This past weekend, the Boston Red Sox held their annual “Winter Weekend” to kick off the 2023 season.
But when Principal Owner John Henry and President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom were introduced, the crowd was none too pleased, as they showered both executives with boos.
And Henry didn’t exactly do himself any favors when he made a rather controversial statement about the team’s payroll and what it would take for the team to potentially add some pieces.
Henry drew the ire of Red Sox fans when he stated that in order to increase the payroll, higher ticket prices would be required.
John Henry, principal of an ownership group valued at almost $10B, just tried to tell an arena full of Red Sox fans that high ticket prices are necessary to field high payrolls.
You can guess how that played.
— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) January 21, 2023
As you can imagine, that didn’t go over too well with the fans.
The Red Sox have made some key moves this offseason, but fans were really hoping to see Xander Bogaerts return to the team.
Their offer was nowhere close to what the San Diego Padres offered him, and the star shortstop bolted for San Diego.
Among the moves the team has made are the signings of Masataka Yoshida, Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, Corey Kluber, and Kenley Jansen.
But fans feel like more could be done to improve the team.
And if the team isn’t going to improve, then Henry’s comments about higher ticket prices may come back to haunt him.
An underachieving team and higher ticket prices would give fans plenty of reasons not to show up to Fenway Park in 2023.
Red Sox fans are loyal to their team, but frustrations are mounting within the fanbase as they demand a change.
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