Q&A Exclusive with the Tribal Chief of baseball, Jared Carrabis: ‘Fenway is where I feel at home, that’s my family’
Jared Carrabis is a media star in the baseball world and leader of Red Sox Nation. Currently the host of the No.1 Red Sox podcast, The Named Redacted Podcast and was the host of the popular Barstool Sports podcast, Section 10 which was also the No.1 Red Sox podcast from 2015-2022.
Carrabis also hosts the Baseball is Dead podcast with former big league pitcher Dallas Braden. In addition, he hosts NESN’s Like a Pro television show.
In this Q&A we get into his day to day life, some things from his time at Barstool, favorite Red Sox players and more so without further ado, here it is!
Q: All time favorite Red Sox player at each position on the field including DH and Closer? And for fun, favorite Red Sox middle inning reliever of all time?
A: C: Jason Varitek, 1B: Mo Vaughn, 2B: Dustin Pedroia, SS: Nomar Garciaparra, 3B: Adrian Beltre, LF: Manny Ramirez, CF: Jackie Bradley Jr., RF: JD Drew, DH: David Ortiz, SP: Pedro Martinez, CL: Koji Uehara, Middle Reliever: Scott Williamson.
Q: What’s the best part about going to a Red Sox game in your opinion and from your point of view as Jared Carrabis?
A: Going to a Red Sox game as me is pretty awesome, not gonna lie. I get there around 3pm for a 7:10 start, I hang out in Josh Winckowski's dugout for a little bit, I watch batting practice, I catch up with players on the visiting side depending on what team is in town, I always grab a ball from BP to give to a little kid as I come off the field around 6pm, then I head up to the State Street Pavillion and have dinner, then I watch the game from up there. I'm friends with a lot of the stadium workers, security and servers so I get to see a lot of my friends whenever I go to Fenway. It's all awesome. Fenway is where I feel at home. That's my family.
Q: Who was someone you were trying to emulate when you were up and coming in sports/Boston/Red Sox media world or did you have to carve your own path?
A: I didn't try to be like him, but Bill Simmons was a guy that gave me hope that you could be in sports media without hiding your fandom, so it was his blueprint that I followed at first. But I'm obviously very heavily influenced by Dave Portnoy in the sense that this is an entertainment job for me. I'm a fan who works in sports media, but it's about making people laugh and providing entertainment more than being a journalist getting scoops or information.
Q: Best/funniest/amazing(any of those three, you pick) moment from the 2018 Duck Boat rides after Red Sox win World Series?
A: Oh man. There were so many. Zo and Beetle asked if I would come on their show after the parade, but I was so drunk I didn't even know what they were asking me. I didn't answer the phone when the studio line called, but I later picked up when Beetle called me from his cell phone and I didn't even know I was on the air and they dropped me because I said "shit" on the air. I was so drunk that someone threw a beer can up at the duck boat that hit me in the mouth and I didn't even realize. But the most amazing thing was looking out into the crowd and seeing so many Section 10 signs and t-shirts everywhere. That was so surreal.
Q: What is your daily routine when it’s baseball season and the Red Sox are playing at home and you are at the game from wake up to bedtime?
A: It really depends on the day. We record Baseball is Dead Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at 11am. We record Name Redacted after every series finale, so that's usually Sunday night and either Wednesday or Thursday night most weeks. I go into Boston to the Draft Kings office on Tuesdays for a studio show. I drive to Waltham on Wednesday nights to do the Baseball Hour with Tony Mazz 6-7pm. If the Red Sox are home on a Tuesday, I go to Fenway from the office to do an interview after the studio show. If the Red Sox are home on a weekend, I go to Fenway on Friday and sometimes Saturday depending on the availability of whoever I'm interviewing.
I live tweet every single game; all 162. Haven't missed one since I joined Twitter in 2009. And then for my NESN show Like A Pro, I film 8 episodes a season and those shoots could be any day at any time, depending on the concept for each episode. Whenever an episode comes out, I usually either go on the NESN pregame from the studio at Fenway or I do an inning in the NESN booth during the game.
My schedule is more or less waking up at 8am, starting work at 9am, which is usually prep work for a podcast, and then it doesn't end until the west coast games are over, usually some time around 1am. So, it's basically a 7-day work week from mid-March when we go to spring training until the World Series is over, from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. Every single day.
Q: Best memory from your time at Barstool and your favorite part about working for Draft Kings now?
A: I have so many favorite memories from my time at Barstool. Obviously the parade is number one. Starting a podcast with David Ortiz and doing the longest interview he's ever done in his career with him at his house. I think the Yankees-Astros streams from the 2019 ALCS are up there. The live shows that we did for Section 10. The Spikes Up Tour in 2019 with Dallas. Lot of great memories there. My favorite part about working for Draft Kings now is seeing what Baseball is Dead has become. I've said this before, but I was always trying to find a way to get Starting 9 to have more of a Section 10 feel to it and we never quite got there with Starting 9, but now Baseball is Dead is exactly what I always envisioned Starting 9 to be. I'm having the time of my life doing that show. Dallas, JayHay and Joey are the perfect mix for a national baseball show.
Q: Will you always be heavily involved with the Sox (podcasting, tweeting, NESN) in some capacity?
A: Always. I can never shut that off. It's who I've always been. I think the goal is to one day not have to be dependent on having such a heavy work schedule like I do now, but I just also understand that we all have a shelf life in this industry, so I'm willing to put everything I have into this while the fans still want it and while I'm young enough to do it. But eventually, I'd like to settle down, get married, have a family and all that. I'm just not sure I'll ever be able to truly scale back because I love what I do too much. I can't walk away from this until we have a Section 10 reunion at some point. I also just love working with Tyler Milliken and Jake Yasi too much to think about a world where we're not talking about the Red Sox together.
Q: What is your favorite childhood (15 years old or less) memory involving the Red Sox?
A: I was at Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS with my dad. I was 15 at the time. I stand by my stance that that was the best game ever played at Fenway Park. I still remember the Dave Roberts stolen base and the David Ortiz walk-off home run from my seats in Section 10. I'll never forget how loud Fenway Park was that night. I've never heard it that loud before or since. And just being there with my dad for that is something that will always be super special to me.
Q: Do you remember the first time you went to a Red Sox game and how the game went?
A: I do. July 2, 1997. Kevin Brown vs. Tom Gordon. Red Sox lost 3-2 and Nomar made the second to last out in the bottom of the 9th and I wanted to cry. When you're a kid, you think that you're the main character, so how could your favorite player and hero not hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th for your first ever Red Sox game at Fenway Park? It was my first taste of this team tearing my heart out. Wouldn't be the last time.
Q: Favorite Red Sox Team of all time?
A: This one is tough, because it's like having kids and picking a favorite. The 2003 Red Sox were very special to me, but we know how that season ended. I feel like you have to say the 2004 Red Sox for obvious reasons.
The 2013 Red Sox after what happened that year are very special in their own right, and it was even more special because I got to be at the World Series clincher with my mom. But then the 2018 Red Sox basically took my career to a place that I never thought it could ever go. And I also knew a bunch of the guys on that team personally, so that part made it extra special, and then you cap it off with being on the duck boats for the parade and getting a friggin' World Series ring. I'm gonna say the 2004 Red Sox because without that one, I don't think the other ones happen. Maybe, maybe not. But 2018 was the best year of my life because of that team.
Q: Off season Hobbies? Taking a vacation somewhere this winter? What’s the Off Season look like for you?
A: I think this offseason is when we're going to try to start the tradition of traveling to wherever the Royal Rumble is every January and going to that. I have a group of wrestling fan friends that I put together from all my different corners of life and I made them all become friends so that we can have a little dork group. It's fun. They come over my house to watch the pay-per views every month, we have a group text going and now we're gonna try to travel together for the Rumble.
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