White House, “Red Socks”
Now that the New York Yankees have clinched the American League Eastern Division Championship, can the Boston Red Sox be far behind?
Yes! Far, far behind. They’ve been eliminated from post-season competition after winning the World Series last year.
A number of reasons have been cited. Some attribute it to what’s called World Series hang over. Others cite injuries and the inability of the starting pitchers to come through. Or the failure to re-sign their star closer Craig Kimbrel who was lights out last season.
I have another theory: it was the club ‘s decision to accept an invitation to visit the White House, something other sports teams refused to do because of President Trump. First were the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. They were followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, last year’s NFL champs.
And long before an invitation could even be extended, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team which won this year’s World Cup made it abundantly clear they wanted nothing to do with the Groper-in-Chief and his White House.
The Red Sox and their owner felt otherwise as this photograph shows.
But look closely. All the faces are white. That’s because every black and brown player skipped — including Mookie Betts, the American League’s reigning Most Valuable Player.
Manager Alex Cora, a native of Puerto Rico, stayed away, too.
Core said he “didn’t feel comfortable” after Trump’s bad-mouthing of his country and the administration’s feeble response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. “It’s personal,” Cora said.
The same went for pitcher Christian Vasquez of Mexico. “I made the choice not to go because the president has said a lot of stuff about Mexico,” calling Mexicans “rapists” and “criminals.”
If the absence of Latinos and African-Americans bothered Trump, it wasn’t evident. There he was, bragging how much Puerto Ricans actually loved him while holding up a jersey with his name, a gift from the Red Sox.
ReClub officials said the decision to attend was an individual one, something for each player to decide. Those who wanted to go could go. Those who didn’t could stay away.
As far as I’m concerned, that was a big mistake. What does something like that say about the Red Sox as a team? Everything the club accomplished the previous year had been a team effort. It was all about the team, not the individual. Never about the individual.
Until that White House invitation came along.
That’s when something changed. My theory is that the bond that held the Boston players together and guided them through that magical season was eroded. Some will deny it. “We’re professionals!” they’ll argue. “Politics has nothing to do with it.”
Sorry. Politics has everything to do with it, and they can ponder that over the long winter ahead.
In the meantime, it’s telling to point out how the White House website misspelled Red Sox, referring to the club as the “Red Socks.” Not only that, the White House pool report misidentified the team as the “World Cup Series Champions.”
Better luck next year.
