For Hispanic heritage month my son (13 years old) is writing a report on Pedro Martinez.

Everyone can find the usual info about players. Do you have some interesting tidbits to help his report stand out?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Edit and update:

​A huge thank you to everyone who shared those awesome Pedro Martinez stories—as a die-hard Red Sox fan, my son thought he knew all the lore, but your suggestions gave him some fantastic new rabbit holes to investigate himself to give his report that extra kick!

(Rest assured, I’m just pointing him toward the rabbit holes—he’s doing all the actual digging!)

For years, many an aging Boston Red Sox fan has wondered why two of the team’s late, legendary play-by-play announcers — Ken Coleman and Ned Martin — haven’t been honored by the Hall of Fame.

Coleman, who broadcast Sox games from 1966 to 1974 and 1979 to 1989, along with stints with the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Browns, was the guy with the booming voice, especially when calling a home run or a great catch. For Martin, who did Sox games from 1961 to 1992, his calling card was understatement and a dry wit. Not only were these men great announcers, but they will be forever remembered as the play-by-play chroniclers of Boston’s 1967 pennant-winning “Impossible Dream” season.

But in a turn of events that must be tying many Boston Boomers up in knots, Coleman and Martin are among 10 finalists for the Hall’s 2027 Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Martin, who died in 2002, was nominated five times previously, most recently in 2020. Coleman, who died in 2023, was nominated seven times, but not since 2013.

This is the first time Coleman and Martin have been on the same ballot, and it’s hard to imagine someone who came of age with the ’67 Red Sox having to make that choice. It would be akin to that old “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketch on “Saturday Night Live,” in which uber-obsessed Chicago sports fans must choose between Mike Ditka and Michael Jordan.

Thankfully, fans don’t vote for the Frick Award. That chore will be handled by the 14 living Frick Award recipients and two broadcast historians/columnists. You can read about the candidates here.

Read the rest for free here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7727453/2026/10/27/red-sox-announcers-hall-of-fame-ken-coleman-ned-martin/?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.K9hE.3WPSPvE4v4id&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

While it seems as if the team will ride Trevor Story until he’s either hurt again or Franklin Arias pushes him out (or both), is Curtis Mead going to be “The Guy” at second base? Or will they finally, earnestly, try to find someone who can play the position to the level we haven’t seen since Dustin Pedroia? — Lou G.

When the Red Sox traded for Mead over the summer, it was mostly for his bat, not his defense, which has graded below average in four big-league seasons. Mead had a breakout year at the plate with 17 homers and 17 doubles in 84 games. The Red Sox planned to pencil him in at second base because they didn’t have a full-time second baseman, but Mead has spent the majority of his career at third base (110 big-league games and 248 minor-league games). He does have some experience at second (49 games in the majors, 80 in the minors), but spent most of 2026 with the Washington Nationals at third (48 games) and first (34 games).

He projects as Boston’s second baseman, but there is a possible scenario in which the Red Sox shift him to designated hitter with Arias at short and Story at second (or vice versa), Caleb Durbin at third and Willson Contreras at first. That would, of course, mean a trade elsewhere. Roman Anthony has taken the majority of the DH at-bats of late while splitting time with Jarren Duran in left field. Trading Duran would open left field for Anthony on a more regular basis. That seems like the likeliest scenario for now in this alignment, given Duran can still be a productive player and is set to make $11.1 million in arbitration next year.

The Red Sox could try to trade Story (who’s owed $25 million in 2027) and start Arias at short, keeping Mead at second, Anthony at DH and Duran in left. I have a feeling they’ll examine multiple options to see what trades make the most sense. We also haven’t even mentioned Masataka Yoshida, who started as DH in 62 games last year before a severe hamstring strain ended his season. Once again, finding a trade partner for his final year under contract, in which he’s owed $18.6 million, might be tough, but it will be on the table. He could also remain in a bench role as he did for parts of last season.

I know Duran had a terrible year, but he was great the year before, and incredible the year before that. Can he recover the ability he showed before? I worry we move him for peanuts and end up regretting it. — Anonymous

Duran has been in Red Sox trade rumors for three years now, but it seems like this issue is coming to a head with how crowded the roster is getting. The Red Sox didn’t trade Duran last winter and Anthony missed most of the year, so their initial issue of four outfielders for three spots mostly resolved itself. It feels less likely they can afford that setup for 2027.

Arias’ impending arrival and Mead’s fit continue to force the issue of a trade. Duran, of course, is coming off his worst offensive season, going from a 9.0 bWAR player in 2024 to 4.0 bWAR in 2025 to 0.4 bWAR in 2026. There have still been glimpses of his potential — he had 20 homers and 21 stolen bases last year — but clearly there needs to be more. If the Red Sox can trade Duran for a solid reliever or starting depth option, they would consider that a win. Trading him alone isn’t going to land a marquee player, but adding to an area of need on the roster while freeing up space for other players seems like the way to go.

Read the rest here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7718311/2026/10/27/red-sox-jarren-duran-trade-curtis-mead/?unlocked_article_code=1.L1E.bEcd.sUCIIpfRI65Q&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

But very happy for him. Incredibly well deserved. It really is musical chairs with some relievers these days. High variance season to season.

Seems like the Sox are becoming better at doing similar things with diamonds in the rough. The sort of thing that leads to not being afraid to trade some of them when they are at a high value.

The baseball offseason will begin in earnest after the World Series, and it’s expected to be a weird one. With the collective bargaining agreement expiring Dec. 1, a lockout seems all but certain.

The Boston Red Sox and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow have a lot of work to do this winter to improve a roster that has incumbent players penciled in at every position. As we approach the offseason, we asked for your questions and broke them up into a two-part mailbag.

Here, we’ll consider an Adley Rutschman extension, Triston Casas’ future in Boston, Franklin Arias’ trade value and more.

In part two, we’ll dig into Jarren Duran’s future, free-agent hitters the club might pursue and how the Red Sox could address their roster crunch.

Read for free:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7717674/2026/10/26/red-sox-offseason-rutschman-lockout/?unlocked_article_code=1.LlE.dVyJ.hKSuMnwzk735&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

I’m one of the co founders of Fandiem, and we’re helping run an auction with David Ortiz for his upcoming Weekend with Papi to benefit his David Ortiz Children’s fund.

He’s hosting his annual charity golf weekend in Palm Beach Gardens next month, and we’re auctioning off a pretty incredible experience for four people: playing in the celebrity golf tournament, meeting Papi, getting a jersey signed by him, and spending the weekend at the event.

Figured some Sox fans here might appreciate hearing about it.

Here’s the auction if anyone’s curious: fandiem.com/davidortiz

Do you think he stands a chance? He'll at least get 5% right? What are your thoughts about the upcoming ballot?

I'm hoping that it being a really weak initial ballot year might help him. Only person other than Lester noteworthy is Buster Posey. Hoping Pedroia breaks 30% this year too.

Just curious to ask the Red Sox community of how they became fans of the Red Sox

The first time I ever heard about the Red Sox myself is when I was a kid heard a little bit about them from a TV show family Guy back in 2013 also the same year they won a world series in the Red Sox is the very first team that introduced me to the MLB long before I even pick a favorite team even over the years I was fond of players including dustin pedroia,jd Martinez, and Rafael devers the only two things I ever had for a collection is a Red Sox cap and a lanyard sometimes a bit funny to get my Dad's reaction since he is a Yankees fan favorite memory of watching Red Sox game is when they knocked out the dodgers back in 2018 championship still a very good memory for me even though actually Im a San Diego Padres fan but yet the Red Sox community also had a bit of a place in my heart and where I live I have turned my back on both the Yankees and the dodgers community. But anyway I'm just curious to hear about anyone's experiences of how they became fans.

Whos is this?

He really put his body on the line, I remember seeing how his head whipped back and thinking he got a concussion.

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Wilyer Abreu talks to extend have gotten little traction! Concern?

“Abreu enjoyed his best season, setting a career high in homers and is expected to win his third consecutive Gold Glove in right field. The Red Sox have approached him about an extension before, but the talks have gotten little traction.”

This has got to be a focus for the front office.

I liked it but didn’t get the visual theme or reference to the Rays / Brewers showdown. Am I missing something?

Hey Sox fans,

You seemed to like my baseball history video yesterday on the 1903 World Series, so I wanted to share one more tease from this week’s episode. Here’s a quick dip into the teams who played: Boston vs Pittsburgh - and some of the wacky obstacles they faced on the path into the history books.

Thanks for watching! Subscribe for new episodes every Thursday for a 10-episode first season. Let me know any stories you’d like to see explored in the comments, and don’t forget to support your local libraries!

1903 Chaos: The First World Series Was a Riot
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Baseball 2027 cant come soon enough.