Mookie Betts: Liverpool owners spark fury by agreeing to trade Boston Red Sox’s star player to rivals LA Dodgers
While Liverpool are finally set to end their long wait for a Premier League title, things don’t seem so rosy red for their owners across the pond.
Liverpool’s takeover by Boston-based Fenway Sports Group will rightly go down in history as the turning point of the Reds’ rise from mid-2010s mediocrity back to the big time.
They are now six-time European champions and soon-to-be 19-time champions of England after 30 years of waiting.
The same can also be said for John W Henry’s takeover of Boston Red Sox, as he helped a member of North American’s sporting royalty to reclaim their throne.
But that dynasty may now be about the crumble again with claims the Red Sox are set to cash in on their most valuable player – Mookie Betts.
Baseball was shaken by that Boston has agreed to a blockbuster trade that will send Betts (their top star) and David Price (no, not the boxer, he’s a left-handed pitcher on a seven-year $217million contract) to Los Angeles Dodgers.
The reports are still unconfirmed, but it means the Red Sox could start spring training – the MLB’s pre-season – without their star man and even without a head coach, after manager Alex Cora was axed over the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal ().
And they’re selling to a direct rival. Well not a direct rival, the Dodgers play in the National League while the Sox are in the American League, but they are gunning for the World Series this season, having been beaten in post-season by eventual winners Washington Nationals last year. They are also the team the Red Sox beat in their most recent World Series win.
It’s the footballing equivalent of Liverpool selling Mohamed Salah to Manchester City, or Kevin De Bruyne going the other way. Sort of.
And, according to the reports by ESPN, it’s so Henry can bring down the Red Sox’s wage bill for tax reasons - so it's like a football club cashing in on their top player to comply with Financial Fair Play.
And Red Sox fans are angry, very angry.
A tale of two cities
There are big - and sort of spooky - comparisons between the journeys of the English and American giants under FSG's ownership.
Liverpool were the dominant force in English football for the best part of two decades, winning 11 league titles and four European Cups in 19 seasons in the 70s and 80s, but then their crown slipped.
However, while the Anfield faithful have waited 30 years to be crowned champions again, spare a thought for Red Sox fans who had to wait a full generation, 86 years, between their fifth and six championships.
It was a drought made famous by the infamous ‘Curse of the Bambino’ which superstitious fans – of which there are many in baseball – believed began with the sale of all-star player Babe Ruth to fierce rivals New York Yankees in 1918.
Sox fans would be forgiven for thinking John W Henry is just about to commit the same crime.
Why now?
Just two years after Henry and Tom Werner’s 2002 takeover, after one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, the Red Sox were World Series champions again in 2004.
Their impact was remarkable, as they took on the revolutionary ‘moneyball’ concept, and after finally breaking their duck they claimed further titles in 2007, 2013 and 2018 – becoming the first team to win four World Series titles in the 21st century.
That 2018 win was spearheaded by Betts, who became the first player in Major League history to win the MVP award, Silver Slugger [best offensive player], Golden Glove [best fielder], batting title [best batting average] and World Series all in the same season.
He is easily Boston’s star man and is widely regarded as one of the top two players in the whole of Major League Baseball – the other being Mike Trout of LA Angels.
They're the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of baseball, if you will, and the Red Sox are selling their Messi to balance the books (or Ronaldo, depending on whose side you take in the GOAT debate).
Some baseball followers have seen this coming.
Betts is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2020 season, it wasn't a sure thing he would sign a new deal with Boston anyway and it’s estimated his next contract could see him become a $400million player. Woof.
Meanwhile, Henry has been indicating his intention to slice costs for a while and even those who aren’t avid baseball fans, and have only watched Moneyball, know the FSG chief is a stickler for running a tight ship, financially.
He’ll only splash the cash if he’s confident of getting a return.
Developing a player from a fifth round draft pick to one of the best in the game has served the Red Sox well, but Betts is now so big that they don’t believe they can afford to keep him, and certainly not tie him down to a new $400m contract.
And this has, as you'd expect, not gone down well with fans, many of whom have accused FSG of prioritising profits over the team winning on the field.
How Liverpool can become even stronger by SELLING Mo Salah, according to ex-England striker
Why Liverpool fans should take notice
While the goings on in Boston have little effect on Liverpool right now, it serves as a warning that their owners aren't afraid to cash in on their best assets if it makes sense financially.
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane were all bought in cut-priced deals, and they are now three of the most coveted attackers in Europe.
Each of them have been linked with huge moves to Spain, with Real Madrid and Barcelona always on the hunt for the next star player.
Could the Reds’ prized attacking trio become too big for Anfield? Remember, it was only two years ago when Philippe Countino was shafted when Barca came calling.
While Liverpool are enjoying a new era of success under manager Jurgen Klopp – and potentially record-breaking success at that – what’s currently happening to the Red Sox should remind supporters to enjoy this moment, to relish it, to breathe it in, while it lasts.
After all, they only have to look at Manchester United to see how quickly things can change.