The 2018 Red Sox were known to have one of the closest clubhouses in recent franchise history, an incredibly talented group whose ability was amplified by its off-field closeness. <\/p>\n
But on occasion, manager Alex Cora has mentioned that not everything was perfect in a year that netted a franchise-record 108 regular-season victories and a World Series championship. One former player offered a startling illustration of that point.<\/p>\n
In an appearance on the \u201cSection 10\u2033 podcast<\/a>, 2018 alum Brock Holt said a member of that team, whom Holt declined to identify, startled teammates with an unsettling statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were stretching. We were in Tampa and we were stretching before [batting practice], and we were all in a circle having a good old time, just stretching and getting ready for a major league baseball game, and this someone looks around at all of us and says, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m going to bring a gun to the field tomorrow and kill all of you.\u2019 And then he looks at me and says, \u2018And you\u2019re going to be first,\u2019 \u201d recounted Holt. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Dude, I know you\u2019re probably joking, but you can\u2019t say that.\u2019 We\u2019re all like, \u2018Dude, we\u2019re having fun here.\u2019 It brings the vibe down, man.<\/p>\n Get Starting Point<\/p>\n A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cOur strength coach at the time is like, \u2018Dude, I\u2019ve got to tell [then-president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski].\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Please do, because I\u2019m the first one that\u2019s going to go.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n In the same podcast discussion, Holt offered some hints as to the identity of the player.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some people I preferred not be on the team,\u201d said Holt. \u201cWe had a guy or two like that in \u201918, and we got rid of them and we took off. I think you can guess who it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, after a three-game series in Tampa Bay from May 22-24, the Sox released Hanley Ramirez immediately upon returning to Fenway Park. Dombrowski and Cora met with Ramirez at 3:45 a.m. At the time, the team described the move as a baseball decision to get more at-bats for first baseman Mitch Moreland (who made the All-Star team that year) and to keep catcher Blake Swihart on the roster, but Holt\u2019s account suggests other considerations may have been in play.<\/p>\n Holt\u2019s account of the incident was confirmed on X<\/a> by former Red Sox assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett.<\/p>\n Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @alexspeier<\/a>.<\/p>\n