Thank You X

fiskfan75

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 14, 2006
42
Too soon..heart is broken yet again. It's a business.As much as we want to believe the players/owners are loyal to their fan base..they are not. I will always root for the Sox but will not be spending my $ to travel to see them anytime soon.
 

mauidano

Mai Tais for everyone!
SoSH Member
Aug 21, 2006
35,627
Maui
Got to witness his MLB debut in San Francisco. I am going to miss him and best of luck.

But yeah, that’s a lot of dough.
 

WheresDewey

New Member
Nov 18, 2007
131
Taiwan
Awesome player and always comes across as a good person. However not worth the contract. Best of luck Xander, except when you play the Sox!
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,376
He has been one of my favorite players since I started paying attention to him in the minors. True Red Sox player. Contributed hugely to two WS titles. Can't say anything bad about the guy. I wish he was still on this team, but there's precisely zero chance I go to 11 years or $280m for him.

Good luck, and I'm glad he's with San Diego, where basically nobody pays attention to baseball, so I don't have to fret too much over this.
 

JMDurron

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,127
I appreciate all he did for the club and wish him well in SD, but I don't blame either side for coming to their respective decisions about the contract he received from the Padres.
This captures it well. I'll always appreciate Xander not just for what he did for the club in terms of performance, but for the way in which he did it. Just seemed like one of the calming influences that a competitive team in the Boston market needs to have in the clubhouse.
 

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
4,732
Thanks X. 1 of the 25 x2, reliable core of the team. If we had to lose him I'm glad he got stupidly paid for it.
 

pdub

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 2, 2007
516
Many thanks, X. It was an amazing run. Sucks it had to end this way but I'm glad X is getting paid.
 

ookami7m

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,657
Mobile, AL
Sorry guys, this is my fault, I bought a red alternate X jersey when I was at Fenway in July.

I hate to see him go, but I am not sad that the Sox didn't pay that contract. Just wish there had been a better chance before it got to FA.
 

Skiponzo

Member
SoSH Member
Best of luck X. I'll be watching from the stands in SD...if the Sox don't win I hope you can bring a title to Padres fans. Thanks for everything, most of all for being a class act and terrific example for my 16 y/o HS player.
 

Merkle's Boner

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 24, 2011
3,757
Xander was one of the early guys I followed from shortly after his signing, so it’s been a long time. I remember reading an early article about this kid and his twin brother, and maybe because I have twin sons, it stuck with me. I loved how he stood up for his brother, and I loved watching Xander grow into the payer and leader he became. He was one of my boys favorite players, and the texts from Northeastern in the middle of last night were not happy!
Two WS is quite a legacy and being one of Joe Castig’s favorite player tells you a lot about the type of man Xander was. Rooting for the Red Sox, for me, will be a little less fun this year without Xander manning SS.
Thanks for everything X-Man!
 

Jimy Hendrix

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
I drifted away from deeply intense Sox fandom to something more casual over the last decade, the last real connections I had to the team of "I followed these guys from summer leagues and low-A ball to superstardom" from when that was a thing I would do were Betts, X and Devers. Even if the new guys hit exactly as we dream 'em, it won't be quite the same for me.

2 WS, a pleasure to root for as a human being, reliably good at one of the trickiest positions to find excellence in.
 

BuellMiller

New Member
Mar 25, 2015
449
He was a good hitter for awhile, but two moments in 2013 for me really stood out. The walk against Scherzer in G6 of the ALCS (later scoring on the Victorino slam) and the game-tying single in the unfortunate G3 of the World Series (not to mention the triple earlier in the game to help get the offense started). Best of luck in SD...
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,484
Rogers Park
Xander was everything he was supposed to be! That San Diego team is going to be must-watch this year in a bruising NL West.

What a player!
 

brandonchristensen

Loves Aaron Judge
SoSH Member
Feb 4, 2012
38,144
Thanks man. You were a big reason for the 2013 World Series run. Your walk against the Angels was the epitome of “what do we have with this kid?”

my photoshop from the 2013 run:

D265B39B-252D-4225-BE47-21CFE4B7F746.jpeg
 
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sezwho

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
1,951
Isle of Plum
Thanks X , enjoy all the cheddar and San Diego is a phenomenal place to be young and rich.

Hmmm, maybe being young and rich plays anywhere but point stands.
 

BlueStateRedSox

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
88
Ann Arbor, MI
A+ off the field as well as on, somebody who I felt good cheering. Wish only the best for him in SD and think replacing him will be even more difficult than it seems.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
Love X, he is/was my favorite player on the Sox for the last few years after Mookie. So much fun watching him come up as a rookie and hit into the post-season, and then after that he quickly became the most consistent, complete hitter on the team. Over the years he matured as a leader and became a truly joyful player to watch every day. He worked really hard this season to improve his defense and ended up being an above-average defender at SS after years of that being a major question mark for him.

My friend was in Aruba a few months ago, and he said wherever he went and people in the service industry asked him where he was from and he said Boston, they would bring up Xander Bogaerts.
 

Mystic Merlin

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 21, 2007
46,769
Hartford, CT
It was first apparent to me he would be a real player during the ‘13 playoffs. He had one particular AB v Scherzer where he took some disgusting pitches that were JUST off the plate/zone, and not the kind you want to swing at. That always stuck with me as his skills and production really took off in the mid to late ‘10s.
 

bankshot1

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 12, 2003
24,652
where I was last at
Who didn't line X?

Very good player, seemed like a great guy, great attitude, always played hard

everyone liked and valued the guy.

Everyone but Sox FO.

It seemed X was open to a hometown discount a year or so ago but the Sox low-balled him instead.and pissed him off

Another face of the Red Sox has opted for a new look on the West Coast.

and Raffy's taking notes.

best of luck in San Diego Xander

XO
 

Jason Bae

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 23, 2021
624
NJ
Thank you Xander for 10 amazing years. Was excited to see him from the get go, checking on minor league box scores almost daily. Felt like he was going to be a great player for the Red Sox in the future and he certainly was. Glad he's not going to a rival and I do hope he can help give San Diego a title.

My first game at Fenway was the August 22, 2018 game against Cleveland. Got to see Xander hit two home runs.
 
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streeter88

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 2, 2006
1,807
Melbourne, Australia
Thanks for the memories X. Was sure you were HOF bound and wanted it to be with the Red Sox wire to wire. Hope you still get there - it will depend on whether you take to the new league and parks.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2022
1,175
I can’t believe I missed posting in here.

Thanks for a wonderful career as a Red Sox. Truly a class act across the board. As Ortiz insinuated, a good bit of the culture built here that went from Pedro and Ortiz to Pedroia to Bogaerts, Betts and Devers is gone now, and the franchise is the worse for it.

Good luck in San Diego, and you’re deserving of the standing ovation you’ll get each time you play in Boston.