{"id":820175,"date":"2026-10-03T01:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/820175\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T01:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:03:23","slug":"report-red-sox-players-felt-sonny-gray-was-disrespected-by-hook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/820175\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Red Sox players felt Sonny Gray was disrespected by hook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cNot only had their season ended, but many in the room believed Gray had been disrespected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\tBoston\u2019s decision to go to the bullpen early in the Wild Card series apparently didn\u2019t sit well in the clubhouse. AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Beyond being embarrassed by the Yankees on the field in the Wild Card series, an internal problem is plaguing the Boston Red Sox in the aftermath.<\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s handling of Game 2 starter Sonny Gray didn\u2019t sit well with some players, according to a report. Several Red Sox roster members felt a certain way about manager Chad Tracy\u2019s quick hook in the fifth inning after Gray had thrown only 70 pitches.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only had their season ended, but many in the room believed Gray had been disrespected,\u201d MassLive\u2019s Sean McAdam<\/a> wrote on Friday.<\/p>\n

Gray, 36, wasn\u2019t perfect during Wednesday\u2019s do-or-die game at Yankee Stadium. He allowed six hits, two earned runs, and a home run through 4.2 innings and had runners on the corners with two outs when Tracy retrieved the ball from the veteran right-hander.<\/p>\n

But Gray\u2019s pitch count was pretty low, he hadn\u2019t allowed a walk, and he\u2019d thrown 50 strikes. Game 1 starter Payton Tolle had also been yanked after 4.2 frames the night before, a clear indication that Boston entered the series not wanting to allow its starters to pitch three times through the Yankees\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n

Not only did both decisions immediately backfire on the team, but it was also a big reason (coupled with a complete lack of offense) why the Red Sox\u2019 season ended as quickly as it had begun.<\/p>\n

Gray made it known postgame that he wasn\u2019t thrilled with the quick hook. He pointed to his success rate when facing opponents the third time through the order across his 29 regular season starts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have liked to be trusted in that moment,\u201d Gray told reporters<\/a>. \u201cI think I\u2019m the best pitcher in the American League going through the order a third time. I think that\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have liked [for Tracy] to live or die with me in that moment, but that\u2019s the competitor I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray, who finished the regular season with 18 wins (tied with Phillies\u2019 Christopher Sanchez for most in MLB), held opposing batters to a .180 average and posted a 1.99 ERA when facing them for a third time.<\/p>\n

In his candid comments, Gray mentioned his teammates likely felt similarly about his fate, as McAdam later reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you can probably ask the guys and I think they felt the same way,\u201d Gray said. \u201cSo, I felt strong, I felt confident, I felt convicted. But what can you do, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

McAdam floated the possibility that Gray had discussed his being removed from the contest early with teammates in the clubhouse before he fielded questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, without naming names, Gray made a point to note that others in the room were as surprised and disappointed as he was. Perhaps that, too, explains the emotional nature of Gray\u2019s embraces as he toured the clubhouse before speaking with the media,\u201d McAdam wrote.<\/p>\n

Gray, who will essentially be a free agent this offseason, wouldn\u2019t commit to pitching in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what the future holds for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI do know that I walked off that mound with my chest back and my chin up and I can definitely be proud that I left it all out there until the ball was taken out of my hands. I still left that mound with my chest up and my chin up and I can be proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said, \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d when asked whether he\u2019d want to remain in Boston if he did continue his MLB career.<\/p>\n

The upcoming MLB offseason is a murky one. A lockout looms, which could put the 2027 season in jeopardy. But if the season does start on time, the Red Sox may have already lost Gray \u2014 who was Boston\u2019s ace for the majority of the year after Garrett Crochet got hurt \u2014 because of their lack of trust in him with the season on the line.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it seems much of the rest of the roster is entering the offseason with a bad taste in their mouth. Being eliminated in the playoffs is one thing, but having such negative emotions toward decision-makers as the team bids adieu for the next few months (or longer) is not a recipe for success.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox\u2019 brass (president Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and Tracy) will surely field questions about the situation during their end-of-season press conference, which is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\t\tKaley Brown<\/a>Sports producer\t<\/p>\n

Kaley Brown is a sports producer who covers breaking and trending news about the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the latest Boston sports news<\/p>\n

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Red Sox \u201cNot only had their season ended, but many in the room believed Gray had been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2375],"tags":[5,141,48,2542,4,89,2543],"class_list":["post-820175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boston-red-sox","tag-baseball","tag-boston","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-bostonredsox","tag-mlb","tag-red-sox","tag-redsox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117374288132896769","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}