Nick Cafardo’s popular book has been revised and updated from the 2008 hardcover edition. In the paperback version of 100 Things Red Sox Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Cafardo has compiled the guidebook for being a true fan. This is no easy task as he writes in the introduction:
“I know some of my 100 will differ from those you might choose, and my view of those players and events that we agree on might also differ. I’m leaving out a ton of things. You would need to write a book the size of War and Peace to be able to fit in everything special about the Red Sox.”
100 Things Red Sox Should Know is not War and Peace, it is an approachable book of 222 pages broken into 100 items, each approximately two pages long. There is a black and white picture to go along with a third of the entries. Carfardo’s 100 things slants heavily to the last 20 years of Red Sox history with about half of the entries coming from the last quarter century. This makes sense since it is the time when he has had an inside view of the club as a reporter for The Boston Globe. The 100 items are are mostly fun to read, but Cafardo also includes the bad times and institutional racism that are also part of the team’s history.
The average Sox fan will be familiar with the material in about half of the book and the die-hards will learn a thing or two. I would highly recommend the book to younger fans who have just started to follow the Red Sox in the last decade. For those like myself who spend a little too much time following the team, it is nice to flip through and read a chapter here or there to be reminded out some of the great history and accomplishments.
Perhaps GQ wouldn’t have ranked Sox fans so poorly if some of the legions of new fans spent a few hours to get up to speed on the team. 100 Things Red Sox Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die should be required reading before anyone can take a seat for their first game at the Fens.
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