John Henry Folded Under Pressure at 2023 Red Sox Winter Weekend
It’s been a long and largely disappointing winter for Boston Red Sox fans, and they made Red Sox brass well aware of their displeasure at the 2023 Red Sox Winter Weekend. Red Sox Nation gathered at Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts for what essentially amounts to a pep rally. One part of the event put Sox leadership on stage for a live Q&A session. Owner John Henry, President Sam Kennedy, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, and manager Alex Cora made up the group receiving questions from Tom Caron and Jared Carrabis. A weekend designed to generate some positive press for the Red Sox, especially following the $331 million Rafael Devers extension, quickly became the exact opposite. John Henry was especially maligned, both during and after the session.
Things didn’t get off to a good start. Fans booed as soon as the Fenway Sports Group figurehead came into view, just as they had during the Winter Classic. They had plenty to be upset about, most recently the complete bungling of the Xander Bogaerts situation. The homegrown shortstop ended up signing an 11-year deal with the Padres. Henry unwisely decided to make a point that “baseball players are expensive,” which certainly wasn’t what the fans wanted to hear.
Does John Henry Care About the Boston Red Sox?
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more uncomfortable, Jared Carrabis asked Henry a direct question. The DraftKings personality questioned whether or not Henry viewed the Red Sox as a primary concern. Given Fenway Sports Group’s other investments, now ranging into a variety of other sports, it was a reasonable ask. Those shifting priorities have clearly impacted front office decisions, an issue that has plagued this franchise before.
John Henry could have given a simple “Yes.” Instead, he didn’t answer the question. As Sam Kennedy scrambled to deflect, Henry looked at his watch as if to say, “Can I leave now?” Bad, bad, bad look.
Things got so bad that NESN decided to remove a good amount of booing and heckling from their streamlined broadcast version of the live event. It was a terrible, no good, very bad day for John Henry. He probably thought he had generated some good will from the Devers deal, but that move wasn’t going to atone for previous sins. Red Sox Nation made sure he knew that.
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