"The greatest part of that trade was ..."
Even though it is now just over 10 years later, the epic deal involving the Red Sox and Dodgers is still a talker. When you're dealing with one of the biggest transactions in Major League Baseball history, that will often happen.
So, when one half of the package sent by the Red Sox to Los Angeles - Josh Beckett and Nick Punto - joined the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast to react to Game 4 of the World Series, there was going to obviously be some reflection.
But couldn't be anticipated was Beckett revealing a previously unknown piece of the deal. The former Sox pitcher explained:
(Listen to Beckett's story at 28:09 of the following clip.)
Beckett: "The greatest part of that trade was when they had that deal finalized and Ben Cherington called everybody but me. And I had a no-trade clause. You know the story, Nick?"
Punto: "No."
Beckett: "They called everybody because it was a done deal, except me. Ben Cherington then called me and I said, ‘No, I don’t want to go because of the taxes in California … I said, ‘No, I’m not going to go because of the taxes.’ Carl Crawford called me and said, ‘I will pay your (expletive) taxes.’ I said, ‘That’s exactly what I wanted you to call me and tell me.’ I didn’t let him do it, but I just wanted him to call me and have him tell me he was going to pay my taxes. … I don’t even know if it’s possible to pay somebody else’s taxes.
"You never heard that story? That’s absolutely 100 percent true. Call Ben Cherington. That was the deal-breaker. Carl Crawford calling me to tell me he was paying my taxes. … It’s a true story."
Ultimately, the deal went down ...
Red Sox got: James Loney, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands.
Dodgers got: Beckett, Punto, Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.
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