Sox... Outsider?

Welcome to a fun and informative place!

I remember what it felt like when I first stepped inside Fenway Park. I remember the greenest green of the grass and the reddest red of the seats, and the way the left field wall towered over everything. I remember the players in their home uniforms, white marbles bouncing around on a fresh grass carpet. I even remember the Prudential Center looming over right field. Years later I moved to Boston (though certainly not because of the Red Sox, no no) and I could see the Pru out of the window of my apartment, lit up at night. It felt like I’d made it, like I’d accomplished something just by being there. Also, I could walk from my front door to see Pedro Martinez pitch. Fast forward another decade or so and I rerouted an entire family vacation to fly my kids across the country for their first Red Sox game at Fenway Park because I knew this would likely be their only chance to see David Ortiz in person. Big Papi was nice enough to homer in the first inning.

I find it helps to feel passionate about the subject you are writing about. I’ve been passionate about the Red Sox for more years than I care to admit. During a large chunk of that time I’ve also been a working baseball writer at numerous places (The Athletic, Vice, FanGraphs, BP, SoE, the list goes on). Often the pieces I’ve enjoyed writing most have been about the Red Sox. Now, here, I will get to write about the Red Sox all the time. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Just writing this paragraph I’ve had to get up and walk around the room a few times. This is great!

This is the first post at Sox Outsider, a newsletter/website about the Boston Red Sox written by Matthew Kory (me!). I plan on writing here frequently, at least three times a week and hopefully more often than that. At Sox Outsider, I’m going to analyze and discuss the Red Sox, specific players, the division and the AL, the draft, the minor league system, the front office, free agents, the lot. I plan on having fun - not everything requires hard analysis. One thing I hope sets my writing apart is a sense of humor, which is something that people with a sense of humor definitely say. I plan on interviewing people who know about the Red Sox, both here and on the soon-to-be-launched Sox Outsider Podcast, which you’ll be able to get right here at Sox Outsider.

So let’s talk about the name. Why “Sox Outsider?” The short version is I live in Portland, Oregon, and you can’t get much more outside Boston than that. Google Maps tells me I’m 3,039 miles from Fenway Park, so that qualifies me as an outsider. That distance isn’t a bad thing (though I do love and miss Boston). Because I live outside the Boston sports bubble, I have a different, longer, less reactionary viewpoint on the Red Sox. That outside perspective allows me to see the team through a unique lens, one you won’t find elsewhere.

So that’s it. That’s the pitch. I’m going to be writing here about the Red Sox. I hope you read and subscribe. I hope you post a comment. I hope you tell a few friends about Sox Outsider. But mostly I hope you find it interesting, occasionally funny, and worth your time.

There’s a lot to come and I couldn’t be more excited about all of it. So please, read, enjoy, subscribe, tell your friends about Sox Outsider, and don’t be a stranger. Thanks. I appreciate it.