Anthony Ezio Massarotti (born October 28, 1967) is an American author and a former sportswriter for the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' and ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. He co-hosts a sports

talk radio show Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, '' Felger & Mazz'', on 98.5 The Sports Hub with former ''Boston Herald'' columnist

Michael Felger Michael Alan Felger (born August 6, 1969) is a sports radio talk show host on WBZ-FM in Boston, co-hosting " Felger and Massarotti" with Tony Massarotti, a former columnist for the '' Boston Herald''. He is also a television host for NBC Sports Bo ...

. Massarotti has also served as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, during their 2022 season. Massarotti is a graduate of

Waltham High School Waltham High School is a public high school located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only high school operated by Waltham Public Schools. History The current Waltham High School was constructed in 1968 and expanded in 1998 a ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

, and a 1989 graduate of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, where he majored in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was also a member of

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 collegiate members across Nort ...

fraternity.

''Boston Herald''

Massarotti joined the ''

'' in 1989 and covered the

for the paper from 1994 through 2008. During his time with the ''Herald'', Massarotti frequently covered the Red Sox for Fox Sports New England, and he appeared occasionally as a guest on WHDH's ''Sports Xtra''. He also appeared on Boston's WEEI sports talk radio program '' The Big Show''. These appearances ended with his later leaving the ''Herald'' for the ''Globe'' due to a long-standing ban on ''Globe'' staffers appearing on the station. While with the ''Herald'', Massarotti was known for his staunch support of former Red Sox managers

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a seco ...

and

Grady Little William Grady Little (born March 3, 1950) is a former manager in Major League Baseball, currently working in the front office of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2007 ...

, despite Little's controversial decisions during Game 7 of the

2003 American League Championship Series The 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was played between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees from October 8 to 16, 2003. The Yankees won the series four games to three to advance to the World Series, where they lost in six ...

''The Boston Globe''

In September 2008, Massarotti joined the staff of ''

''. In addition to writing a regular column for the paper, Massarotti became the voice and face of the ''Globes online Boston.com sports feature. In March 2013, he left the ''Globe''. However, after a brief hiatus, Massarotti returned to writing for the ''Globe'' online sports blog in early 2014.

Notable columns

Theo Epstein contract negotiations

On October 27, 2005, Massarotti published a column in which he accused

Larry Lucchino Lawrence Lucchino (born September 6, 1945) is an American lawyer, best known as an executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as president of the Baltimore Orioles, president/ CEO of the San Diego Padres, and president/CEO of ...

and the Red Sox management of smearing general manager

Theo Epstein Theo Nathaniel Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is an American Major League Baseball executive, who currently works for MLB as a consultant. He was the vice president and general manager for the Boston Red Sox and then the president of baseball o ...

during contract negotiations. In the column, he also suggested that coverage of the negotiations at two local media outlets was compromised. He documented that ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (parent company of ''The Boston Globe'') owned a 17 percent ownership stake in the Red Sox and that local sports talk radio leader WEEI was currently in negotiations for Red Sox broadcast rights and paid Lucchino for a weekly radio appearance. The timing of the column was notable as it came four days after ''Globe''

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

Richard Chacón published an article in which he criticized ''Times'' management for accepting

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

s from the Red Sox, and three days prior to a

Dan Shaughnessy Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for ''The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Shaughnessy is often refe ...

column in which he revealed information detailing the nuances of the relationship between Epstein and Lucchino, to the favor of Lucchino. The information in the column was widely thought to have originated from Lucchino and may have contributed to Epstein breaking off negotiations and resigning his position as General Manager.

Jon Lester cancer story

In August 2006, Massarotti received some criticism for publishing a column detailing rumors that Red Sox pitcher

Jon Lester Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. ...

was being tested for cancer. In fact, the rumors turned out to be true, and Lester went on to be treated for a rare form of

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight los ...

Awards

* Massachusetts Winner of the 2000 and 2008

National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Pr ...

Sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

of the Year award.

Books

* ''A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant'' , co-author John Harper, sportswriter for the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' * ''Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits'', 2007, , co-author David Ortiz, Professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox * ''Dynasty: The Inside Story of How the Red Sox Became a Baseball Powerhouse'', 2008, , Foreword by

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded a ...

, professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox * ''Knuckler: My Life with Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch'', 2011, , co-author

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...

, professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox * ''This is our city: four teams, twelve championships, and how Boston became the most dominant sports city in the world'', 2022,

References

External links

The Boston Globe:
Tony Massarotti Sports Blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Massarotti, Tony 1967 births Living people Sports in Boston The Boston Globe people Boston Herald people Sportswriters from Massachusetts American radio personalities Boston Red Sox announcers Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Waltham High School alumni