Hard not to see the Mookie Betts trade as one of the five dumbest things this franchise has ever done.
Selling Ruth has to be number one. Not signing Willie Mays might be number two. What are the other two?Hard not to see the Mookie Betts trade as one of the five dumbest things this franchise has ever done.
There was no excuse for the Fisk/Lynn/Burleson fiasco. The Mookie deal was 3D chess played by Ninjas in comparison.Selling Ruth has to be number one. Not signing Willie Mays might be number two. What are the other two?
Very true. That game was nationally broadcast on Monday Night Baseball, wasn't it?No list of the five dumbest/worst things the franchise has done is complete without Tony C Night
the Dolan family and the Mccourts were finalists when the sox were sold back in 2001 right?Very true. That game was nationally broadcast on Monday Night Baseball, wasn't it?
The later Tom Yawkey years combined with the Sullivan/Leroux interregnum are a good reminder that, whatever our frustrations with the current brain trust are, things could be worse. A lot worse.
Could you expand on "Tony C Night"?
Basically Buddy LeRoux used the attending press coverage of the event to honor and fundraise for Tony C as an excuse to launch a hostile takeover attempt on the team.In 1983, the Red Sox suffered their first losing season since 1966, and the rift among the ownership factions became public. On June 6, prior to a Monday night home game against the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox planned a special benefit for stricken former star outfielder Tony Conigliaro, who had been incapacitated at age 37 by a heart attack in January 1982. Conigliaro's old teammates from the 1967 "Impossible Dream" Red Sox assembled for a pre-game ceremony, and a crowd of nearly 24,000 gathered, one of the largest gates at Fenway Park since Opening Day. Boston's television stations had crews in place to cover "Tony C Night."
Prior to the festivities, LeRoux called a press conference and announced that he and a majority of the team's limited partners, chiefly Badgett and Albert Curran, were exercising language in their partnership agreement to overthrow Sullivan and Yawkey and take command of the club. He announced a "reorganization of internal management" and appointed himself managing general partner, while bringing in former Red Sox general manager Dick O'Connell to replace Sullivan as head of baseball operations. Boston media immediately dubbed the gambit the "Coup LeRoux."
A shitty thing to do but can we limit “the five dumbest moves” to actual player deals or, as in the cases of Robinson and Mays, non deals?Basically Buddy LeRoux used the attending press coverage of the event to honor and fundraise for Tony C as an excuse to launch a hostile takeover attempt on the team.
Plus relievers are fungibleI think it's pretty easy to argue the Jeff Bagwell trade was dumber than the Mookie trade. Bagwell's in the Hall of Fame. Mookie may never be. Bagwell wasn't on the verge of becoming a free agent. They got less for Bagwell than for Mookie.
I mean, it was a shitty trade and all, but lets have some perspective.
I know Lester was well liked and a nice home-grown player, but... really? I always felt like winning in 2018 kind of put this one to rest.Mac not using Stapleton in Game 6 or Clemens in Game 7
Fisk no contract
Lester lowball
getting rid of Dumbo
Letting Ted go to the Pacific, twice.
fake edit: Bagwell forAnderson
(Ruth is #1)
Don’t know specifics about Jackie and Willie but those could be 2 and 3
Also, hiring an old school Don Zimmer to manage guys like Bill Lee and Bernie Carbo was a seriously unwise move.Sending Sparky Lyle to the Yankees for Danny Cater was, uh, not a moment of glory.
Wow, definitely. Sox might have won it all in 1972, 75 and 77.Sending Sparky Lyle to the Yankees for Danny Cater was, uh, not a moment of glory.
Part of the shtickNot top five, but how about:
Letting George Scott wear those tight double-knit pants
Losing Don Orsillo
Tessie the Green Monster (I'm cool with Wally)
Jonathan Papelbon. Don't get me wrong, he was an elite closer and tremendous competitor for several years including a World Series winner, but if you're asking for "dumbest", Papelbon's gotta be in there.
I was thinking the same thing.Fun thread.
Can’t speak for others but for me “trading Betts” is shorthand for not extending his contract to avoid free agency… or making the highest FA bid like the Yankees just did with their face-of-the-franchise star.For fuck sakes this is ridiculous!!!!!
People here have lost their minds. MOOKIE WAS GOING TO FREE AGENCY. They got what they were able to trying to also unload Price and knowing that they basically had put themselves into a corner in negotiations because of the decisions of the preceeding direction. Fair or not... .the Mookie trade sucked but it's not dumb. Shit... at one point after his 2nd year half the board here wanted to trade him to the Mets!
Are you talking 1934? Because that was called new Fenway or Fenway Park II or something. Or do you mean the Harrington plan?"New Fenway"
The modern New FenwayAre you talking 1934? Because that was called new Fenway or Fenway Park II or something. Or do you mean the Harrington plan?
The Earl Wilson trade was especially repugnantI'll let you guys negotiate 1-5, but somewhere in the next 5-10 boners are trading Earl Wilson in 1966 (he won 22 for Detroit in '67) , the Sparky Lyle trade for a bag of ball and Danny Cater to some shitbag team south of us, and trading Fergie Jenkins after the '77 season for another bag of balls and he went 18-8 in '78.
I'd argue that Wilson and Fergie could have made significant contributions to a generally starting pitching needy Sox and might have delivered WS in '67 and '78.
The Celtics of the 50s and 60s broke just about every meaningful barrier related to black athletes in Basketball, and were at the forefront of racial integration in sports. They were still called a white washed team that symbolized bad racist Boston in the 80's. I don't think anything the Sox did would have changed that either.This is interesting enough to break out into its own thread.
For me it's the horrible "Get those ********* off the field!" moment. Whether it was Eddie Collins, Tom Yawkey, or Joe Cronin, that was by far the lowest and stupidest point in this team's entire history. Not only did they pass on a chance to sign Black players, not only did they pass on a chance to sign JACKIE ROBINSON, but the cemented themselves a reputation as a racist hotbed that TO THIS VERY DAY continues to haunt the franchise.
That moment above led directly to Pinky Higgins calling reporters *******-lovers more than 2 decades later. The stain has never gone away.
IMO Buckner being "hobbled" had nothing do do with the error. He was there, the ball went through his legs.1. Selling Ruth
2. Reneging on Mays contract
3. Mailing Fisk contract 2 days late
4. Trading Bagwell for Anderson
5. Leaving a hobbled Buckner in the game and Stapleton on the bench reportedly so Buckner could be on the field to celebrate to WS win
6. Sparky Lyle trade for Cater
Honorable Mention:
Hiring Grady
If Buckner fields that cleanly who knows if he’s able to throw out Wilson. The whole inning was an absolute nightmare.IMO Buckner being "hobbled" had nothing do do with the error. He was there, the ball went through his legs.
He was never a free agent. They offered a massive extension and he explicitly stated he was going year to year and testing free agency. He extended with the Dodgers only after Covid changed the world.Can’t speak for others but for me “trading Betts” is shorthand for not extending his contract to avoid free agency… or making the highest FA bid like the Yankees just did with their face-of-the-franchise star.
Yeah, Grady non-decision decision is up there in 5-10...snip…
Top 5 have been well covered but in the top 10 somewhere is Grady letting a clearly gassed Pedro go back out to pitch and then leaving him in. I’ve never seen any moment in sports where it was obvious to every sentient being on Earth (I’m including dogs and fish on this list) that this shouldn’t be happening and yet Grady stuck with his plan.