The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will never play each other in the World Series, but a Los Angeles Dodgers squad packed with former Sox bested New York on Oct. 31 after a five-game series.
The Yankees and Dodgers are not well-liked outside of their usual fan bases and it had to be hard for other MLB fans to find a rooting interest this fall. It was an easy task for Red Sox Nation, though, which would prefer to see anyone but the Yankees win.
Los Angeles having six former Red Sox on the roster was merely icing on the cake for Bostonians. Here are the six former Red Sox players who won a ring with the Dodgers on Oct. 30.
Mookie Betts
Kiké Hernández
Ryan Braiser
Michael Kopech
Joe Kelly
Dave Roberts
6 former Red Sox who won the 2024 World Series with the Dodgers
Red Sox Nation still has an excess of love for Betts. The veteran said he would’ve stayed in Boston if he was offered an appropriate contract, and Sox fans have never forgiven John Henry for trading him away. Betts now has two World Series’ with the Dodgers, one more than he has with the Sox. He slashed .290/.387/.565 over 16 postseason games and was critical to the Dodgers’ victory.
Hernández played two and a half seasons in a Red Sox uniform with middling success (.234/.308/.382) in the regular season, but the outfielder/utility player shines in the playoffs. He’s slashing .278/.353/.522 with a .874 OPS over nine postseasons. He batted .408/.423/.837 with a whopping 1.260 OPS during Boston’s 2021 race to the ALCS.
Brasier posted a 4.55 ERA in his six years as a reliever for the Sox. His tenure began on a positive note in 2018 when he clocked a 1.60 ERA in 33.2 innings, but he pitched to a 7.29 ERA before he was traded to the Dodgers before the deadline in 2023. Braiser has logged a 4.13 ERA over four postseasons, including a 5.00 over nine innings with the Dodgers in 2024.
Kopech was a Red Sox prospect who never played for the big league squad, as he was traded to the White Sox for Chris Sale in 2017. Kopech has pitched to a 3.46 ERA between the White Sox and Dodgers in the regular season and 3.00 over nine innings en route to the Fall Classic.
Kelly was a Red Sox from after the 2014 trade deadline to 2018, and he logged a 4.33 ERA in that time. He began his second stint with the Dodgers after the 2023 trade deadline and he clocked a 4.78 ERA over 32 innings in 2024. Kelly has been injured and in a down year, so he didn’t pitch at all in the postseason.
Dodgers skipper Roberts won a World Series as a player 20 years ago with the Red Sox and secured his second as a manager this year. Roberts was arguably the catalyst for Boston’s 0-3 comeback against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, and he managed a great postseason in LA.
