SURVIVE & ADVANCE
How the partnership between CBO Bloom, manager Cora helped Red Sox reach ALCS
BOSTON — Chaim Bloom wasn’t prepared.
The Red Sox chief baseball officer is by nature a worrier. He tries to plan for all scenarios, particularly worst-case ones.
His obsession with depth in case of injury or underperformance is a testament to that trait. His examination of topics tends to be exhaustive to ensure that he is not shocked by anything.
Yet after Game 162 of the season, with his team having just secured passage to the postseason with a comeback win over the Nationals in Washington, Bloom’s sense of anticipation faltered.
He was scrambling to change into clothes suitable for champagne-induced annihilation. He’d had time to throw on Red Sox gym shorts and a T-shirt, but before he could put on sneakers he was told that manager Alex Cora wanted him on hand as his team popped bottles.
Bloom, in bare feet, thought Cora merely wanted him in the clubhouse. Instead, Cora praised his steady leadership and offered a gesture:
“We give the lineup card to who deserves it: Chaim Bloom,” Cora pronounced.
The clubhouse erupted as champagne sprayed. The moment, which was broadcast by the Red Sox Twitter account, inspired delight and tongue-in-cheek alarm among team officials.
While the Red Sox are now preparing for the American League Championship Series, just four wins from advancing to the World Series, it’s been a challenging year.
They matched a franchise record by using 56 players and set one by employing 33 pitchers (not counting the four position players who pitched). Their trade deadline — when they added an injured All-star (Kyle Schwarber) as well