A quiet move inside the AL East has turned into one of the stranger little twists of the Red Sox season: former Boston hitting coach Pete Fatse is now working for the Rays.
The news came out Sunday through Red Sox reporter Rob Bradford, who noted that Fatse, fired in April, had been hired a couple of months later by Tampa Bay as a hitting consultant. He’s not sitting in the dugout in a Rays uniform, but he is part of the organization behind the scenes.
For Red Sox fans who spent years pointing the finger at Fatse for Boston’s offensive struggles, that detail is going to land with a little extra spice. At the same time, the Red Sox’s offense has been better this season since Fatse, Alex Cora and others were dismissed, so the timing only adds to the conversation.
The Rays, of course, are not pretending they’re doing this just to stir the pot. Tampa Bay PBO Erik Neander has spoken highly of Fatse, and Bradford relayed Neander’s comments on the hire.
“If someone’s so passionate about something, there’s got to be some good in there somewhere," Neander said about Fatse (per Bradford). "It’s on us to find it. And Pete’s got a lot of good.”
Fatse’s path makes the fit make sense on paper. He grew up in Massachusetts, played at UConn, and founded a hitting school in Palmer, Mass. His run with the Red Sox started in 2019, when he came aboard as an assistant hitting coach.
Now he’s moved on, and there’s really no reason for him to sit around waiting for Boston to change its mind. The Red Sox made their call, Fatse found another job, and Tampa Bay clearly believes he still has value.
From Boston’s side, if the organization was comfortable moving on from him in April, this shouldn’t be a problem. The offense has looked better without him, and the club can stand by the decision it made.
But if the Red Sox and Rays cross paths in October and Boston comes out on top, this one is bound to get a nickname. Call it the Fatse Curse if you want.
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