Boston Herald sports columnist Tony Massarotti, a Tufts alumnus, came back to his alma mater Thursday afternoon to speak to an audience of students and faculty in the Hirsh Reading Room of the Tisch Library.
Massarotti (A89) has covered the Boston Red Sox for The Herald for 14 years, six of them as a columnist. He was just recently promoted to the position of sports columnist, giving him the chance to branch out into football, basketball and hockey.
In Thursday's visit, which was sponsored by the Friends of Tufts Libraries, Massarotti spoke about his 2005 book, "A Tale of Two Cities". In the book, was co-authored by Massarotti, who covered the Boston side of the 2004 pennant race, and "New York Daily News" sportswriter John Harper, who covered the New York angle to the season.
Massarotti began by discussing his four years at Tufts, where he double-majored in English and classics, and proceeded to speak about his journey to becoming a Herald sportswriter, which began with a paid internship he obtained while studying at Tufts. He thanked his audience for purchasing and reading his book, which is already going on to its third printing less than a year after its publication.
In the question-and-answer session that followed Massarotti's introduction, the journalist was asked a number of questions about the past, present and future of the Red Sox organization, and he was quick to share his opinions about the franchise.
Massarotti praised the Sox' front office for knowing their spending limit with free agent Johnny Damon.
"I don't think the Red Sox made a mistake by letting him go," Massarotti said.
He offered in-depth analysis of Boston's other offseason moves, including the trade of shortstop Edgar Renteria and the acquisition of pitcher Josh Beckett. When asked about how these moves were affected by the temporary loss of General Manager Theo Epstein, Massarotti stated his views on the subject clearly.
"I don't think Theo Epstein would have made the Josh Beckett deal," he said. "But I do think he would have let Johnny Damon walk, and I do think he would have traded Edgar Renteria."
The session concluded with Massarotti offering his 2006 World Series prediction -- a victory for the Chicago Cubs over the New York Yankees -- and then adjourning to the back of the reading room, where he offered autographs to faithful readers.
