Which transaction this offseason will be key to unlocking a World Series title in 2021?
Every champion can point to an important move, whether it’s a blockbuster trade, a splashy free-agent signing or an under-the-radar pickup whose full impact is only revealed months later. Here is a look back at the biggest addition made by each of the past 26 World Series winners, since the beginning of the Wild Card Era. (This list only includes moves made during the prior offseason; crucial Trade Deadline deals are a different conversation).
2020 Dodgers: Traded for RF Mookie Betts
If you can’t beat him, acquire him. So it went for the Dodgers, who fell to Betts’ Red Sox in the 2018 World Series one of seven straight seasons in which L.A. fell short of a championship after winning the National League West. When Betts became available heading into his final season before free agency, the Dodgers pounced. It took some time, including a three-way deal with the Twins that fell through, bu
December 21st, 2020
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BOSTON, MA Colorado Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 Tony Conigliaro Award. The award has been given every year since 1990 in memory of the former Red Sox outfielder, whose career was tragically shortened by a beanball in 1967 and whose life ended in 1990 at the age of 45. It is awarded to a “Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony C.”
Voting was conducted by a 15-person committee comprised of media members, Major League Baseball executives, Red Sox officials, and Conigliaro’s brothers, Richie and Billy.
December 17, 2020
The fact that Andy Haines has been coaching for close to two decades doesn’t make him unique among his contemporaries. But his background does differ. Two years into his tenure as the hitting coach of the Milwaukee Brewers, Haines is just 43 years old. He’s either been coaching or managing for basically his entire adult life.
Haines earned a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University, and since that time he’s tutored players in independent ball, at every level of the minors including as a coordinator and more recently in the majors. An assistant hitting coach with the Chicago Cubs in 2018, where he worked alongside Chili Davis, Haines was hired into his current role by the Brewers in November of that same year.