It was an unforgettable Winter Weekend for Chaim Bloom as he and the Boston Red Sox top brass were met with a chorus of boos from a frustrated fan base.
The Red Sox chief baseball officer joined The New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on The Show to talk about the criticism he has received from fans. With the team’s struggles on the field and moves off, Bloom has been asked about his decisions numerous times, and this week was no different.
“It’s funny, I’ve done a lot of interviews in this job in three-plus years. I think this is the first time anybody has basically asked me, ‘Are you a glutton for punishment?’” Bloom said with a laugh.
“About our fans, our fans are awesome. Yeah, that was intense on Friday night, but I had a blast at Winter Weekend,” Bloom added. “I knew what was coming in that town hall. I knew the environment it was.”
Winter Weekend was a two-day fan event in Springfield, which started with a fan town hall. While a lackluster performance in the 2021-22 season prompted a lot of fan frustration, much of the recent anger centered around Xander Bogaerts signing with the Padres.
Despite the hostile reception, Bloom expressed how much he values the fan base.
“The bottom line is, baseball matters so much here,” Bloom said. “Our whole hearts are in what we do. This is a place where you know that is actually matched by the way all the fans engage with the team.”
This brought up old feelings of irritation after the Red Sox traded star right fielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in Feb. 2020. Along with Betts, David Price was part of the trade in exchange for Alex Verdugo and prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong.
“At that time three years ago, we were faced with a similar choice with one year from free agency with a superstar player. And we didn’t sign him,” Bloom said at Winter Weekend. “And I want to explain why, because it relates to where we’re going. We didn’t sign him because when you make those bets, they’re big bets and (more boos) those bets — hang with me here. Those bets, you all know it and are smart — they are much better up front than on the back end. We know that but if you want to make that type of bet, you better be ready to back it up and surround that with a whole lot of talent, a whole lot of young talent, or you’re not going to win. You see it all the time in this game. I don’t think anybody would disagree where the organization was, we just weren’t ready to back up that bet.”
However, the pressure on Bloom and team ownership dropped after the Red Sox locked up one of their biggest stars, signing Rafael Devers to a historic 11-year, $331 million deal earlier this offseason.
Now Bloom’s next step to get back in the fan’s good graces is to continue to add talent around Devers and produce a winning season.
“And yeah, when we lose, people are going to be pissed. They should be. We are too,” Bloom said on the podcast. “We’re going to be harder on ourselves than anyone is going to be on us. So, it’s just nice to feel that it matters and it’s nice to feel it backed up by everybody that’s out there.”
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