Sometimes it’s hard to be the better person. Sometimes it just drains on you.
I get the feeling it drained on Robert Kraft. He tried to be the better person. He tried to play nice. He tried to take the high road. Then he got pushed off the bridge. The lesser person just kept taking shot after shot at him until finally he had to push back at least a little bit. That’s why he filed the brief yesterday. It was his way of making a point but still keeping the high road. Even though I bet it’s tough for him.
Just like I hope it’s tough for John Henry. Putting on the planned ceremony tonight should be really hard for him.
Because, let me see if I’ve got this straight.
Wade Boggs wanted his number retired. He whined about it every chance he got. He didn’t care that there were team rules about retiring numbers, and he didn’t meet the qualifications. Sure, he played the years. And, the Hall of Fame forced him to wear a Red Sox cap on his plaque when he didn’t want to. But, he didn’t retire with the Sox, so he didn’t meet the requirements. Wade Boggs felt the rules didn’t apply to Wade Boggs. So he threw a hissy fit. Oh, sure the Sox have broken their own rules. A lot. But, it’s one thing for the Sox to decide that Pedro is so special the rules don’t apply to him. It’s another for Wade Boggs himself to kick and scream and insist the rules shouldn’t apply to him.
For whatever reason, it worked. Like a three year old throwing a tantrum, Boggs kept at it until he got his way. The Sox decided it wasn’t worth it to fight. Or, more likely, they decided that they could use an excuse to sell a few more tickets to a Thursday game in May. They gave in. They were the better person.
To prove it, they went an extra step. Why not make it a two day thing and celebrate the 30th anniversary of Boggs’s AL Champion Red Sox team. Have a little ceremony. It’ll be fun.
So, what does Boggs do at the ceremony celebrating a Red Sox team that lost the World Series? He wears his World Championship ring he won with another team. A ring he won with the Yankees.
What a slap in the face.
He finally gets his way, and he goes and rubs their noses in it.
So, I hope John Henry wants to cancel the ceremony tonight. I hope he wants to rip #26 off the wall in put it back on Brock Holt’s back. I hope he wants to remove Boggs from the Red Sox Hall of Fame. He won’t, of course. But, I hope he wants to.
I also hope that to make up for it, everyone in the park boos him mercilessly when he’s introduced. It’s what should happen. He’s getting an honor he didn’t deserve, but wanted. Then he acts like a dink about it. So boo him. Boo him all night.
I’m sure it won’t happen.
But I hope at least everyone wants to.
What's wrong with wearing the World Series ring he earned. Aren't you Sox fans done crying over things like that? For goodness sake, you have won 3 Championships, so act like it and don't let those petty things bother you. Go Boggs!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think it's mostly because it's Boggs. If Pedro showed up wearing a Phillies (or even a Mets) ring at a ceremony, it might not bother me. But, to beg and beg for an honor you don't deserve, and then tweak the team when they finally give in was too much.
DeleteWhen the Sox gave out their rings in 2005, Derek Lowe showed up, and wore his Red Sox jersey as part of the ceremony, even though he was on the Dodgers at the time. He caught some grief from LA for doing that. (Not a ton, of course, since it was LA. But some.) It's the same thing. You represent your team, not other teams from the past. Boggs is a Red Sox in the Hall of Fame. He needs to act like it.
Clemens didn't wear his Yankees ring, and the night wasn't even mostly about him. When Roger Clemens is showing more class than you are, you know your wading in the shallow end of the pool.