How Bad Was The 2022 Red Sox Clubhouse?

Was the clubhouse of the 2022 Red Sox toxic? It was almost the exact same group of guys as the 2021 team — and anyone who saw them bopping around to one of the premier queer anthems of recent years would assume they got along great. But nevertheless, Kiké Hernandez (no one’s idea of a clubhouse cancer) had some interesting words on the subject when he spoke to Chris Rose, calling Justin Turner “a guy that’s going to help turn around that clubhouse” and then going a bit further:

We’re going to look a lot different this year and we need it. I felt that we needed some guys that were not just good on the field but had the ability to change the culture in the clubhouse. And I know for a fact that’s a guy that can do that.

The quote took a lot of people by surprise, especially in light of the fact that principal departures —guys like Xander Bogaerts, Nate Eovaldi, Christian Vazquez, and Matt Barnes — have never really had bad reputations.

On this week’s episode of the Over The Monster Podcast, Dan and Bryan dig into it, wondering whether the team had bad chemistry, or was just bad.

Then, they discuss some of the most infamous “clubhouse cancers” in Red Sox history. They talk about the time Babe Ruth punched an umpire after just four pitches, whether Manny Ramirez really could have been as bad as so many of teammates say he was in light of how much his teams won throughout his career, and they drill into some childhood trauma as they revisit the end of the Nomar era.

As always, thanks for listening.