Remembering Lucchino
There aren’t many funerals that would include Bill Bradley, Michael Dukakis, Theo Epstein, Jim Rice, and Jason Varitek in the pews of the church, along with the mayors of Boston and Worcester and other notable figures in entertainment, finance, media, and real estate.
Leave it to Larry Lucchino tobea presence even in death.
The former Red Sox president was remembered Thursday at St. Cecilia Parish in the Back Bay, less than a mile from Fenway Park. The service included a colorful eulogy from Lucchino’s friend and protege, Charles Steinberg, that included several spot-on imitations of Lucchino and plenty of amusing stories. David Lucchino, a nephew, spoke on behalf of his family.
The pallbearers included Red Sox senior executives Ron Bumgarner, Jonathan Gilula, Adam Grossman, and Sam Kennedy. All four joined the team from 2002-03 to work under Lucchino.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and executive vice presidents Raquel Ferreira and Brian O’Halloran were there as well.
Senior vice president Peter Woodfork represented Major League Baseball. He is a former Harvard player who worked for the Sox from 2003-05 in baseball operations.
The program listed 40 maxims from Lucchino including “if you work at something just a little longer, you can often make it a lot better” and “praise in public; criticize in private.”
Extra bases
The 36-page criminal complaint filed Thursday charging Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter with bank fraud is fascinating. The IRS alleges that Ippei Mizuhara stole more than $16 million to pay off gambling debts with an alleged bookie accumulated over two-plus years ending in January. The affidavit paints Mizuhara as having abused Ohtani’s trust to withdraw money from his bank account. Ohtani, who cooperated with authorities, comes off as an easy mark, blindly trusting Mizuhara with his financial information and somehow not realizing he had lost $16 million until after Mizuhara was caught up in the investigation of the bookie, Mathew Bowyer. The affidavit said Bowyer at one point threatened to speak to Ohtani if Mizuhara did not return his calls. “I see [Ohtani] walking his dog. I’m just gonna go up and talk to him and ask how I can get in touch with you,” he texted. Investigators said there is no evidence of Ohtani having placed any bets. Teams generally allow Asian players to choose their own translators. That could be something that has to change, or at least more carefully monitored . . . Meanwhile, through 15 games, Mookie Betts and Ohtani were on a pace to score 334 runs with 86 home runs atop the Dodgers’ lineup . . . Mike Trout is again doing Mike Trout things. He hit .318 with a 1.195 OPS through 12 games with six homers and two stolen bases. That may not seem like a lot of stolen bases, but it’s as many as he had over 82 games last season . . . Yankee shortstop Anthony Volpe is one of the most improved players in the game, both statistically and in the eyes of scouts. Volpe, who turns 23 later this month, struggled at the plate last season. But he had a 1.041 OPS through 12 games. He’s flattened out his swing to produce more consistent contact as opposed to the big uppercut he had as a rookie. “I think he’ll still hit for power, but he’ll hit for better average,” one evaluator said. “The defense is the same as last season — excellent.” . . . Josh and Bo Naylor of the Guardians homered Wednesday in the fourth inning on National Siblings Day. They have done that twice in their careers, the first coming July 14, 2023 . . . Per the Associated Press, the Padres ($96 million) had the biggest payroll cut this season based on their Opening Day roster. The Mets ($50 million), White Sox ($47 million), Rockies ($33 million), Twins ($32 million), Tigers ($20 million), and Red Sox ($15 million) followed . . . Baseball can break your heart sometimes. The Dodgers played at Minnesota on Monday, a chance for brothers Gus and Louie Varland to play in the same major league game for the first time. Gus is a 27-yearold righthanded reliever for the Dodgers and Louie a 26-year-old righthanded reliever for the Twins. They’re from Minnesota and played at Concordia University in St. Paul. But the Dodgers optioned Gus to Triple A before the game. The brothers took photos together before the game but that was it . . . Jose Iglesias didn’t play in the majors last season, spending time in Triple A for the Padres. Now the 34-year-old shortstop is trying again, playing for Triple A Syracuse in the Mets organization. If he wants to, Iglesias would be an excellent coach. The Red Sox signed him late in the 2021 season, after the deadline to be on the postseason roster. But he stayed with the team in October and was a good resource for Alex Cora
and the coaching staff . . . Baseball America projects Bryant, Northeastern, and Sacred Heart making the NCAA Tournament field with Boston College as one of the first four out . . . All the best to University of Southern Maine coach Ed Flaherty, who announced this season would be his last after 39 years on the bench. Flaherty has won two Division 3 national championships with the Huskies and made six World Series appearances. He went into the weekend with 1,123 victories. As a young reporter who covered a lot of college baseball, Flaherty was always a pleasure to talk to about the game. His son, Ryan,
played eight years in the majors after playing at Vanderbilt and is now bench coach with the Cubs. He’ll manage in the majors sometime soon . . . Happy birthday to Joe Lahoud, who is 77. The outfielder played for the Red Sox from 1968-71 after being signed as an amateur free agent out of the University of New Haven in 1965. He had 26 home runs for the Sox over 254 games but hit .205 and was traded to the Brewers after the 1971 season as part of a nine-player deal. Lahoud later played for the Angels, Rangers, and Royals over his 11 seasons in the majors. He left baseball after the 1978 season and went on to a successful career in business.