Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Receives Death Threats from Fans, Was Called Antisemitic Slur

Since winning the 2018 World Series, the Boston Red Sox have experienced a swift decline to the depths of the American League East table, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has received much of the blame for the club's recent struggles.

Bloom, who was hired by the Red Sox in October 2019 to succeed Dave Dombrowski, has received death threats from fans and has even been called an antisemitic slur during his three years as Boston's head of baseball operations, according to Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe, who spent an entire day with the 39-year-old at Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida.

In Bloom's three seasons at the helm, the Red Sox sandwiched a run to the 2021 American League Championship Series with two last place finishes in the AL East.

The 2022 campaign was arguably the lowest point of Bloom's tenure in Boston as the Red Sox finished with a 78-84 record, fifth in the AL East. While the team finished with a 24-36 record in 2020, the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so fans weren't nearly as disappointed by the last place finish.

Beyond the disappointing performances, Bloom has been chastised by Red Sox fans for not extending the contract of franchise cornerstone Mookie Betts, instead allowing him to depart the organization in a February 2020 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The same thing happened this winter with star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who agreed to an 11-year, $280 million contract with the San Diego Padres in free agency after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Red Sox, winning two World Series titles.

While Bloom has been criticized for losing the likes of Betts and Bogaerts, among others, he still managed to lock up star third baseman Rafael Devers this offseason, signing him to a 11-year, $331 million deal.

The Red Sox also signed veteran Justin Turner, two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, three-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida this winter in hopes of improving in 2023.

Unfortunately, Boston, at best, is floating somewhere between being a lower-tier playoff contender and repeating as one of the AL East's worst clubs this year.

With other Boston teams, such as the NHL's Bruins and NBA's Celtics, sitting atop their respective leagues with legitimate title hopes, Bloom and the Red Sox have a lot of pressure to right the ship and get back on track.