Jonathan Papelbon holds the rare distinction of being the all-time saves leader for two franchises - the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
However, Papelbon left a Red Sox team that was an annual World Series contender after the 2011 season to join a Phillies team that had been one in the preceding seasons. But while Papelbon was excellent statistically in three-and-a-half seasons with Phillies, the team never posted a winning record during the lifespan of his four-year/$50 million deal.
That acknowledged, the six-time All-Star says that he doesn't have any regrets about leaving Boston after parts of seven seasons, and his reasoning is pretty funny.
"No, there were no regrets because as ya'll well know, Bobby Valentine showed up the next year - and I don't necessarily know if [that would have worked out]," Papelbon admitted to Ben Ennis and JD Bunkis of Sportsnet.
"I don't know if that would have really worked out. I had Dustin Pedroia calling me every other day bitching and complaining."
Valentine - who had previously managed the New York Mets to an appearance in the 2000 World Series - replaced Terry Francona as Red Sox skipper following a second-half collapse in 2011. For all that went wrong late in 2011, the Red Sox still won 90 games. A year later, under Valentine, they finished in last place in the American League East, going 69-93. Valentine was fired after just one season.
That the players weren't fond of Valentine in 2012 isn't exactly a revelation. Pedroia was forced to deny a report late in the season that he had been part of a group of players who told management that they no longer wanted to play for Valentine. Red Sox icon David Ortiz said in his 2017 book that the year under Valentine was "the worst season of my career," despite the fact that he personally slashed .318/.415/.611 that season.
The Red Sox made quite a few veteran additions - Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes - before the 2013 season, but it stands to reason that their biggest move that offseason was hiring anyone else but Valentine to manage. John Farrell was hired to manage the team, and in his first season at the helm, the Red Sox won 97 games and a World Series title.
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