Farrell. Farrell himself was dismissed after two consecutive ALDS losses to the Houston Astros in 2016 and 2017. Alex Cora then in his first year wins the World Series in 2018, and seemed to be the toast of the town. Now after a 10-17 start in 2026, Alex Cora has ended his Red Sox manager tenure, and Worchester Red Sox manager, Chad Tracy takes the reins. Will The Red Sox respond to their new manager and rise in the standings or will it take more than a new manager to win post-season laurels?