Today in Red Sox History: February 8

Welcome to a new feature we’re going to be trying here at Over the Monster, at least to get us through the lockout and perhaps beyond. I’m totally stealing an idea from our sister site at Talking Chop here, so shoutout to them for coming up with this. But basically, we’ll be running through what today means in Boston Red Sox history. We’ll look back at a handful of past OTM posts from this day in history, as well as some notable Red Sox-specific events and Red Sox-related birthdays. We hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane.

Today in OTM History

2021: Why I love the Garrett Richards signing; This deal didn’t work out and Richards didn’t stick in the rotation all season, but it wasn’t a disaster of a signing either.

2019: Jay Groome voted number five prospect; And he remains an enigma of a prospect, though he’s not going to be in the top five this year.

2017: PECOTA projects Boston to win the AL East; And they did just that!

2016: Anderson Espinoza voted number four prospect; Espinoza’s career has been derailed by injuries since being traded for Drew Pomeranz, but he’s still only 23. He’s now with the Chicago Cubs organization.

2013: What getting there early means for the Red Sox; It seems Mr. Kory was on to something with this one.

Today in Red Sox History

2011: Red Sox sign Alfredo Aceves to a one-year deal; And the city of Boston was changed forever due to His presence.

2006: Johnny Damon takes out a full-page ad to thank Boston after leaving for the New York Yankees; I don’t think it worked on everyone, tbh.

1991: Roger Clemens signs a four-year extension to stay in Boston; He’d win the Cy Young that year and finish third in ‘92.

1940: Red Sox sell Elden Auker to the St. Louis Browns; Auker had spent one disappointing year in the Red Sox rotation before finishing his career in St. Louis, where he’d receive MVP votes in his first two seasons there.

Today in Red Sox birthdays

Happy 43rd birthday to Aaron Cook, who finished his career in Boston with an absurd 1.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 18 starts during the 2012 season.

Happy would-be 101st birthday to Hoot Evers, who spent parts of three seasons in Boston in the early 50s, including a solid season as an everyday outfielder in ‘52.

Happy 39th birthday to Burke Badenhop, who had the best season of his career with a 2.29 ERA in 2014, his only season with Boston.

Happy 71st birthday to Steve Dillard, who was Boston’s second round pick in 1972 and spent his first three seasons in the majors here before being traded to the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1978 season.

Many thanks to Baseball-Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History for assistance here. Also thanks again to Talking Chop for the inspiration for these posts.