2015 Boston Red Sox Media Guide

576 pages. Illustrations (most in color). The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. The Red Sox have won eight World Series championships and have played in 12. Founded in 1901 as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox' home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908. They then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, dubbed the "Curse of the Bambino" after its alleged beginning with the Red Sox' sale of Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees two years after their world championship in 1918, an 86-year wait before the team's sixth World Championship in 2004. The team's history during that period was punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, including Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" in 1946, the "Impossible Dream" of 1967, Carlton Fisk's home run in 1975, and Bill Buckner's error in 1986. Red Sox history has also been marked by the team's intense rivalry with the Yankees, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports. Excerpts from an article by Gordon Edes of ESPN on the 2015 Boston Red Sox Media Guide: [I had] an opportunity to spend some time with the 2015 Red Sox media guide, which features a great cover shot of David Ortiz flanked by Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, all three looking relaxed and as happy as can be. . The inside cover is a full-page tribute to Dick Bresciani, who served the club for 42 years in a variety of PR capacities and served as the organization's institutional memory. The press box at Fenway Park is being renamed in honor of Bresh, and rightly so. Beyond that, here are a few things culled from flipping through the pages that caught my attention: ? Raquel Ferreira, who has been with the team for 17 years, is beginning her first year as the team's vice president/baseball administration, which makes her only the third woman to hold a vice president's position in baseball operations in Major League Baseball. . .? Dr. Charles Steinberg, maestro of some of the team's biggest on-field celebrations, was first hired as an intern by the Baltimore Orioles at age 17. His internship was arranged by Jack Dunn III, grandson of the man who hired Babe Ruth. . .? Assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez spent 19 seasons as a player in professional baseball after being hired by the Orioles in 1977 at the age of 15. He had nearly 7,000 plate appearances (6,985) in the minors, 28 in the big leagues. . ? Brock Holt was the first big league rookie since George "Possum" Whitted in 1913 to start games at seven different positions. Whitted played with Charlie Grimm on the 1920 Pirates. Grimm played with Phil Cavarretta on the 1936 Cubs. Cavarretta played with Minnie Minoso on the 1954 White Sox. Minoso played with Harold Baines on the 1980 White Sox. Baines played with John McDonald on the 1999 Indians. McDonald played with Holt on the 2013 Red Sox. . ? Among pitchers with at least 400 innings, Edward Mujica's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.8 is the best in major-league history. Mujica has 393 strikeouts, 82 walks. Jonathan Papelbon (4.5, 721, 159) is second. . .? David Ortiz's biography in the media guide runs 15 pages. Here's one tidbit: He is entering his 13th season with the Sox, tied with Chase Utley of the Phillies for longest continuous tenure with one team among active players. . ? The last Red Sox player to play in all 162 games in a season was Dwight Evans in 1984." Presumed first edition, first printing thus. …