The surging Boston Red Sox have climbed Major League Baseball standings. They’ve strung together two five-game winning streaks over the past month, and they’ve dropped consecutive games just four times since the beginning of June.
The success has culminated in a 49-40 record, closing the gap behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East to 7.5 games. While the Red Sox are still in third place in the dominant division, the stellar month has placed the club in the driver’s seat for the final AL Wild Card spot. It puts thue team in a position to buy at the deadline to ensure they can contend for the postseason.
Yet, despite the team’s recent success, Red Sox owner John Henry took another opportunity to draw the ire of the fanbase with vague comments and bitter sentiments.
Henry, principal owner of Fenway Sports Group, spoke over the holiday weekend about how his company got into business with the PGA Tour, according to Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman.
When asked about the Red Sox, Henry declined to comment.
When asked why, Henry said, “The reason being, how many people speak almost every day about the Red Sox? You don’t need me.”
The Red Sox owner declined elaborating further on his refusal to comment on the ball club, opting instead to leave the vague and cryptic message open for interpretation. Henry’s baffling lack of self-awareness has become a trademark of his character, and he has seemingly given his fanbase more reasons to dislike him every time he has spoken.
To Henry’s credit, the team won four World Series championships under his ownership. Still, he has criticized Red Sox fans for entitlement in defense of the team’s recent failures.
Henry, who purchased the Red Sox in 2002, has become notorious for being financially conservative. The owner has expressed a refusal to mortgage the future for the present, but the glorious future has been no where to be found. In recent years, Boston allowed four-time All-Star infield Xander Bogaerts to leave in free agency and traded 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts instead of offering him a new contract. These were such non-Red Sox moves.
In addition to the Red Sox, the billionaire has an ownership stake in the Liverpool Football Club. Fenway Sports Group is finishing up an acquisition of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and — much to the dismay of Boston sports fans — Henry may also be eying a potential purchase of the Boston Celtics.