Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom says he’s suffered antisemitism over baseball team’s woes

Bloom, who observes Shabbat and kashrut, takes responsibility for Boston squad’s poor performance since he took over in 2019, says he’s received death threats

JTA — Chaim Bloom, chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox in the US, told the Boston Globe Friday that he has received death threats and an antisemitic slur as his team has struggled in recent seasons.

Bloom, a Jewish day school alumnus who observes Shabbat and keeps kosher, took the helm of the Red Sox in October 2019.

Despite a successful playoff run in 2021, the team has largely underperformed since his arrival. After two last-place finishes and a number of high-profile player departures, some fans and analysts suggest Bloom’s job is in jeopardy.

In the Globe article, Bloom acknowledged the criticism he has faced but said he tries not to complain.

“I don’t think that days are going to be better because [Red Sox fans] know that I’m suffering when we lose,” he said.

Bloom, who joined Boston after 15 years with the Tampa Bay Rays, told Tablet in 2019 that his family lived close to Tropicana Field so he could walk to home games on Friday nights. He also keeps a jar of gefilte fish in his office, a result of a World Series bet that began in Tampa and has continued in Boston.

This is not the first time Bloom has been on the receiving end of antisemitism since joining the Sox. Last year, the team released a minor league player after a series of social media attacks against Bloom, including calling Bloom “an embarrassment to any torah-following jew.”