BoSox Injection
Fansided

Five personally defining moments in Red Sox history

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 29: A general view of the grandstand and Fenway Park signage at Fenway Park before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox on September 29, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 29: A general view of the grandstand and Fenway Park signage at Fenway Park before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox on September 29, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 5: Dave Dombrowski the President of Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox watches batting practice before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park on September 5, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox won 9-2. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /

Red Sox bend bonus money rules

Baseball has a rather dark history of questionable actions designed to give a competitive edge. The most recent brouhaha pinned the Astros to an ethical wall with a concerted and well-orchestrated effort to poach the opposition’s signs. The baseball jury is still sifting through the evidence which may also implicate Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the scheme.

The Red Sox bent some other rules and that was manipulation of bonus structure money regulated for the signing of international players. International is best defined by promising and youthful players in the talent-rich Caribbean area. The motivation was rather simple – to get players when the team was restricted from excessive spending.

A little creativity of simply flowing money from lesser prospects to those more valuable. Cheating is not some recent revelation since it is a tried and true tactic in sports and life. Players have routinely dabbled with performance enhancers with management maintaining a blase attitude until forced to respond. This is just another creative level to cut corners.

The Red Sox were nabbed by their sleight of hand attempts and the penalties were appropriately dished out. Contracts were voided, a hiatus from signings for a year was ordered, and a fine dispensed. The Red Sox had placed themselves between this rock and a hard place with the contractual spending to sign Yoan Moncada, but hey – there are ways around everything.

Situations such as this certainly make one question just what type of ethical and moral character the team wishes to present. The actions resulted in significant changes to the lives of several players who were already signed and those pending signing with the Red Sox – collateral damage.

The vice president of international scouting was Eddie Romero and his punishment was swift – they promoted Romero to the assistant general manager once Mike Hazen departed. The entire episode left an indelible smudge on Red Sox baseball operations and certainly leaves questions regarding the extent of who knew what and when?

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