Latest news with #CurseoftheBambino
Ottawa Citizen
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Todd: As judgment day looms in Hockey Canada case, I'm thinking about right and wrong
Article content No matter what verdict Justice Carroccia renders, that is the question that will linger for me. That — and why Hockey Canada should have thought that buying off the victim in such cases was the way to go. Article content What were they thinking? Out West, the Stampeders are stampeding and the Roughriders are roughing people up. Article content In the east, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a force again with quarterback Bo-Levi Mitchell passing former Alouettes QB Tracy Ham for 10th on the all-time passing yardage list — albeit far below Anthony Calvillo. Article content The Alouettes? On the bright side, they're tied with the Ticats for first in the East. On the dark side, the decision to play dynamic quarterback Davis Alexander after he missed two games with a hamstring injury was doubtful at best — but the call to send him back out for a two-point convert after he reinjured the hamstring on a touchdown run was downright reckless. Article content Article content Whether Alexander aggravated the hamstring injury on the attempted convert (sure-handed Cole Spieker dropped a pass that was right in his hands) it was a terrible call. Now Alexander is on the six-game injured list, out for a third of the CFL season as the Alouettes prepare for the meat of the schedule, beginning with the Stampeders in Calgary Thursday. Article content With the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Redblacks floundering, the Als remain pretty much a lock for the playoffs, but the road to the Grey Cup will not be an easy one. Their fate is now in the hands of that magnificent slab of statuary McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the 37-year-old who throws a beautiful ball and moves about as well as I do. Article content The Als still have the vastly more mobile Caleb Evans waiting in the wings, but for now it's Bethel-Thompson. The Calgary sack squad has to be absolutely champing at the bit. Article content Article content A tip of the old Expos cap: To Terry Francona, whose injury-wrecked career with the Expos transformed into one of the great managerial careers in baseball history. Francona became one of only 13 managers to win 2,000 games last week while managing the Cleveland Guardians — and I personally will never forgive the Boston Red Sox for firing the man who finally broke the Curse of the Bambino. Article content Heroes: Terry Francona, Cole Spieker, Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, Wesley Sutton, Lwal Uguak, Shawn Lemon, Aaron Judge, Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Cal Raleigh, Summer McIntosh &&&& last but not least, 15-year-old Aphrodite Deng. Article content
Fox Sports
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 MLB All-Star: Building the Best Red Sox Lineup
The Red Sox have not always been a successful team on the field — maybe you've heard of a little thing called the "Curse of the Bambino" and all. But even at its worst, the organization was still capable of producing some all-time talents. Thanks to the franchise's early success — the Red Sox were the winners of the very first World Series, and a powerhouse before the most infamous transaction of them all brought them back to Earth — and its resurgence in the 21st century, their All-Time team is a mashup of MLB legends across its entire existence. And one with depth, too: this lineup features seven Hall of Famers in its starting nine and on the mound, a couple likely future Cooperstown inductees and yet another sitting in the bullpen, along with a manager who'll also get the call. Manager: Terry Francona Between Ed Barrow's 1918 championship and the 2004 hiring of Terry Francona, there were 35 managerial changes in Boston. That's less than two-and-a-half years per manager. Francona, though, took over and led the Red Sox to where his predecessor, Grady Little, could not, then followed up with another World Series title in 2007. He's second in games managed and wins for Boston, with no one else with his tenure anywhere near him in winning percentage, either. Francona's 28 postseason victories are more than twice as many as the next-best skipper, and he's one of just two to win multiple championships. Starting pitcher: Cy Young The Red Sox can lay claim to three of the greatest pitchers in MLB history. Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez combined for 10 Cy Young awards, but that honor is named after Boston's first ace. Cy Young's greatest run came in Beantown: a franchise-record 192 wins over eight years, 2.00 ERA and 275 complete games, while leading them to the first World Series championship in 1903. Young was the top player on the team by wins above replacement in seven of his eight seasons in town, and is MLB's all-time leader in both pitcher WAR and traditional wins. Reliever/closer: Jonathan Papelbon The Red Sox drafted Jonathan Papelbon in 2003 as a starting pitcher. He stayed in that role for a couple of years, but a permanent transition to relief would come in the majors in 2005. He finished his first partial MLB season with a 2.65 ERA, and in '06, was awarded the closer job. He'd never leave it while with the Sox: Papelbon was named to four consecutive All-Star teams from 2006-2009, and allowed just seven runs in his rookie season. Papelbon is the all-time leader in saves for the Sox, with 219 — 87 more than Bob Stanley. Catcher: Carlton Fisk Carlton Fisk is responsible for one of the most famous homers ever. His walk-off shot in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, in which he waved a fly ball fair, is an all-time great moment for the Sox and MLB. That shot cleared the Green Monster in a hurry, and yet, Fisk visibly made the most of that time. Brief, yet memorable: that describes both the play he's known for, as well as his career with Boston. Fisk spent more time with the White Sox, but hit .284/.356/.481 and produced most of his career value in Beantown. 1B: Jimmie Foxx Jimmie Foxx didn't start his career with Boston: he played 11 seasons with the Athletics before joining the Red Sox in 1936. His seven years with Boston featured Foxx batting an absurd .320/.429/.605, while hitting 222 of his 524 career homers. He won his third and final MVP in 1938, thanks to batting .349/.462/.704 with 50 homers and an MLB-leading 175 RBIs and 119 walks. Foxx is second in Red Sox history in on-base percentage, tied for fifth in batting average, third in OPS+ and even ninth in home runs despite the comparatively short stint. 2B: Dustin Pedroia Dustin Pedroia was at the forefront of the battle between traditional scouting and the analytics movement, one that resulted in the front offices of today. He was thought too short — his listed height is… generous — to be the hitter his minor-league numbers suggested, and it didn't help that his arm and range seemed limiting. Projection systems disagreed. The verdict? Laser Show. Pedroia made up for his lack of range with fantastic defensive positioning, resulting in four Gold Gloves. His all-out play meant his career ended too soon, but his .299/.365/.439 line and three World Series rings speak volumes. 3B: Wade Boggs In Wade Boggs' 11 years in Boston, no one in MLB matched him in batting average (.338), on-base percentage (.428) or doubles (422). Among players with at least 7,000 plate appearances in those 11 seasons — Boggs logged 7,323 — he had the fewest strikeouts (470), and is still top-10 even if you drop that threshold to 5,000 PA. He won five batting titles with the Sox, five Silver Sluggers and made eight All-Star teams. Boggs didn't hit for power, but he didn't have to: his 71 WAR ranked third-best among all MLB hitters from '82 through '92, anyway.. SS: Nomar Garciaparra If not for the injuries, Nomar Garciaparra would be a Hall of Famer. "Nomah" was the star in the Red Sox lineup from 1998 through 2003, years in which he won consecutive batting titles (.357 in 1999 and .372 in 2000) and jumped on that Cooperstown track. An Achilles strain in the spring of 2004 derailed that train, however: then the Red Sox traded him to the Cubs to shore up their defense, leading to their first World Series championship in 86 years. Garciaparra and the Red Sox would reunite in 2014, for induction into the team's Hall of Fame. OF: Ted Williams An inner-circle great for not just the Red Sox, but baseball. Ted Williams hit 521 homers, first among Sox players. He's fourth in walks in MLB, won a pair of MVPs, and somehow, at 41 years old, hit .316/.451/.645. Williams batted .406 in 1941, led the AL in all three slashline stats on five occasions and in two of them on five others, despite missing his age-24, 25 and 26 seasons to military service. There's a reason MLB's best crowded around Williams like excited children during the 1999 All-Star Game festivities at Fenway: he was a living legend. OF: Carl Yastrzemski In 1961, Carl Yastrzemski was given what should have been an impossible task: replace Ted Williams, who patrolled left field from 1939 through 1960. From 1963 through 1970, Yaz hit .301/.402/.513 — remember, offense was so dreadful in the 60s that MLB lowered the mound. When Yaz won the Triple Crown in '67 batting .326/.418/.622 with 44 homers and 121 RBIs, the AL managed .236/.303/.351. Yaz didn't end Ruth's curse, but that wasn't on him: 1967 was the "Impossible Dream", wherein Boston posted their first winning season since 1958 and first World Series since 1946. OF: Mookie Betts Producing a singular talent like Yaz or Williams is rare. Throw in Ruth, and Boston did just that on four occasions. Mookie Betts was beloved by their front office for his wrist speed, athleticism, and reaction time — Betts was a star high school basketball player and bowler, on top of baseball. He moved to the outfield in the minors, then won four Gold Gloves for Boston in right, as well as an MVP. Betts' career is ongoing, and Boston's All-Time team loaded, but he might very well be at least the second-best position player on this list when it's over. DH: David Ortiz David Ortiz made analysts wonder about whether clutch hitting was a true and measurable skill. Ortiz eventually became Boston's full-time DH in 2003, and mashed a career-high 31 homers that he'd then best again and again. Ortiz would spend 14 years with the Sox, hitting .290/.386/.570 with 483 dingers, second all-time for Boston behind Ted Williams. He was part of the 2004, 2007 and 2013 World Series teams, as their lone connective tissue. In his final season, Ortiz, 40, batted .315/.401/.620, with that slugging percentage, his OPS and his 48 doubles all leading MLB. Honorable mentions: Roger Clemens (starting pitcher) Pedro Martinez (starting pitcher) Mo Vaughn (1B) Kevin Youkilis (1B) Bobby Doerr (2B) Tris Speaker (OF) Dwight Evans (OF) Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Safe at home at Rickwood Field
Bill Chapman, "Darryl Strawberry and former NLB players," 2015. Bill Chapman There are 22 photographs by Chapman, as well as two by the man Chapman considers his mentor, the great Bill Chapman, "Rickwood Field Bar-B-Que," 2008. Bill Chapman Most of Chapman's photographs in the show are portraits of long-retired Negro Leagues players, sitting in the stands at Rickwood. There are also photographs of Rickwood itself and activities going on there. What could be better than barbecue at the ballpark? The photographs are unframed and unmatted, which adds to their sense of openness and invitation. Advertisement The Negro Leaguers shown aren't famous, certainly not Josh Gibson-famous. Nor are they famous like the two former major leaguers seen: Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, photographed by Chapman on a visit to Rickwood, or Darryl Strawberry. Chapman photographed Strawberry sitting in the stands with several Negro Leaguers. Note that visible at the bottom of the picture is a Bill Chapman, "Roosevelt Jackson," 2014. Bill Chapman That old-timers like Ernest Fann and Roosevelt Jackson and Odell Daniels aren't famous is fame's loss. As captured by Chapman's camera – 'cherished' might be a more accurate verb – their faces are as marvelous as their names. The appeal of 'The Gospel of the Negro Leagues' for anyone who cares about baseball history is obvious. More important, its appeal to anyone who cares about goodness and humanity – which, as recent events keep reminding us, isn't everyone – may be even greater. Bill Chapman, "Ernest Fann," 2018. Bill Chapman That serigraph is a portrait of Willie Mays. Now he was famous: the Say Hey Kid, as fine a ballplayer as ever put on a pair of spikes – and maybe the finest. Mays, who died last year, played for the Black Barons. Advertisement You've likely heard of the Curse of the Bambino. The real curse that hung over the Red Sox for so long wasn't Babe Ruth related. It was the curse of Jackie and the Say Hey Kid. That those two would have lit up that lyric little bandbox is the gospel truth. THE GOSPEL OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES At Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St, Cambridge, through Aug. 1. 617-577-1400, Mark Feeney can be reached at
Boston Globe
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Seeing Brad Marchand hoist the Cup and Rafael Devers traded are reminders of how Boston's sports fortunes have changed
Feels inevitable, doesn't it? The San Francisco Giants will win the World Series, and Devers will be their first baseman. It's the new curse in town. From the infamous and original Curse of the Bambino, the original dark cloud, to the Li'l Ball O' Hate, the most recent defector-turned-champion, Babe Ruth and Brad Marchand are reminders that sometimes, beloved figures end up writing a storybook ending somewhere else. From Ray Bourque to Tom Brady, Mookie Betts to Jon Lester, Adam Vinatieri to Ben Coates, Boston has more than done its part for other cities across the map, sending championship players to help them out. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Giants aren't the baseball favorites nor the defending champions the Panthers were, but they could emerge from the bruising NL West as a legitimate contender, especially with Devers's bat now in the lineup. Advertisement Were that to happen, Devers would add a second title to his résumé, the same as Marchand. Both won early in their Boston careers — Related : Advertisement In Marchand's case, that came true, playing alongside captains Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron, in front of goaltenders Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, scoring goals with David Pastrnak and David Krejci, making it all the way back to the Stanley Cup Final in When the need for a franchise rebuild finally became too obvious to ignore, the Bruins accepted the reality that their current captain, the man who did his best to hold it all together, was more a part of their past than their future. And so They did right by Marchand much as they once did by Bourque, whose loyalty to Boston across 21 Bruins seasons was so revered and valued that no one begrudged his trade to Colorado, where he won his only championship in 2001. So starved for success was Boston back then that Bourque's City Hall Plaza celebration with the Cup drew more than 20,000 fans, a particularly stunning occasion when looked through the prism of hindsight, and the ensuing six Patriots Super Bowl victories, two NBA Celtics titles, a Bruins Cup, and four Red Sox World Series. Advertisement Ray Bourque bringing the Stanley Cup to Boston packed City Hall Plaza on June 13, 2001. JIM BOURG/REUTERS Yet amid all that curse-breaking celebration for the Sox is the troubling recent trend. Since that last title in 2018, payroll flexibility has taken over where big-market spending muscles used to be. Much like letting the beloved Lester walk only to watch him win another curse-breaking Series with the Cubs, the Sox keep shedding core players. The Meanwhile, since trading him away, the Red Sox have more last-place finishes than playoff appearances. The Patriots are coming off two last-place finishes of their own, languishing in the basement of an AFC East they used to dominate. Such is their post-Brady world, one that tries to restart again this season under the hands of Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye. Brady's résumé in New England will not be surpassed, but that pesky post-Patriots year in Tampa Bay, when he won But for every Betts or Brady, there's a Coates, a 1991 fifth-round draft pick turned Advertisement But times are lean again. Jayson Tatum is gone for the upcoming season after rupturing his Achilles' during a failed attempt to defend the 2024 NBA title, and the Celtics have to reshape their roster and finances. The Red Sox got zero major league help in return for Devers, other than unloading the $254 million balance of his contract. The Patriots are in Year 1 of Vrabel, and the Bruins in Year 1 of Marco Sturm. All part of the sports cycle, a natural balancing of scales that, for two-plus decades, reached the highest of highs around here. Doesn't make it any easier to watch Marchand hoist the Cup, to watch Betts win the Series, or imagine Devers doing the same. Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Fox Sports
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
From Babe to Betts, The Wild Trades that Define the Red Sox After Devers Deal
What is it about the Boston Red Sox and their penchant for blockbuster trades that often feel -- bigger? It could be across the team's 125-year history, their deals have had huge impacts. The infamous deal that sent Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 and sparked an 86-year drought. Or more recently, when the team tempted fate again when trading Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in 2018. Now, Rafael Devers joins that list of superstar players after Boston traded him to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Devers was only in the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million extension and is arguably one of the top 10 hitters in baseball. The 28-year-old will likely be named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career in the coming weeks. A decision that didn't exactly warm Red Sox fans about the direction of the team. And to cap off the chaotic week, Devers will welcome his former teammates to his new digs ahead of a three-game series at Oracle Park, starting Friday. Ahead of Devers' reunion with the Red Sox, let's take an all-time look at how each major trade in the team's history has panned out: [Related: Giants vs. Red Sox Odds: Will We See a Devers Dinger Against Former Team?] 1920: Babe Ruth to New York Yankees The setup and reaction: The transition from a star left-handed pitcher to one of the game's best sluggers would set up a showdown between Ruth and Red Sox owner Harry Frazee. At age 24, having already won three World Series in Boston and having set the season record with 29 home runs, Ruth wanted a deal that would double his salary to $20,000. Frazee balked at the idea and made a deal that sold Ruth's contract to the Yankees for $100,000 that was finalized on Jan. 5, 1920. The verdict: Fail! The amount of money made it an unparalleled move in sports at the time and was splashed on headlines across the country. Frazee got out of a financial pickle and moved from a player that frequently clashed with the organization. The actual cost? A unique place in American lore as one of the biggest blunders in the history of blunders. Ruth won four World Series titles with the Yankees and hammered 659 of 714 home runs in pinstripes. And of course, the "Curse of the Bambino" became one of the most ubiquitous descriptions for prolonged sports misery. 1997: Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek from Seattle Mariners for Heathcliff Slocumb The setup and reaction: It was the July 31 trade deadline, and the Mariners needed relievers. Desperately. They were 60-46 after losing both games of a two-game series to the Red Sox, the second of those on a walk-off. Willing to pay just about anything for anyone, they sent a pair of prospects for Heathcliff Slocumb, Boston's closer who had walked 6.6 batters per nine and had the ERA to show for it. Those prospects were former first-round pick Jason Varitek, and right-hander Derek Lowe. Given Slocumb's struggles and that the Sox were mediocre in '97, Boston media generally felt the deal was the kind the team needed to be making. Varitek hadn't delivered on his promise yet, and Lowe had struggled in a brief stint in the majors as a starter, but the potential was as obvious as Slocumb's control issues. The verdict: Pass! Varitek and Lowe both broke out in 1999, and eventually became vital to their 2004 championship team — the franchise's first since 1918. Lowe ended up in the majors for 17 seasons, was named an All-Star as both a closer and a starter, threw a no-hitter in 2002 and was on the mound for all three of Boston's series-clinching wins in 2004. Varitek played his entire 15-year career with the Sox, was named the third captain in team history and is now their Game Planning and Run Prevention coach on Alex Cora's staff. 1997: Pedro Martinez from Montreal Expos The setup and reaction: The Red Sox rotation was a mess. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was a quality arm, but Aaron Sele, Jeff Suppan and Steve Avery had all disappointed, while Tom Gordon had shifted to the bullpen and thrived. Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette had joined the team in 1994, and had let ace Roger Clemens walk as a free agent, thinking his time as that level of pitcher was behind him. (It was not.) Boston needed a new ace before '98, and they got one in reigning NL Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez, whom Duquette had already brought to the Expos in 1993 in what ended up one of the most lopsided deals in MLB history. The Sox gave up promising pitching prospects Carl Pavano and Tony Armas in the trade, and with Martinez set to be a free agent in a year, there was genuine concern alongside the excitement. Was this a high-price rental? Even if Martinez was just as good as he had been for another year, what if he then walked like Clemens had, and now the Sox were out some prospects, too? The verdict: Pass! Weeks later, Martinez signed a then-record $90 million contract, beginning a legendary run in Boston. Over a seven-year span Pedro's ERA was 2.52, and at the height of MLB's steroid era: that figure translates to an adjusted ERA+ of 190, which is to say that he was basically the best season of Clayton Kershaw's career for his entire stint with the Sox. Martinez's "worst" full season in Boston produced 5.5 wins above replacement and the 2004 World Series championship, he led the majors in ERA in four of the six seasons he qualified while in town and ended up in a Boston cap in Cooperstown, to boot. No offense to Pavano or Armas' careers, but they didn't do any of that. 2003: Curt Schilling from Arizona Diamondbacks The setup and reaction: In need of starting pitching following their loss to the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein immediately set his sights on Schilling, who was the Arizona Diamondbacks' ace at the time. Schilling, however, wanted to pitch for the Yankees (or the "Evil Empire," as Red Sox brass called them at the time). During Thanksgiving weekend in 2003, Epstein successfully made the pitch to Schilling at the pitcher's Arizona home to get him to go to Boston. Schilling, who was the World Series MVP in 2001, waived his no-trade clause and agreed to a three-year, $37.5 million extension (Epstein later said Schilling was reading the book, "Negotiating for Dummies," in between negotiating sessions). The Red Sox sent pitchers Casey Fossum and Brandon Lyon, along with then-minor leaguers Jorge De La Rosa and Michael Goss, to the Diamondbacks for Schilling. At the time of the deal, many experts lauded Boston for landing Schilling, especially as New York was closing in on a deal to acquire Gary Sheffield in the arms race at the height of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. The verdict: Pass! Whatever effort Epstein put in to land Schilling ended up being well worth it for the Red Sox. He arguably had the most iconic pitching performance in Red Sox history 11 months after the trade, giving up just one run in seven innings to help Boston win Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against New York. Schilling pitched that game as blood soaked through his sock, getting his ankle worked on prior to the game to help stabilize the tendon. Schilling's outing helped the Red Sox become the first team in MLB history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit and win en route to winning their first World Series title in 86 years a week later. Schilling also helped the Red Sox win it all again in 2007. 2004: Nomar Garciaparra to Chicago Cubs in 4-team trade The setup and reaction: Theo Epstein's tenure in Boston was full of bold moves. Arguably, his boldest came at the 2004 trade deadline, when he opted to move fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs as part of the four-team deal. Reasons for the Red Sox to trade Garciaparra had mounted in the months prior to the deal. He expressed dissatisfaction with his contract situation in spring training after the team had agreed to a deal to move him for Alex Rodriguez that winter, which fell through at the 11th hour. He was also dealing with an Achilles injury that caused him to miss the first two months of the year, hurting his defense and causing him to miss games even after he made his season debut. Some had even wondered if he quit on the Red Sox when he didn't enter a game against the Yankees earlier in July. Still, the trade was largely viewed as a surprise. Epstein even acknowledged at the time of the deal that it was "with mixed emotions" to let a player whose name had become synonymous with the Boston accent go, calling Garciaparra "one of the greatest Red Sox of all time." The verdict: Pass! While the Red Sox needed to land Schilling to win the World Series in 2004, they needed to move off Garciappara in order to win it all that year, too. Both Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz proved to be pivotal additions at the deadline that year, with the former being a fine replacement for Garciappara at short (.294/.320/.465 slashline in 58 regular season games with Red Sox; .288/.377/.356 slashline in 2004 postseason). Mientkiewicz, meanwhile, helped shore up the Red Sox' infield defense as they struggled during the first half of that season, often being used as a late-game defensive replacement at first. As for Garciaparra, he continued to hit well for a few seasons following the trade. But Epstein's bold move to let him go paid dividends when Cabrera and Mientkiewicz helped the Red Sox win the World Series three months after the trade. 2012: Mega trade with Los Angeles Dodgers (Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto) The setup and reaction: The Red Sox were supposedly the team to beat in 2011 … until they weren't. A September collapse completely changed the franchise: they lost 18 of their final 24 games, and were eliminated on the last day of the season thanks to a blown save against the Orioles. Longtime general manager Theo Epstein departed for the Cubs, and Terry Francona, who had managed the Red Sox since 2004 and through two World Series, was replaced by Bobby Valentine. Ben Cherington took over for Epstein, with little financial wiggle room to improve the roster. The Sox continued to disappoint despite the changes and fresh start, and on August 25, through a complicated waiver trade, Cherington decided to boldly blow the whole thing up. Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Punto were shipped out west to the Dodgers, in exchange for… a few lottery tickets and James Loney, whom the Dodgers did not need around at first base with Gonzalez coming in. The point wasn't the return, though, but to clear a quarter-billion dollars in future obligations from the ledger, so Cherington would have the financial freedom to bring in the players he wanted to, rather than the ones he'd inherited from Epstein, who had disappointed now in consecutive years. Punto's inclusion was solely to get the Sox under the luxury tax threshold and reset the penalties, giving Cherington just a little bit more room to work with — this trade was calculated out to the dollar. The reaction? Pure shock. What were the Red Sox doing? Why were they doing it? What was next? The verdict: Pass! The Red Sox reinvested the savings in free agents Mike Napoli (one year, $5 million, up to $13 million with incentives), Stephen Drew (one year, $9.5 million), Jonny Gomes (two years, $10 million), Shane Victorino (three years, $37.5 million), Ryan Dempster (two years, $26.5 million), David Ross (two years, $6.2 million) and Koji Uehara (one year, $4.25 million). They then were able to add Jake Peavy and the rest of his $14.5 million salary at the trade deadline, rather than bargain-bin shopping for damaged rotation goods like they had in the recent past. Every one of those players played a significant role in the Red Sox going not just from worst-to-first, but also winning the 2013 World Series. 2020: Mookie Betts to Dodgers The setup and reaction: In 2018, the Red Sox won their fourth World Series of the century with a set of core players that seemingly extended the dynasty embodied by David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Betts was already a star player by 2018, but capping off a season in which he won the AL MVP and led the league in batting average and runs scored with a ring? Seeing him walk would be unfathomable. But the seeds of change had been planted even prior to that season. After an arbitration year in 2018 and a 2019 season that barely avoided it, it was obvious Betts was rightfully holding out for a big payday. The Red Sox were uneasy about committing to a long-term deal in an attempt to stay under the $208 million tax threshold. Enter the title-hungry Dodgers, who Boston had beaten in the 2018 Fall Classic. By February 2020, Betts and pitcher David Price were in Dodger blue as part of a three-team deal with Minnesota that netted Jeter Downs, Alex Verdugo, and Connor Wong. The verdict: Fail! A risky move by the Dodgers to essentially take on Price's bloated salary and risk having Betts for just one season ahead of free agency. But Betts signed his 12-year, $365 million deal in Los Angeles ahead of the COVID-19 season and has since led the Dodgers to two World Series titles. A farm product of Boston's system, it'll now be certain Betts finishes his career having played more games for the Dodgers. Verdugo and Downs are gone, and the departure of Devers (after Betts and then two-time champion Xander Bogaerts) now leaves Boston as the clear loser of this deal. Trying to keep Betts, Bogaerts, and pitcher Chris Sale would have been prohibitively expensive, but each of those moves (add Devers to this list now) has hardly brought Boston any success. There likely won't ever be another Bambino-style curse, but the Betts trade sure is beginning to feel like it. BONUS! Landing Rollie Fingers from Athletics (1976): The Red Sox acquired the future Hall of Famer in June 1976, straight-up buying him from the Athletics for $1 million because then-owner Charlie Finley was … doing Charlie Finley things, mostly. Fingers never suited up, though, as commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the transaction — and Oakland's $1.5 million sale of Vida Blue to the Yankees — using his best interest of baseball powers. Manny Ramirez to Dodgers (2008): After years of trade rumors, the Red Sox pulled the trigger on moving Ramirez at the 2008 trade deadline, sending him to the Dodgers in a three-team trade. The move wasn't too surprising at the time, with calls for him to be traded growing in the weeks leading up to it as some thought he wasn't hustling on ground balls. While Ramirez played so well in his two months with the Dodgers that season that he finished fourth in NL MVP voting, the Red Sox emerged from the trade relatively unscathed. Jason Bay was more than a viable replacement for Ramirez, helping the Red Sox reach the ALCS in 2008 before being named an All-Star in 2009. Fred Lynn to Angels (1981): The Red Sox learned that deadlines matter in a painful way during the 1980-81 offseason. Their failure to send contracts to Lynn and Carlton Fisk ahead of the Dec. 20 deadline in 1980 cost them two franchise legends. They got ahead of the Lynn situation by trading him to the Angels shortly later, but accepting a relatively modest deal for a nine-time All-Star in his prime. Fisk, meanwhile, won his arbitration case and became a free agent, later signing with the White Sox. Future MLB commissioner Bart Giammati later called the situation "the worst moment for Red Sox fans since the team sold Babe Ruth." Jeff Bagwell to Astros (1990): Bagwell wasn't in the majors when the Red Sox traded him in 1990, but the move wound up being one of the most consequential in franchise history. They traded the New England native and lifelong Red Sox fan to the Astros for reliever Larry Anderson. Anderson only spent one month with the Red Sox while Bagwell began his Hall of Fame career a year later. Then-Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman defended the trade years later, saying Bagwell's path to playing was blocked by Wade Boggs, Mo Vaughn and other highly-touted prospects in the organization at the time. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily. 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