The Red Sox on the day of Tom Brady’s first start

We are without baseball for an indefinite period of time, which has made my job of thinking about things to write a very difficult challenge. Not that I expect anyone to cry for me because there are about 1000000 other things more important than that in the world right now, but still. Anway, Tom Brady announced on the ol’ Twitter machine this morning that he was going to leave the Patriots in free agency, though he hasn’t said to which team he will go as of this writing. Not everyone here is a Patriots fan, but I think it’s fair to assume most of our readers are. Boston sports has now lost Brady and Mookie Betts within roughly month, which is not ideal!

So, I say all of that combined with whining about not having things to write about because, well, you didn’t think I’d let this go by without squeezing out some of that sweet, sweet Red Sox-related content, did you? Don’t be ridiculous.

Tom Brady made his first start with the Patriots was on September 30, 2001. That was a really long time ago! Yours truly was in fifth grade! The Red Sox, meanwhile, were still a few years away from that 2004 championship, and on that date were finishing up a rough year that saw them win 82 games and miss the playoffs. Let’s take a quick look back at their game that day to appreciate just how long ago it was, shall we?

So, first, the basics. Boston beat Detroit on the road by a score of 8-5 to bring their record to a perfectly even 77-77. Frank Castillo, who sadly passed away in 2013, started and got the win. Ugueth Urbina, who four years later would be arrested and convicted of attempted murder after attacking farmers while wieding a machete and pouring gasoline on them in attempt to set them on fire, got the save. The Red Sox lineup that day was as follows:

1. José Offerman, 2B

2. Darren Lewis, LF

3. Trot Nixon, CF

4. Brian Daubach, RF

5. Morgan Burkhart, 1B

6. Scott Hatteberg, DH

7. Shea Hillenbrand, 3B

8. Doug Mirabelli, C

9. Lou Merloni, SS

I mean, talk about remembering some guys. Offerman was a turn-of-the-century staple for the Red Sox lineup, and he also ended up having some violence issues of his own. He was banned from the Dominican Winter League for a few years after attacking an umpire. Trot Nixon was the favorite player of just about everyone from my generation for at least some period of time in their childhood. Brian Daubach was going to be the next big thing. Scott Hatteberg is most famous at this point for being played by Chris Pratt. Shea Hillenbrand battled for a Rookie of the Year with Alfonso Soriano. Doug Mirabelli got a police escort to a game. Lou Merloni has a radio show now. Nixon and Mirabelli, for what it’s worth, each hit homers in the game too. You can see the box score here.

Anyway, yeah. It’s been a long time since Tom Brady has been on a team that wasn’t the Patriots, and that’s extremely evident looking at this Red Sox lineup from the day of his first start with the Patriots.