(Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
The world of baseball was shocked to learn, on Thursday, that the Boston Red Sox had fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
Bloom had led the Red Sox to two last-place finishes in 2020 and 2022, with an ALCS appearance in 2021.
They are, as of Thursday afternoon, tied with the New York Yankees for last in the AL East, which apparently was enough for ownership to dismiss Bloom.
The executive had his fair share of mistakes: failing to plan for the middle infield knowing that Trevor Story was hurt, not bringing back Xander Bogaerts, and some would even say trading Mookie Betts even though ownership had a lot to do with that one.
However, according to an MLB insider, Bloom doesn’t have as much responsibility as the ownership group, led by John W. Henry.
“Over the 15-year stretch during which they won four World Series, here were the Boston Red Sox’s payroll ranks in those years: 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st. Over the last four years, they have been under the CBT three times and their payroll this year is 11th. But it was the GM’s fault,” Jeff Passan tweeted.
Over the 15-year stretch during which they won four World Series, here were the Boston Red Sox’s payroll ranks in those years: 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st.
Over the last four years, they have been under the CBT three times and their payroll this year is 11th.
But it was the GM’s fault.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 14, 2023
Passan points out that Bloom wasn’t given a top payroll to compete these last four years.
His job was to rebuild the farm and go from there.
He did rebuild the farm and gave Boston some nice prospects and young, controllable contributors.
Perhaps he should have been judged by the team’s performance in 2024, not 2023.
In any case, one would think the Red Sox could have waited until after the end of the season to announce Bloom’s firing.
Timing is everything, and these things matter in professional sports.
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