Red Sox News: David Price invokes the Babe in regards to Mookie Betts
Former Red Sox ace David Price twists the Mookie Betts dagger
When the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees after the 2019 season it set off a chain reaction that brought 86 years of darkness to Boston. When “The Curse” was broken in 2004 we saw a reversal of fortune that led to multiple championships being delivered to Fenway Park. Fast-forward 100 years and we may be entering another era of dark times as we now live in a time where the team has once again sent away a generational talent.
Mookie Betts came up through the Red Sox farm system and is a talent that this organization hasn’t seen since Ted Williams. One that should’ve spent his entire career roaming the outfield at Fenway Park, now he’s playing ball in Hollywood and finds himself three wins away from another World Series ring. That fact hasn’t fallen short of Red Sox Nation and former Boston southpaw David Price didn’t mince words when it came to the similarities.
Price was a guest on Jayson Stark’s “Starkville” podcast where the topic of Betts and Ruth came up. The lefty isn’t wrong and I think anyone that knows anything about baseball can see how the two are linked. Whether it be the fact that they’re both franchise players that should’ve never been moved down to the time in which they switched teams.
"“I understand that,” Price said. “Mookie is that good, period. That’s just not something you expect to happen with an organization like Boston. You expect a player like Mookie to be there for forever. That wasn’t the way it happened and that wasn’t the way it happened with Babe Ruth. And it is remembered daily.”"
The man isn’t wrong. It didn’t help that all night long during Game 1 that Joe Buck and John Smoltz beat the Betts trade horse to death. It was like sitting through several hours of someone going over your poor life choices and calling you an idiot. We get it, the Red Sox made a miserable mistake and we all have to live with it, move on! Unfortunately, we can’t just move on and the shockwaves of sending Mookie to LA will be felt for quite some time.
We all know what Betts is capable of and how good he is and can be. After dominating the WC and DS rounds of the postseason he went ice cold in the NLCS. How’d he respond? He hit a bomb and stole two bases in Game 1 of the World Series, that’s just who Mookie Betts is. He may have the last game on his mind for a bit but his eyes are always set to the horizon. It was no surprise that the Red Sox suffered without his bat in the lineup and energy on the field, but that’s the bed we have the lay in.
"“For Boston fans, I think that is a tough pill to swallow,” Price said. “To have a player like Mookie Betts and to trade him away, that’s tough."
More from Red Sox News
- Red Sox Nation deserves far more from Fenway Sports Group
- Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
Price didn’t flat out say that the Red Sox messed up but he sure got damn close to it without fully going into that realm. Again, the man isn’t wrong. We were bombarded last winter with budgets, salaries, CBT penalties, and hypothetical free agency talk. The sad thing is that Betts didn’t sign with LA for much more than what Boston offered, they just needed to show true interest. If they had then he very well may be playing for the Sox for his entire career, but they didn’t, and that chapter may be long forgotten someday.
Do I think we’re seeing the dawning of a new curse? No, but I don’t think we’re going to be heading back to the promised land anytime soon either. Losing a guy like Betts is one thing, but being the reason he’s no longer on the team is just begging for some bad karma to be coming your way. Price didn’t just harp on the trade as a loss for the Red Sox as he heaped loads of praise onto Alex Verdugo and his strong debut season in Boston.
"“I think it just boils down to success of their team and success of the Dodgers,” Price said. “Also, success of Mookie and also Verdugo. Verdugo — I got to see him play some this year, and saw his numbers at the end of the year — he had a very good year.”"
Next. World Series a must-win for Roberts. dark
Verdugo has been a great addition to the team and his energy is beyond infectious. It’s hard to watch the way he plays the game and not get excited about what he may do next. Not only did he bring some hype for the fans but he got his teammates woken up as well, even with the awful season. Is he Mookie Betts? No, but he has a ton of potential and can do his damned best to fill in the gap. Either way, we all know that nobody is replacing Mookie and we’re all worse off for him not being here, but you don’t have to keep saying it.