Boston fans, listen up: there's more to your favorite team than you think.
Red Sox Vice President of Public Affairs Dr. Charles Steinberg spoke to a group of about 20 students and professors last night about his experiences in baseball at an event sponsored by Baseball Analysis at Tufts (BAT).
The event attracted not only Red Sox fans, but also fans of the Giants, Devil Rays, Braves, Pirates, Phillies, and of course, the Yankees.
Steinberg spoke at length about how he got started in baseball: working as an intern for the Baltimore Orioles during his senior year of high school. The intern position, originally set to last only one month, quickly escalated into a summer job to which Steinberg would return for many years.
Nevertheless, Steinberg planned to pursue a career as an orthodontist like his father and even studied dentistry at the University of Maryland. But he continued to work for the Orioles every summer, initially performing menial tasks "not only without complaint, but with enthusiasm," he said. Eventually, Steinberg moved on to keeping statistics for famous then-Orioles manager Earl Weaver.
Needless to say, Steinberg eventually realized that his place was not in dentistry.
Apart from his professional history, Steinberg also addressed the subject on most student attendees' minds: the "dirt" surrounding Red Sox Nation in the 2005 season.
Steinberg was quick to downplay rumors, saying that although "there were some odd dynamics that did come out," the management of the Red Sox is like a family. Steinberg worked with many members of the Red Sox organization throughout his career, dating back to his days in Baltimore, he said.
"We'll take these five years all over again with no changes, if we could," he said.
Questions solicited after the speech covered topics from the Pedro Martinez decisions to this year's five-game sweep the Red Sox suffered at the hands of the Yankees.
Steinberg stressed the fact that media often gets in the way of the truth in sports stories. "You don't get the story from me," he said. "You read it in the paper."
Students seemed to appreciate this new perspective on the team. "There was a depth to the lecture that you don't get from the sports page," sophomore Red Sox fan Robin Smyton said. "And it was interesting to hear the back-stories from all these legendary events."
Steinberg also spoke about the future of the Red Sox. As far as winning another World Series is concerned, "you know, it's hard to repeat," he said.
Steinberg is happy to have found a home with the Red Sox. "There is no place else in baseball like Boston, like New England," he said.
-by Rachel Coffin
