As the media and some players ramp up their criticism of the Sox approach this offseason, I thought it might be a good time to dig into this issue. And apologies if Speier or anyone had done a good, fair deep dive into the status of the Red Sox and the approach of FSG – if so, I haven’t seen it.
Anyway, I spoke with my father about this yesterday morning. Both of us are lifelong Sox fans and maybe more confused about the last 5 years than angry as some fans and posters seem to be here. But we tried to piece together what the thinking has been from Henry et al’s perspective and why they’ve taken this approach since 2019. And we came around to believing that while they are clearly trying to “save money” they likely aren’t being “cheap” so much as frugal.
If you were the CFO or CIO of FSG and you looked at the Red Sox as a brand and asset, you almost certainly look at it as an expensive one. The park is the smallest in baseball. Their titles have all been won with a top 2-5 payroll. And as you contemplate how many resources to sink into this asset and grow it, you also have to consider a very devoted fan base which has not seen dramatic drop-off in the years they’ve come in last (2012, 2014, and 2015, and again in 2020, 2022, and 2023). Maybe fan interest will eventually diminish but it hasn’t yet.
We also concluded that the firing of Dombrowski was likely an inflection point. While the Sale contract seemed lousy the minute it was signed, the broader issue seemed to be that ownership made a conscious decision that they would no longer pay a premium to win. Or at least, in the wake of the 2019 season—where they ran it back to no avail and had Mookie’s contract staring at them—they wanted to explore what happened if they didn't pay a premium. And sure enough, in 2021 they were two wins away from going to another WS, validating that less-is-more approach.
Which brings us to today. FSG from a pure business standpoint likely views the Red Sox as a somewhat profitable asset in the toughest division in baseball. What does additional investment bring them? More wins? Enough to compete in the playoffs? More marketable stars? Maybe. Meanwhile there are other teams and investments within the FSG to consider, many with potentially better odds of winning – and possibly much better odds of providing a better ROI.
Does that mean Henry “doesn’t care about the Red Sox”? It’s hard to believe. He has been through 4 emotional titles with this team. He runs the local paper. He knows what this team means to Boston.
But, lest we forget, the man is an investor first, sports owner second and fan a probably distant third. Which is likely why going back to at least Lester he has always—always—seemed to chafe at the idea that other teams can compete on a shoestring budget while he has to pay for performance. Henry may well view paying big dollars to compete as a failure of sorts – perhaps even more so than coming in last, which seems to bother him a lot less than many fans and the media. And now, after 4 titles and the emergence of the FSG and other considerations, he may have felt like he finally had the chance to run the team without the monkey of competing with the Yankees (who aren’t doing that much either) on their backs. So he invests modestly in the farm and bides his time, prioritizing the long term and flexibility over the here and now.
This is kind of rambling I know. But as we begin year 5 of this “winning isn’t everything” approach, I am intrigued by the idea of trying to figure out why Henry has chosen to go this route and what some of the drivers behind it are. Again after 4 titles as a fan I’m less angry than a bit confused. But as a YouTube TV subscriber I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t considering just not bothering with NESN this summer at $30/mo.
Anyway, I spoke with my father about this yesterday morning. Both of us are lifelong Sox fans and maybe more confused about the last 5 years than angry as some fans and posters seem to be here. But we tried to piece together what the thinking has been from Henry et al’s perspective and why they’ve taken this approach since 2019. And we came around to believing that while they are clearly trying to “save money” they likely aren’t being “cheap” so much as frugal.
If you were the CFO or CIO of FSG and you looked at the Red Sox as a brand and asset, you almost certainly look at it as an expensive one. The park is the smallest in baseball. Their titles have all been won with a top 2-5 payroll. And as you contemplate how many resources to sink into this asset and grow it, you also have to consider a very devoted fan base which has not seen dramatic drop-off in the years they’ve come in last (2012, 2014, and 2015, and again in 2020, 2022, and 2023). Maybe fan interest will eventually diminish but it hasn’t yet.
We also concluded that the firing of Dombrowski was likely an inflection point. While the Sale contract seemed lousy the minute it was signed, the broader issue seemed to be that ownership made a conscious decision that they would no longer pay a premium to win. Or at least, in the wake of the 2019 season—where they ran it back to no avail and had Mookie’s contract staring at them—they wanted to explore what happened if they didn't pay a premium. And sure enough, in 2021 they were two wins away from going to another WS, validating that less-is-more approach.
Which brings us to today. FSG from a pure business standpoint likely views the Red Sox as a somewhat profitable asset in the toughest division in baseball. What does additional investment bring them? More wins? Enough to compete in the playoffs? More marketable stars? Maybe. Meanwhile there are other teams and investments within the FSG to consider, many with potentially better odds of winning – and possibly much better odds of providing a better ROI.
Does that mean Henry “doesn’t care about the Red Sox”? It’s hard to believe. He has been through 4 emotional titles with this team. He runs the local paper. He knows what this team means to Boston.
But, lest we forget, the man is an investor first, sports owner second and fan a probably distant third. Which is likely why going back to at least Lester he has always—always—seemed to chafe at the idea that other teams can compete on a shoestring budget while he has to pay for performance. Henry may well view paying big dollars to compete as a failure of sorts – perhaps even more so than coming in last, which seems to bother him a lot less than many fans and the media. And now, after 4 titles and the emergence of the FSG and other considerations, he may have felt like he finally had the chance to run the team without the monkey of competing with the Yankees (who aren’t doing that much either) on their backs. So he invests modestly in the farm and bides his time, prioritizing the long term and flexibility over the here and now.
This is kind of rambling I know. But as we begin year 5 of this “winning isn’t everything” approach, I am intrigued by the idea of trying to figure out why Henry has chosen to go this route and what some of the drivers behind it are. Again after 4 titles as a fan I’m less angry than a bit confused. But as a YouTube TV subscriber I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t considering just not bothering with NESN this summer at $30/mo.
