The Perfect Storm: Comparing the 2011 Boston Red Sox to the Doomed Andrea Gail

It was on September 20, 1991 that the Andrea Gail shipped out off the coast of Massachusetts with the highest of hopes. Like the 2011 Boston Red Sox, the crew of the Gail expected to sail deep into the month of the October, all the way to the Flemish Cap, in fact, intent on returning with enough fish to keep Red Sox fans across New England fat and happy for a good, long time to come.

It didn’t work out that way. Not for the Andrea Gail. Not for the 2011 Red Sox.

What follows is a point-by-point breakdown of the demise of the one (2011 Red Sox) in terms of the other (Andrea Gail)—based on depictions offered in the film The Perfect Storm.

1. Meet the Skippers: Billy Tyne and Tito Francona

Admittedly there are some stark differences between the men who presided over the respective disasters. Billy Tyne had a chip on his shoulder. He had something to prove—a bit too much to prove in fact. Tito acted like a man with far too little to prove. Billy Tyne was quick to verbally bitchslap any member of his crew who showed the slightest indication of going soft. Tito enabled the considerable softness in his own ranks by coddling and defending a crew of overpaid, underachieving clowns.  

Billy Tyne was restless. Tito Francona was complacent. What they had in common was a willingness to believe—even in the face of contrary evidence—that they were on the right course, that everything would work out in the end.

Key Quotes:

Tyne: “I always find the fish. Always! And I will this time. So don’t mess with me!”

Red Sox Equivalent: Francona’s generally entitled and condescending attitude, as if to say: “Calm down, you nitwit fans and media, I’ve won two rings. So don’t mess with me!”

2. The Journey Begins: Things Don't Go as Planned

Like the 2011 Red Sox, the guys on the Andrea Gail thought success was inevitable. Perhaps they thought it would come easily. But it doesn’t work that way. You have to want it. You have to earn it. And right from the get go, neither the Andrea Gail  (no fish) nor the 2011 Red Sox (2-10 start) were delivering the goods.  

Key Quotes:

Bobby Shatford: “Hey. You promised me a shitload of fish!”

Red Sox Nation: “Has Carl Crawford ever actually played baseball before?”  

3. The Hot Streak

Sometimes, though, you just can’t hold a good team down. Everything changed for the Andrea Gail when Billy Tyne busted a move and hit the motherlode at the old Flemish Cap. For the 2011 Red Sox it was a mid-May swing through Yankee Stadium that jumpstarted a 7-0/13-2 run that would get Tito and company right back in the race.  

Now we’re talking.

Key Quotes: Andrea Gail crew: “We’re gonna party at the Crow’s Nest and we’re all gonna get laid—even Bugsy with the fat redhead!”

Red Sox Nation: “Wow. Adrian Gonzalez really does look good in a Red Sox uniform, doesn’t he?”

4. The Ominous Sign

Andrea Gail: The refrigerator dies.

That damn Bob Brown! The guy who owned the Andrea Gail was a cheap, blood-sucking bastard who refused to get a new refrigerator for the boat when the old one was obviously breaking down. And when it finally died once and for all, the Gail crew faced a tough decision. Sail back home through a brutal storm while the catch is still fresh or wait out the storm and let the fish go bad.

2011 Red Sox: The rapidly spoiling John Lackey openly castigates his fielders from the mound.

That damn Theo Epstein! The guys who own the Red Sox have so much money they don’t know what to do with it! Just because John Lackey happens to be the next best thing on a weak free agent market the year after after the Yankees land Texeira doesn’t mean you have to go out and give him five years, $82.5 million. Now the 2011 Red Sox face their own difficult choice: try to bring this ship into port with the likes of John Lackey, Tim Wakefield, Andrew Miller and Eric Bedard rounding out the rotation or, I don’t know, something else maybe? Like how about making Aceves a starter?

5. Desperate Pleas from the Outside

Remarkably, even with ominous signs piling up, both the Andrea Gail and the 2011 Red Sox sail on, oblivious to their impending doom.

Key Quotes:

Linda Greenlaw [warning Billy over the radio]: “Billy? Get outta there! Come about! Let it—let it carry you out of there! What the hell are you doing? Billy! For Christ sake! You're steaming into a bomb! Turn around for Christ sake! Billy, can ya hear me? You're headed right for the middle of the monster! Billy...?”
[starts crying]

2011 Red Sox equivalent: A fan shouting a desperate warning to Red Sox players as Jimi Hendrix finishes playing over the Fenway PA system at the final home game: “Jimi Hendrix has more life than you guys!” [starts crying]

6. Battling the Storm

Andrea Gail: The crew fights valiantly, engaging in numerous acts of selfless heroism to save themselves in the face of insurmountable odds.

2011 Red Sox equivalent: None.

7. The Really Big Wave

Andrea Gail: Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney—along with movie audiences everywhere—look on in horror as a gargantuan 100 foot wave rises up before them.

2011 Red Sox: During a rain delay in Baltimore Red Sox players—and Nation fans everywhere—look on in horror as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays mount an impossible comeback from a 7-0 deficit in the eighth inning. 

8. The Abyss

Andrea Gail: As the water rises around him, Dale “Murph” Murphy speaks his last words: “This is going to be hard on my little boy.”

2011 Red Sox: As Carl Crawford flails around in left-field and the winning run rounds third, Red Sox dads everywhere cringe: “This is going to be hard on my little boy.”