245 replies to this topic

[Bellco]

Hi everyone,

I’m a 26 years old, raised mainly in Connecticut, a state that has a 49.5/49.5/1 Red Sox, Yankees, Mets fan ratio. My first real introduction to baseball was the 1986 World Series when my dad plopped me in front of the TV and told me “you’ll remember watching these games forever” or so he told me later. Well, he was wrong, I don’t remember the games at all. I was 3. I do recall him being pretty upset at the end result.

I never really had a chance of liking another team and I do give my father credit for that for the most part. Him and Roger Clemens, who was my favorite player as a kid. In retrospect, I probably should have like Rich Gedmen or someone who doesn’t kick puppies for fun, but he was awesome back then, and likely not on steroids.

Baseball has always been a big part of my life. I’ve always played the game well, watched more of it than is probably healthy, and take it a bit too seriously at times. I like most sports, but my second favorite (hockey) is a very distant second. I still play baseball competitively, and I still watch more games than I probably should, and not just Red Sox games.

I’ve been registered on this site for a few years now, but just realized that I can post in the Sandbox forums today when “Al Nipper” informed me as such. Hopefully I’ll become a full member at some point, but this is fun nonetheless. I came to this site periodically to read other’s opinions, but lost interest because I could not participate in the discussion. I’ll probably be a regular now.

My main attraction to this forum are the intelligent conversations regarding baseball. It’s not just a bunch of goons verbally slamming one another and flexing their internet muscles. In fact, that is not tolerated which fantastic. I deal with enough sports fans like that on a daily basis at work or in my family life. I’m a pretty decent stathead, but don’t rely solely on that during discussions. There’s more to the game than just stats, but I also realize that metrics are the only “absolute” way to judge teams and players. Thanks for keeping this forum a website that’s worth visiting.

Here’s to the 2010 offseason!

Chris

[leutbneot]

I'm not here to please anybody. I'm here to talk baseball. Because that is what this is all about. If it weren't for baseball, we wouldn't be here. I will not post some chart about aggregate pitching numbers. I don't know what UZR is, nor do I care to figure it out. While that may be one poster's M.O., it's certainly not mine. That takes the fun out of the game for me. I have now become bored with this post.

Murray Chass... is that you?

[Mr.DNA]

Hi everyone!

I just joined last night and am looking forward to contributing to some interesting talk about the Sox and other sports related topics.
I have lived in Massachusetts since 1966 when my family moved to Newton. I was exposed for the first time to baseball at that point and have been a loyal Sox fan since.

I also follow the Pats and Celts.

Go Phillies!

[DustyPed2B]

Hello,

I'm a high school student, been a fan of the Sox since the start of the 2003 season when I was a 5th grader in Connecticut. I now live in Baltimore, so I am not a Patriots fan, but I'm still a Redsox faithful (My football team is the Ravens)

Go Sox, and Ravens

[The Mino 007]

My name is Matt, I'm pretty excited that I found Sons of Sam Horn. I am a devoted Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics fan. I've been watching and living everything New England Sports since as far back as I could remember. I'm from Plymouth, MA and am currently attending school and studying Sport Management. I've was posted on a New England Sports forum until about two months ago when it closed down, since then I've been trying to find a place to talk about New England Sports, and hopefully this is the place! My two favorite players ever to dawn the Red Sox uniform are Bronson Arroyo and Mo Vaughn. I hope I get the chance to become a member, this place looks great!

Question, how do I upload my avy and does this place allow graphic sigs? thanks!

[Flaxenmanes]

yup, hi. I'm a girl, I'm cute and I love the Red Sox. 

[Pudge's Maul]

Hi folks. I've been reading Sosh for about three years. I doubt that I will post that often. I'm an Outward Bound instructor currently living in Denver. I spend most of the summer and fall out in the backcountry. This means I have to get my baseball fix during the offseason and this site has helped me do that for a while now.

I grew up in New Hampshire and coastal Maine and I've been missing the intensity of the Sox atmosphere recently. I figure Sosh might a good way to find some part of that out west in what is in my opinion, a pretty awful baseball town.

[MrNewEngland]

I'm awesome.

[WrenHorn]

To be truthfully honest, having registered about five-to-ten minutes ago, I'm not even 100% sure this post is going to go through but alas, worth a shot.

Like plenty of folks born into 1985, my name is Matt. I was born in Northern Massachusetts, went to college at the University of New Hampshire (B.A. and M.A. in English Literature with no concentration because of a seemingly fraudulent graduate program...thank goodness for a full ride) and currently reside within the physical confines of Boston itself. I'm about an hour from Fenway Park by walk and have made more than one nostalgic walk to Fenway since the season ended.

I've been an avid follower of the Red Sox since as long as I can remember, but that probably dates back to anywhere between age six and age eight. I remember names like Scott Cooper, Tim Naehring, Darren Bragg, Lee Tinsley, Otis Nixon, etc. Lee Tinsley was and still is a personal favorite despite no statistical merit to his game. The game that always stands out to me and speaks to my fanship is the game when the Red Sox played Seattle and lost in the 22nd inning on what I believe was a Mike Cameron walk off homerun. I think I was either in middle school or in early high school and managed the whole game. I was in college for the 2004 world series victory and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. I was also in college for the Aaron Boone shot and actually was written up for drinking beer in the hallway I was so miserable. My current favorite Sox is probably J.D. Drew, just because I think his combination of plate discipline, premium defense and a strong record of success is very appealing.

I would say that my interest in the Red Sox has become more focused as time goes on. I had always been keenly aware of the financial side of things but never really paid heed to what every move would do the Red Sox ability to spend on other players. This year, for example, I spend a lot of my time disliking Mike Lowell's contract, not necessarily because I think he's overpaid (though he is) but more because the opportunity cost of having his contract on the books is preventing the Red Sox from either shifting Youkilis to 3B and finding a 1B upgrade (even if it's someone like Nick Johnson, who's only a marginal upgrade potentially on Casey Kotchman) or signing a 3B like Adrian Beltre (who was worth double the wins of Lowell last year). I'm of the belief that no General Manager is without scrutiny, but I generally support Theo Epstein's moves as a Red Sox GM and have given him the benefit of the doubt more often than not.

I would say my general Focus (and note, not my General Expertise) is on the minor league system. I publish a blog with two or three posts a week on general minor league information (top prospects, top 100 prospects, unheralded players, minor league tactics, etc.) that I'm happy to indulge to anyone interested. I'm still very much a novice but I like to take a look at relatively advanced metrics (FIP, BABIP, GB%, LD%, etc.) and analyze prospects. I wrestle constantly between tools/scouting and production, and love to debate and discuss with anyone interested in talking about it. I believe a lot of this interest stems from involvement in a pretty detailed DMB Dynasty League which has been running for nine years, of which I've been involved with it for the last four years. Of late, I've spent a lot of time looking at the AFL and seeing who the sleeper prospects are this year in the mold of Tyler Flowers and Tommy Hanson last year.

As you can tell, I tend to be a bit long-winded. In the end, I'm just interested in sharing my opinion about the Red Sox and baseball in general with anyone and everyone who might want to hear it. I'm also a bit of a music snob (though that has tailed off of late) and enjoy a good discussion about economics every now and then, as well. Despite my degree, I'm not much of a talker on fine literature.

[BarrettsHiddenBall]

I'm BarrettsHiddenBall, and I'm delightful.

[decshealy]

I was a "fan" of the sox from day 1. With 5 brothers growing up just outside of Boston, it is hard not to. Having said that, I didn't get into the actual metrics and other idiosyncrasies of baseball until my mid to late teens with my elderly neighbor. Her knowledge of the game and its history was inspiring. She passed away just before the 2003 season, therefore missing the Aaron Boone walkoff in the ALCS and her third World Series win in '04.
I post once in a while but read much more frequently. I appreciate how this site remains intelligent baseball talk [as well as other sports] and strays away from overzealous and uneducated chatter over deals or anything else Red Sox related.
Keep Up The Good Work!

[Hamyloamy]

Yeah I am, I downloaded it from the Microsoft repository so its the latest version too. . . not quite sure why I cant get the volume to work on it, the link you provided on the 10th was contradictory as it said 0 was both silent and full volume :S

I also have some DVD players installed, so it might be one of them?

[MillarTime15]

Hello I've been a lurker on here for awhile. I don't post a lot. Anyway, I am 22 years old and have been a Red Sox fan for as long as I can remember. I was born in Brockton, grew up in Taunton and Brockton, and I go to Curry College now so i have never really left the area. I had the displeasure of being at game 3 Sox-Angels this past season, ironically enough I was wearing my Papelbon jersey. I was also at Bruins-Hurricanes game 7 so it's been a rough sports year for me, maybe I should stop going to playoff games for any team. I am die hard fan of all the New England teams. I'll admit I had no hope the Sox were coming back in 2004 but I did still keep the television on to see game 4 to its bitter end, well you guys know the rest. Obviously given my name Millar was one of my favorites from the 2004 squad, I just loved the energy he brought to the team and how he kept everyone relaxed, I know many Sox fans found him annoying and more like a cheerleader than a ballplayer but I liked him when he played here. Hopefully this Lackey signing will give us the pitching we need to make a legitimate run at another World Series. GO SOX!!!

[Bobby Flay]

I'll keep this short, and sweet. You clowns know who I am, and you know what I do. Is it time for a throwdown?

[H78]

As a lurker, I feel like a slave to SoSH. Being a slave, I legally count as 3/5 of a person. If you add Bobby Flay and I, you get 6/5 of a person, or 1 and 1/5, which is actually more than any other poster here offers.

Also, I, just like Eric Van, once worked for the Red Sox. One of us sold pretzels but I’m not about to throw anyone under the bus because I’m not that type of poster.

There's some math and solid reasoning now grant Flay and I memberships.

[Bobby Flay]

As a lurker, I feel like a slave to SoSH. Being a slave, I legally count as 3/5 of a person. If you add Bobby Flay and I, you get 6/5 of a person, or 1 and 1/5, which is actually more than any other poster here offers.

Also, I, just like Eric Van, once worked for the Red Sox. One of us sold pretzels but I'm not about to throw anyone under the bus because I'm not that type of poster.

There's some math and solid reasoning now grant Flay and I memberships.

A ball-park pretzel, eh? What a rip off! You blew it, chump. Come to Mesa Grill, $14 will get you the tastiest porkchops smothered in blackened mango chutney you've ever tasted. While I'm at it, I'll have that mongoloid Guy Fieri serve it to you!

[dyross]

Hey all, I'm Dave. I'm a 22 year old Sox diehard born in raised in the Boston area, and now work for a tech company in Silicon Valley. I gotta say, I love 10:00 AM Pats games and 4:00 PM Sox games out on the West Coast. I've read the boards for years and decided to start posting now that I sit in front of a computer 9+ hours a day. I'd really love to be a member

[Dick Pole]

Hey fellow Soxies,

I've been a Sox fan for about 35 years (I'm 43). My first Sox game was in 1972 -- sat behind the dugout with my Dad and brother as a six year old. Vividly remember it... I was an avid Baseball Card collector in the 70's (thus, the "Dick Pole" reference).

I've been a part-time lurker here since 2005, without posting.

Why am I posting now? I think what propelled me to start posting now is the Boston medias' general lack of understanding of Red Sox approach this off-season. Even people I respect seem to be stuck on looking at players in old school ways -- like, RBI's and Wins. And they don't seem even interested in understanding what the Sox are up to.

Theo (and company) have made some mistakes, but in general have done a great job. Two World Series in five years is no accident. I look forward to seeing how this season plays out -- it will be fascinating to watch how a Sox team built on pitching, defense and plate disciplline will do. And I'm really excited about Beltre -- I'm predicting 30 homers for him, if he stays healthy.

This seems like a great place -- look forward to getting involved.

Edited by Dick Pole, 08 January 2010 - 07:36 PM.

[C Earl]

Name's C Earl. Way south of Boston in Birmingham, Al. A strange confluence of events led me to being a Red Sox fan at the age of 11 (25 years ago). First during the early summer of 1986 my farm league teams name was the Red Sox. Then later that summer a trip up the eastern seaboard with my parents and I led to my enjoying Boston much more than New York so that when the Series occurred that fall I was rooting for the Sox. I must say here that at the time the most watched team in my house was the Braves thanks to TBS and they were my de facto "team" at the time, but God they sucked. Back to wanting the Sox to win in '86, no need to recount the details but after the end of game 6 I was a Sox fan for life. Have often been accused of being a bandwagon fan especially when I travel to Atlanta to see the Sox spank the Braves.

[Bob The Skull]

My name is Phil, and I'm a young'un from the suburbs of Boston. I've been following the Red Sox as long as I can remember, as my Mets-fan mother and Phillies-fan father both fell in love with the underdog-Sox and raised me to love them as well. I was at the 2004 parade, which remains one of my most vivid childhood memories. I was--and I shudder to admit it now--a fair-weather-fan however. I lost interest in the team in 2005-2006. I am to this day unsure how I lived my day-to-day life without baseball. I came back to the fandom in the offseason preceding the 2007 season. At that point my baseball fandom underwent a sea-change; from a fan who just liked to watch home-runs and strikeouts (I was young and foolish) I developed a vast appetite for any and all information I could gather. I began studying the history of the game, its eccentricities, and any statistics I could comprehend. While I've learned a lot, I'm still fairly stupid when it comes to advanced statistical projection and such.

I'm here to enjoy myself--be that reading interesting topics, contributing as I may, or getting in to a good, learned debate--and I look forward to it.

[rustynation]

I signed up here ages ago and haven't posted in any baseball threads yet, I don't think.

You can call me Rusty, because my favorite baseball player from about two weeks after his debut in '94 til his retirement in '05 was Rusty Greer, OF for the Texas Rangers, and rustynation was my former website devoted to his "online fan club." I have been a Red Sox fan since 1990. No, that doesn't explain why Rusty Greer was my favorite baseball player. I don't think I have a favorite baseball player now, but I have a few favorite soccer players.

My father grew up in New Jersey and was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and slid seamlessly into being a Red Sox fan a few years after I became one, because he, of course, always hated the Yankees.

I currently live about two miles from Fenway Park, but it took me two hours to walk there the last time I tried because I kept going into stores.

I'm also a girl. I don't wear pink hats.

[pesky23]

Hello. I've been lurking here for many years. I have two young boys, one of whom loves baseball even though he's only 3. Took them to a Cape League game in my old home town (Orleans) and the oldest wanted to leave but the youngest was fascinated. Cheered when the crowd cheered and all that. I don't remember enjoying baseball before the '75 series, when I was 7, so I guess there's still hope for the oldest. He starts T ball this spring.
I grew up in several towns around the Boston area, but I live in Seattle Mariner territory now. Aside from the dark Gillick/Bavasi years, they've been a lot of fun to follow, but I've maintained my love for the Sox. One time while wearing my Sox hat at Safeco, I got spit on by a coward several flights up a very crowded stairwell after a game. Lately, it seems like the Sox lose every game I see at Safeco. Two years ago, Ichiro was in center field I think for a while. The Sox hit a gazillion screaming line drives and he caught all of them.
Anyhow, I listen to as many games as I can through AtBat. I enjoy Castiglione and O'Brien quite a bit, although I like to listen to Dave Niehaus do the M's games sometimes, too.
Other things about me: I don't enjoy other pro sports like I used to, because it seems to me the referees have too much impact on the game, and I don't really understand all the calls (seems like in football and basketball they miss a lot of calls, and the ones they do call often seem arbitrary). I would like to add a review system to MLB so we don't have things like Knoblauch's phantom tag in the um, was it the '99 ALCS? I hate that shit. I was happily astounded about the '04 call reversals, but this year, there were lots of bad calls that didn't get reversed. I kinda think I might like to automate the calling of balls and strikes, too.
I'm very excited to see how the new defense plays this year. Thanks Dopes for maintaining this forum and thanks to the folks who make good posts. Go Sox.

[Catcher Block]

I'm Mike, and I've been lurking here and on the old site since the '04 season, mostly because it was a clearinghouse of information, news links, etc about the Red Sox. Grew up on the North Shore of MA but haven't been back since leaving for college in Orlando several years ago. At this point, SoSH and Car Talk are about the only things left from Boston that I still follow regularly.

Now, I live in the Midwest, and I've been working in ticket services for the front office of an MLB team since 2008. (I was asked on my first day if the Red Sox and this team played in the playoffs, for whom I would root, and I answered the Red Sox. Even though I would get a ring if this team won it all, I maintain my stance.) There isn't a whole lot of interaction with the player-personnel side of things, but I'd offer that the biggest impact that my job has offered me is the way in which I watch the game or read about contract negotiations, etc, generally as an understanding of revenue and sustainability. I'm still a fan of baseball, and certainly root for the team that employs me as well as the Red Sox, but I think find it easier to be a fan of teams in my current city in other major sports now, as opposed to 3 years ago.

Truth be told, I'm probably not active enough to be a member, but I'm more than happy to try and answer relevant questions that someone of you may have with regard to the ticketing side of MLB, breaking into sports, etc. I certainly didn't get to where I am--believe me, it's not that far--by myself; I encourage you to PM me if you'd like.

[BarrettNo17]

Hi everyone,

I’m a 26 years old, raised mainly in Connecticut, a state that has a 49.5/49.5/1 Red Sox, Yankees, Mets fan ratio. My first real introduction to baseball was the 1986 World Series when my dad plopped me in front of the TV and told me “you’ll remember watching these games forever” or so he told me later. Well, he was wrong, I don’t remember the games at all. I was 3. I do recall him being pretty upset at the end result.

Chris

Funny, you gave a pretty good first paragraph for my intro. I'm 29, from Connecticut, and often wonder about my recollections of October '86. I liked Marty Barrett because of his name, i guess, and remember most of the players, and i remember my dad being very upset. However, as far as game 6 goes, i can't honestly say if i remember it, due to the media replays of it. Much like "Bird Stole the Ball", i know i watched it live, but don't know if my memory holds the moment.

The Sox are my only "Local" team, and the only one i have been a fan of for as long as i can remember. My Mom's family is from Farmington, Maine, so theres, no doubt of where their loyalties lie, but my dad was the lone Sox fan out of 9 in his family, my grandfather was a Yankee fan from here in Middletown, who ended up in Michigan via a nasty wound in Normandy, where he met my grandmother. My dad was the only one of 9 to hit the ripe old age of 8 or 9 and become a fan of the local Tigers, before the move back to Connecticut, where he became a Sox fan for some reason or another, likely do to they were available on the radio. Needless to say, at family parties, it is a house divided.

I fondly remember Jody Reed, Carlos Quintana, Kevin Romine (I still remember his walk off against someone with Jim Ed on deck, my dad was a big Jim Ed guy), and all of the other guys.

Going into the Army in 1998 i sort of fell out of touch for a while, and only coming home in 2003 made me realize how special it was to be able to sit on the back porch with a few beers and a pinch of Copenhagen and just sit back and listen to Joe call a ballgame.

Thanks for all the info, insight, and having me.

[Youkilis vs Wild]

My name's Adam and I've been reading SoSH since 2003. I played hookey my sophomore year of high school more than once so I could sit at my family's desktop and hit refresh while reading the A-Rod thread. At the time, I was posting at redsoxnation.net, but I sort of fell off there when I got to college. While my baseball fandom has remained high over the last few years, I have only just recently (this past offseason) gotten back into getting on the message boards every day (excepting a brief stint on SoSH last March, when I signed up as a lurker, and from which the majority of my posts thus far are from). In any case, I am happy to be back into it and anticipate finally becoming an active member of a community I grew up learning from.

[The Mainahh]

My name is Drew, I'm 23, male, and as you may be able to infer from my moniker I am in fact from Maine. Baseball (and sports in general for that matter) came into my life fairly late. For many years I actively despised sports, baseball in particular due to my perception it was slow, for no particular reason. When I was in 7th grade I had an epiphany, began obsessively watching ESPN and reading everything sports related I could get my hand on. This was all great, but what really got me hooked was laying in bed at night and listening to Joe Castiglione call Sox games every summer night. From there I began playing for my middle school team (very small rural school so everyone made it) and played throughout High School eventually becoming a decent, small school player.

As I grew older I began finding myself reading more and more about stats and eventually became a hardcore fan of all manner of advanced baseball metrics. I don't pretend to have mastered any of them or be any more familiar with new SABR stats than the next guy but I like to think I am passable. Now I use these stats in debates regularly with my friends, roommate, and in building my fantasy baseball teams.

Sons of Sam Horn is a place that I came across about two years ago and have lurked frequently on since then. I recently decided to register a name and maybe begin to chime in once in awhile on some of the forums. Since I live in Portland Maine I have regular access to the exceptional baseball played by young Red Sox prospects in the form of the Sea Dogs (AA). During the summers I attend as many games as possible and have fond memories of watching Youk, Bard, and others come up through. Can't wait to talk some baseball with everyone!

[CatNamedManny]

My first memory as a Red Sox fan is crying after they lost the 1990 ALCS to the Athletics. It's no 1986 or 1978, but for many years it seemed a fitting introduction.

I like to remind people how lucky we are as Red Sox fans because I am most certainly a fan of the club despite their on-field performance. From 1991-1994, the Sox were dismal, and I followed dutifully. From 1995-98, they were mediocre, but I was too young and optimistic to know better. One fluke division-winning season and the second half of 1996 had me convinced this club could win the World Series just any year. It could happen in my lifetime! Well. That's why you don't go to 12-year-olds for sound baseball analysis.

I like to look back over those years, when as a kid from New Haven I would trek down to the corner gas station and buy copies of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and New Haven Register after every Red Sox win, cut out the articles and paste them into a three-ring binder filled with lined notebook paper. Starting with Opening Day 1995 and petering out in the middle of 1998, I still have more than half a dozen binders chronicling the Sox' successes and failures from those years. They include the first division win since 1986 (and last until 2007), the abysmal start to 1996, the almost-enough recovery, the Clemens betrayal, the debut of Nomar, the trade for Varitek and Lowe, and the trade for and signing of Pedro. To me, it's a glimpse of a team in transition from the 86-year sad sacks to the perennial World Series threats they are today. Pedro, Tek and Lowe were the first arrivals of what would eventually be the 2004 team, but more than that, it's worth going back and realizing, again, just how lucky we are today.

I went to college in Texas in 2000, and a combination of distance and busyness took me away from the Red Sox -- 2000-02 are kind of a black hole in my fandom. I paid attention to the box scores and watched highlights on the news of the Nomo and Lowe no-hitters, but I don't remember much else. I returned in 2003 to watch the Sox and Yanks face off in the ALCS, and my girlfriend -- now my wife -- watched with me for Game 7. She never saw me react to anything the way I reacted to Grady Little leaving Pedro in and the subsequent game-tying hit. I think she feared for my life (that's only partly a joke). A year later, I was out of college, married and following the club much more closely, and we were again together in a San Angelo, Texas, restaurant, two of roughly five Red Sox fans in the place, celebrating when Foulke flipped to Mientkewicz.

Since then, what else to say? I've ridden the highs and lows, lurking on SOSH off and on since around 2006, hearing about it for the first time through the Curt Schilling arrival. In the meantime, I've become a co-moderator/poster at the YFSF (formerly Yanksfan vs. Soxfan) blog. With two kids, my presence there fluctuates, and when I don't have time to post on my own, I find myself lurking more here, silently agreeing and disagreeing with the arguments expressed on the main board. When I post at YFSF, it tends to be statistically based. My favorite book as a youngster was Total Baseball IV, which introduced me to the idea that stats could exist that compared players across eras. I'm a writer, and am therefore allergic to more than basic math, but baseball is thankfully a sport where even basic math can open up a huge world of statistical knowledge.

If you're curious about my writing, and the type of poster I'd likely be, I worked on a project a few summers ago ranking the top 50 individual Red Sox player seasons of all time. Here's a link to that project: http://www.yfsf.org/...50_sox_seasons/

At other times, I've done less intensive, one-time studies, such as this recent look at the Sox' and Yanks' starters compared to the league average for a given "slot": http://www.yfsf.org/...th-starter.html. There's this recent look at Victor Martinez's HOF case: http://www.yfsf.org/...r-martinez.html. And finally there's this defense of J.D. Drew.

EDIT: I guess I should note the origin of my handle. I have a cat. We named him Manny, in happier times. I wrote here for Baseball Analysts about the Sox fan's complicated relationship with Ramirez.

Edited by CatNamedManny, 05 March 2010 - 10:31 AM.

[Yawkey Way]

Hey guys, my names Mark.

I came across SOSH a few years ago but vaguely lurked, i was posting on a few other boards but the sports talk was weak. A little background information about myself. I'm 16, from Franklin Mass. Diehard Red Sox fan of course and find it fitting i rise from hibernation on easter. I see that i might be a little bit younger than most guys on the board but my sports knowledge is adequate (at least i hope). I do sports talk radio for my school as well as write an occasional article on the sox for THE school newspaper. Live and breathe Boston Sports.

I've always been a huge baseball fan, baseball has been my first sport forever. I started playing almost as soon as i could walk. I've also picked up golf and play basketball as well. Golf/Baseball are probably my two favorite sports. I'm not really familiar with the sandbox and what it's all about but seeing as I am a new member i figured it was best to stay in here. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask.

[Cokes311]

I'm Cokes, I'm 22, from Salem. I signed up here about two years ago and posted quite a bit for the first half of the '08 campaign, but changes in my life and around me have prevented me from being around much since. Things have stabilized as of late, so I think I'll be able to post here much more consistently.

I'm currently a student. I'm a huge fan of music -- if anyone wants a recommendation on something to listen to, I'm probably your guy. I enjoy watching most sports, though not pro hockey so much. I play a little golf (quite poorly, mind), I am a huge Ultimate fanatic. I'm also a runner. Typically a shorter distance guy -- I was a sprinter in HS and the longest road races I typically run are 5 milers -- but I'm actually going to be running the Marathon in two weeks, to raise money for Dana-Farber (my dad beat cancer over the course of 2009, I figured this was a fitting tribute). If any of you are feeling particularly generous, you can donate to the cause at the link below. I don't anticipate running the marathon particularly well, but I do plan on finishing what I've started.

Anyway, that's about all I've got RE: myself. Pleased to be back, and let's go Sox!

Cokes' Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Page

[NorthernSoxFan]

Hello all- I signed up a few months ago, but this is the first time I've gotten around to post. Growing up in the interior of British Columbia in the late '70's and 80's, I was exposed primarily to Blue Jays games. However, I despised the Blue Jays and the "Canada's team" theme. Early on, I (and many of my friends) opted to cheer for the Expos in the Carter and Dawson era. Although hockey was king, we collected our OPC (Canadian version of Topps) cards in the summer and dreamed of playing in the bigs.(Maybe this is why so many have made it out of BC compared to the rest of Canada- i.e. Larry Walker, Ryan Dempster, Jason Bay, etc.) How did I become a Red Sox Fan? Quite simply for the most part. It was 1986, and I was 14. My English teacher had a t.v. in the classroom. He would not turn the t.v. towards us if we were not doing our work- and he was also a huge Red Sox fan. This was compounded by my best friend at the time who was a Mets fan (I believe partially because he loved Gary Carter). After watching some of the ALCS in the classroom and the Dave Henderson heroics, I found myself transfixed by the World Series. With my buddy cheering for the Mets (whom I despised for many reasons that do not need mentioning here), and my father being a Yankees fan, I felt it imperative to cheer for the Sox. We all know what happened, but the passion for this team continues for me. My first opportunity to attend a game at Fenway came in 2007, and I was even more hooked. The atmosphere was incredible! This was the reward for completing a difficult Masters Degree. Half way through, when I was close to quitting, my wife said: "If you finish, let's do a trip, anywhere you want to go." After verifying the sincerity several times, I let her know that a ballpark tour was in order! Following stops at Wrigley, Fenway, Cooperstown, and yes, Yankee Stadium, it was even more clear that the Sox were my team. A bonus is that my wife became hooked, and we went back to Boston in 2008. Unfortunately, we went 1-4 in the games we saw in person against the Yankees and Angels. However, we will be back this year to see the 4 game series against the Rangers in July. We also get a bonus at the end of the trip when we fly back through Seattle- 4 more games!

[lukeallyn]

Hello!

My name is Luke and I am from Washington State. I have followed SOSH since 2004 and decided today that I'd sign up and try to become a member. I really enjoy the reading through the conversations on here regarding the Sox as it seems to be the only way I can connect with it's fan base and the buzz surrounding the team outside of the Red Sox bar where Red Sox fans up here get together, have a few cold ones and watch the Sox 162 times a year.

I became a Red Sox fan when I was born, but living in the Pacific Northwest I had no idea what my grandparents were talking about who were from Saugus, who always talked about the Red Sox. As a kid, I grew up in the Ken Griffey Jr era and followed his career and the M's. In 1998, the M's traded Randy Johnson and a year later, they traded Griffey. I was destroyed and then it came to the locals attention that our owner, who saved the team a few years earlier and never even been to an M's game. I had enough of this team and quit baseball all together in 1999 for about 2 weeks. That's when I went to my grandparents house for a family dinner and discovered the Boston Red Sox and have been a fan ever since.

I am very happy to be a part of this website and excited to share my two cents with the rest of the community.

[Revkeith]

Hi there -

After years of trolling these forums, today I finally had to join due to the NFL draft explosion on this boards. Sad.

I grew up as a young child near central Mass., and was naturally a Beantown fan from a young age. I relocated when I was still quite young to Northern California, and now reside near Seattle, Wash.

My father was a sports writer for a couple decades - never did any Boston-related stuff. Mostly wrote for the Sporting News and Bill Mazeroski's baseball, and dabbled in writing for the A's at the end of the Bash Bros. era and naturally has a lot of great stories.

I do a Red Sox podcast weekly on a moderately sized website. I don't claim to have a wealth of knowledge, but I have fun ranting about the team.

I'm a huge Roger Clemens fan, and only slightly ashamed of this. He was just someone I always looked up to as a kid, and even though he's a horse's ass, I can't let go of that.

I probably won't post much, but I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts.

[Submariner]

Hi everyone,

I'm 24, born and raised in Western Mass. I've been following the Red Sox since 2003, and lurking here since last year's trade deadline. It was the rumors of the Red Sox' interest in Roy Halladay that made me a glutton for information and drew me here, among other places. As I browsed the topics I was amazed to find out many people were thinking the exact same things I was about the team that I was, and as a result I kept coming back. However, until now I was a bit nervous about coming out of my shell and registering.

I also take interest in the NFL, but baseball is my #1.

Looking forward to talking with you guys.

[trotswalk]

Hi all,

Name is Chris. Born and raised in Maine and have been a Sox fan all my life. When I was little I always thought a trip down to Boston was going to the big bad city to watch the sox. Have not changed much. I have been lurking here for a few years and thought it time to join. Though I am currently living in Saudi Arabia, I do my best to follow the boys everyday. Though the tough part is watching games. Anyway, 25 years old, male, and John Valentin was my favorite player growing up. Not sure why...

[WenZink]

I'm in my fifties and just old enough to have gone to a Sox game when Ted Williams was on the team, but I was too young or too stupid to remember him, although I can remember seeing Malzone and Vic Wertz on the field and the Sox beating the Senators on a walk with the bases loaded.

My greatest claim as a Sox fan was being prescient enough in March of 1967 to "know" that the Sox would win the pennant, and placed a bet with a college classmate of my brothers who also happened to be a bookie. And yes I did get 100-1 odds. (And while I'm on the subject, if anyone happens to know a 63 year old bookie in Brooklyn named Gonzales, tell him he still owes me $500.)

I've lurked on this site for a while and while I've been reading Bill James and his ilk for 30 years, there's a ton of posts, references and pointers on this site that continually expand my knowledge and appreciation of a game I've been following for 50 years.

[notherhalo]

Hello everyone

Ive been a periodic lurker for a little while, just looking at the baseball threads. I like SoSH because it seems to be the best messageboard for in-depth baseball talk, as Im a member of numerous other boards and a lot of them are short comments, quips or epic doses of homerism. Also, there is a good amount of baseball talk in regards to other teams and not just with the BoSox in mind. I appreciate that because Im often given remarks on other boards for bringing up topics that arent about the respective team.

I was an Expo's fan for a while, and when guys like Vladdy, Stoneman, etc. went to the Angels, naturally living in Southern California, it became easy to follow them. Nowadays Im definetly an Angels fan, who watches about 155-160 games a year, although last year managed to watch all 162+ thanks to TiVo.

I run an angels chat site also, which any of you are free to check out. It only really gets busy during the postseason or when I advertise for it. Although there are plenty of sour grapes among my angel fanbase lately, Im not at all against the Red Sox , but I do love to see the Yankess lose games. I dont particularly like the idea of blind allegiance towards a team in the name of "being a good fan", as I prefer to watch players and the results of their hard work and god given talent.

Edited by notherhalo, 06 May 2010 - 02:03 AM.

[WenZink]

....
I run an angels chat site also, which any of you are free to check out. It only really gets busy during the postseason or when I advertise for it....

welcome notherhalo.

Can your provide a link to your chat site?

I also follow the Angels closely. In the MLB Forum of this board (under the sub-forum, Adopt-A-Team) I just started a thread on the 2010 Angels. If you'd like, please feel free to add your insights. The Angels have been an intriguing team under Scioscia, and Moreno is a first-class owner. And yet, in spite of the fact that the Sox have met the Halos 4 times in the last 6 post-seasons, they seem to fly below the radar, given our Al Eastern bias.

[notherhalo]

welcome notherhalo.

Can your provide a link to your chat site?

I also follow the Angels closely. In the MLB Forum of this board (under the sub-forum, Adopt-A-Team) I just started a thread on the 2010 Angels. If you'd like, please feel free to add your insights. The Angels have been an intriguing team under Scioscia, and Moreno is a first-class owner. And yet, in spite of the fact that the Sox have met the Halos 4 times in the last 6 post-seasons, they seem to fly below the radar, given our Al Eastern bias.

no problem go to www.angels-chat.com and click the graphic that says 'enter chat room'

Im also on the angelswin.com board a lot, that board has a lot of great people
the baseball talk is nowhere as indepth as here, but they are a friendly community and welcoming otherwise

[jnlevetoncnmt]

I live in Florida and I have four boys who eat more food than a plague of locusts. My favorite player is Tim Wakefield and I enjoyed the movie Fever Pitch which means I should probably be demoted to some sort of sub-lurker status. I'm generally as pessimistic as Eric Van is optimistic, although I'm usually too busy feeding children to contribute anything substantive to the website.

[LeoCarrillo]

Hi all,

Longtime lurker, first-time thread poster.

I grew up in the Boston suburbs and have lived in New York City since 2000. That was painful till 2004, and a whole lot of fun through 2009. I also have a Sox cap purchased in 1988 which is so worn, faded and falling-apart that I only break it out for luck in the postseason. Let's hope it comes out of the drawer this October.

[Mathies_dane]

Greetings to all.
I'm 22. I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and today live in Odense, Denmark where i go to college. I have always had an interest for sports and with my family an interest in America was natural. My dad went a year to high school in MI, and my grandfather was prof. for a year at MIT (Never went to Fenway but went to the Astrodome he thought it was a waste of time as most Danes do). For me it all started with a wedding in NH. I was going to represent the family. During my time there i witnessed the 2004 Allstar game on tv. (I had attended a game earlier that year in Minneapolis). As some might recall both Manny and Papi hit home runs and after the game i had the only conversation with the father of the groom that went something like this:

Me(Not noticing its a person that hasn't talked to me while i have been there):That is some good players you have on the Red Sox.

Him(Thick new england accent): They will break your heart son.

This has me intrigued and a little research later had me hooked on this the team of destiny. What followed was a lot of early morning box score reading. And then in October i was so lucky that the WS was broadcast for the first and only time on Danish TV. We all know what happened and from there it was just love for the Sox.

I attended my first fenway game last summer (July 9th against the A's) and besides maybe the day i asked my fiancée(then girlfriend) to marry me was the greatest night of my life.
Let me end this with a GO SOX.

[travis bickled]

Hi everyone,

John here from upstate New York. Grew up in Cambridge residing on Mass. Ave. and left for Los Angeles in 1961 at the age of 16. Going to Sox games with my Dad are some of the fondest memories I have. Tickets for the bleachers were .75 cents in those days and they were the old bench type seats. I can recall seeing the lights of Fenway from the Cambridge side of the Charles and would be in complete awe. The game the players, Fenway, it was all larger than life itself. My buddies and I would hang around outisde "bumming" quarters to get into the game. I have passed these memories onto my children. In July my son and his family will be visiting me and we will be traveling to see a Sox game. I will have the pleasure of taking my grandson to his first Red Sox game.

My time in Los Angeles allowed me to observe the contrast between Sox fans and Dodger fans. When the Dodgers won the world Series in 1963 it was apparent the fans in Los Angeles do not carry the same degree of passion as we do. I remained in Los Angeles until 1988 when my career brought me to New York. It was then I returned to Fenway to watch a game. I sat there with goose bumps the entire game. Memories of my Dad and I brought tears. He loved his Red Sox as do I.

Edited by travis bickled, 14 May 2010 - 07:02 AM.

[page 2 protege]

Hello,

My name is Matt, born in CT, but grew up in Illinois, went to Butler (F*** Duke) for undergrad and went to Boston for grad school. Red Sox fan probably since '92-93, when Greenwell was my current favorite. My father was from lynnfield. Thanks to him I now refer to Boggs and the anti-christ as bums. Over the years I only got to see a few games at Fenway, but never a playoff game, that is until my years in grad school where I was able to return the favor to my father for my fandom by getting tickets to J.D.'s grand slam in Game 6 vs. the now defunct Indians.

I remember hearing of SoSH in '02, just don't know how, but started to pay attention more in 2003 when Schilling made his infamous introduction. The name...really was something I created when Simmons first joined ESPN, near the time he left his heart on memorial drive, but kind of stuck with the name now

[kosh2262]

Hi everyone, time to pop this cherry after all this time.

My name's Steve and originally hail from Glasgow. When I was 12 I visited my family in Boston and was taken to Fenway for the first time - and a love affair was born. And it certainly wasn't due to the game I watched. Since then I've managed to follow the Boston sports landscape thanks to many trips back - including 04 to see the Big Lug's first start at Fenway - and the internet.

Can't even remember now how I stumbled across SoSH but have found it immensely valuable ever since - not to mention a great time waster at work. Outside of Boston, sport teams I follow include London Irish, Clyde FC and other obscure underdogs who will never win.

Well since 04 I have to fill that void somehow. I am Scottish...

[KHG]

Hi guys,

Very longtime reader, first time poster. From New York but was raised to be a Sox fan. Very into the saber stuff.

[SeenYourSanchez]

What's going on SoSH community? I'm Kip Sanchez, a new "lurker" to the website here, as of probably last summer, although I never got around to creating an account until...yesterday. Used to play ball practically all year(spring, summer, fall-ball). I miss those days a lot. My first Red Sox memory is probably watching the '99 all-star game, which was about the time that I started to occasionally watch MLB baseball. Then I really started to get into it, and clearly remember the 2003 ALCS and staying up way late for game 7, only to be heartbroken and have to go to school the next day. Also, I remember, telling my math teacher before the '04 season why I thought the Sox would win the WS. Sure, there was my bias in there, but I truly thought that it was their time. I guess I should say how I found out about SoSH?...well I read about it in a few books I believe, and I wanted to check it out. So I did and here I am. Can't wait to be an active contributor to the "big league boards" as I am still in the "minors". Hope I didn't bore you all too much...

[panic129]

Hi, I'm Kyle, new to SOSH. Born in Michigan (Tiger fan), I started watching the Sox during their 2003 run, and upon watching highlights of the Boone homer, I thought, does this happen all the time? Needless to say, I learned of SOSH after reading Bill Simmons' book on the Red Sox (I thought it was a great book by the way). After two titles, I am very proud of the Sox despite the bandwagoners (I probably am one) and Yankee-like spending. I am also waiting for the day I can tell my kids about a team that changed a whole city (and not the 2001 Pats). Go Red Sox!

[absintheofmalaise]

Hi, I'm Kyle, new to SOSH. Born in Michigan (Tiger fan), I started watching the Sox during their 2003 run, and upon watching highlights of the Boone homer, I thought, does this happen all the time? Needless to say, I learned of SOSH after reading Bill Simmons' book on the Red Sox (I thought it was a great book by the way). After two titles, I am very proud of the Sox despite the bandwagoners (I probably am one) and Yankee-like spending. I am also waiting for the day I can tell my kids about a team that changed a whole city (and not the 2001 Pats). Go Red Sox!

You didn't call yourself gyroballer before did you?

[panic129]

You didn't call yourself gyroballer before did you?

No. Sorry, new to this. Brought here by Simmons.

[absintheofmalaise]

No. Sorry, new to this. Brought here by Simmons.

Just messing around here. Google gyroballerkyle if you'd like.