Brock Holt Reveals Disturbing Incident from Red Sox’s 2018 Championship Season
The 2018 Boston Red Sox are etched into MLB history as one of the most dominant teams of the modern era. They steamrolled their way to 108 regular-season wins-a franchise record-and capped it off with a World Series title. But according to former utilityman Brock Holt, not everything behind the scenes was as smooth as the team’s on-field performance.
During a recent appearance on the Section 10 Podcast, Holt shared a shocking story from that championship run-one that fans had never heard before. According to Holt, a teammate once threatened to bring a gun to the ballpark and kill everyone on the team.
Let that sink in.
The moment, as Holt described it, happened during a road trip to Tampa while the team was stretching before batting practice. The Red Sox were in the middle of a seemingly routine pregame warmup-players in a circle, loosening up, cracking jokes-when the mood suddenly shifted.
“We were in Tampa, and we were in a circle stretching before BP and having a good ol’ time,” Holt recalled. “And this someone looks around at all of us and says, ‘You know what? I’m going to bring a gun to the field tomorrow and kill all of you.’”
The comment stunned the group. Holt said the player then turned to him specifically and added, “And you’re gonna be first.”
“I was like, ‘Dude, I know you’re probably joking, but you can’t say that,’” Holt said.
That wasn’t a line anyone was willing to brush off, even if it was said in jest. The team’s strength coach immediately recognized the seriousness of the threat and insisted on reporting it to then-team president Dave Dombrowski.
“Our strength coach at the time was like, ‘Dude, I got to tell Dombrowski,’” Holt said. “And I was like, ‘Please do because I’m the first one that’s going to go.’”
Holt didn’t name the player involved, but he did say the team acted quickly. “We don’t have a lot of time, let’s get him out of here,” he recalled saying.
The Red Sox designated first baseman Hanley Ramirez for assignment on May 25, 2018-one day after wrapping up a series at Tropicana Field against the Rays from May 22 to 24. No other player was DFA’d between April and June that year. Holt never confirmed whether Ramirez was the player involved, and he made it clear that a couple of guys were moved during that season for various reasons.
Whatever happened behind closed doors, Boston didn’t let it derail their mission. That 2018 club was a juggernaut from start to finish.
Led by a loaded roster and first-year manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox played with a blend of swagger and precision rarely seen over a full season. They crushed the Yankees in the ALDS, outdueled the defending champion Astros in the ALCS, and handled the Dodgers in five games to win it all.
Holt himself made history during that postseason, becoming the first player ever to hit for the cycle in a playoff game-doing so in the Red Sox’s 16-1 rout of the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS.
But now, years later, Holt’s revelation adds a chilling layer to what was otherwise a dream season. It’s a reminder that even in the midst of greatness, teams are still made up of human beings dealing with real-life issues-some of them deeply unsettling.
The Red Sox went on to win it all, but as Holt’s story now shows, there was more happening behind the curtain than anyone outside the clubhouse ever knew.