Batter Up: Married to the game with Jared Carrabis
Instagram: jaredcarrabis
Jared Carrabis is a Red Sox fanatic, a sportswriter and podcaster for Barstool Sports and is married to the game. I have been following Jared since the 2017 season, but I wish I found him a lot sooner. I first noticed him on Twitter. His tweets would always find a way on my timeline. My first thought… this guy is hilarious, he speaks the truth, and he says what everyone wants to hear about the game. He has his own voice, he speaks from the heart, and he adds his own sense of humor, and that is what makes Jared authentic and incredible at what he does.
Jared was born and raised in Saugus, Massachusetts, right in the heart of Red Sox Nation. Jared and his family have been season ticket holders at Fenway Park since he was nine years old. He even named his Red Sox podcast in the honor of the location of his seats (Section 10). Growing up he wanted to be a professional baseball player. However, when he reached the age where he realized this goal was not going to be attainable, he knew he wanted a career that would involve baseball. He had a passion for writing, so he started blogging about the Red Sox. At 16 years old, he was not sure how to build a website, so he just started the blog on mySpace and named it SoxSpace. While being interviewed on the podcast It’s fine, I’m fine, Jared mentions that at the time when he first launched his blog, if you wanted to be a writer you had to work in newspaper. He did not want to do this. He had a passion for writing but just wanted to write from the heart. He had his own style and voice and he was determined to stick with that. During college, he spent most of his time dedicated to his writing. He would be at parties watching Red Sox games and would open his laptop and start writing the second the game ended. He knew the opportunity and success he could have if he wanted it badly enough.
In 2011, Jared’s blog was nominated at the New England Sport Blog Awards. The event was hosted by no one other than Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports. Jared ended up winning Best Overall New England Sports Blog. When Jared was accepting the award he said, “The only reason why I won Best Overall New England Sports Blog was because Barstool wasn’t nominated.” This grabbed Dave’s attention and a lot of other pieces had to fall in place, but it was ultimately what led to his big break at Barstool Sports.
Jared Carrabis still currently works for Barstool Sports where he hosts two podcasts called Starting 9 and Section 10. Starting 9 is a general baseball podcast which consists of his takes on all the latest baseball coverage. He hosts the show with former MLB pitcher Dallas Braden. This podcast is “for fans of America’s greatest pastime who want hosts willing to cut through the noise and talk about the game the way we really see it”. Section 10 is specifically a Red Sox podcast where he offers unfiltered takes on the team. These are must listens for any baseball fan.
Jared’s grind, determination, and hard work paid off. I like this quote Jared mentions in one of his blogs that covers his journey. He says, “My favorite quote is that “obsessed” is just a word that the lazy use to describe the dedicated. Sometimes, it takes obsession to get to where you want to be in life, and I’m exactly where I want to be.” (Five Years Later: The 2013 Red Sox and how I wouldn’t be here today without them) https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/1124818/five-years-later-the-2013-boston-red-sox-and-how-i-wouldnt-be-here-today-without-them
I reached out to Jared asking if I could write this blog about him and ask a few questions along the way. He was generous enough to respond. I think that just says a lot about the type of person he is and how he wants to encourage others who share the same passion.
1. What was the moment that turned you into a die-hard Red Sox fan?
Jared : You're kinda just born into it when you live in Boston. I've had season tickets at Fenway since 1998 so that would've made me nine years old. That first time seeing Fenway Park is a breathtaking experience and it's had me coming back ever since.
2. You have a blog post about what the 2013 season meant to you, and the city of Boston, besides the night where they won it all, what was your favorite/most memorable moment that season for you?
Jared : Besides being at the World Series clincher with my mom, I got to be at the first game back at Fenway after the Boston Marathon bombing and that was hands down the most emotional moment in the history of the ballpark. From seeing all the first responders on the field, to David Ortiz's speech to Daniel Nava's home run. I'll never forget that day.
(Jared says this is his best blog he has ever written in his entire life and nothing will ever top it. It covers every detail of the 2013 season and what it meant to him personally and the city of Boston. It is worth the read. Goosebumps.) https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/872049/remembering-what-the-2013-red-sox-meant-to-the-city-of-boston-2
Twitter: @Jared_Carrabis
3. If the Yankees win the world series this year does it truly count?
Jared : I think so. They're still gonna have to grind through October against very good baseball teams, but I will one thousand percent be referring to it as twenty-seven and a half rings to trigger Yankee fans.
4. Describe the 2020 Red Sox in 3 words
Jared : What a disaster.
5. What moment in 2018 made you think, "they might actually win this thing?"
Jared : A lot of people point to the 13-pitch at-bat where Mookie Betts hit a home run off of JA Happ as the moment they knew that team was special, but for me, I think I knew they were winning the whole thing when they swept the four-game series at Fenway Park against the Yankees. That Yankee team won 100 games that year and the Red Sox dusted them in August and never looked back. That's when it went from a tight division race to everyone else looking up at Boston the rest of the way.
6. What would you want to tell your 18-year-old self?
Jared : Keep doing what you're doing. Keep grinding every day. Stop trying to be like a writer that's in the press box because you're not. Speak from the heart, speak in your true voice, and keep that same passion. Everything is gonna work out. That's truly the biggest piece of advice I would give to my 18-year-old self. Everything is gonna work out. Back then, I had no idea if I was ever going to make it or what the future held for me and it was a very unsettling feeling to not really know if there was a light at the end of the tunnel as far as what I was actually working towards.
Tune into his podcasts with Barstool Sports: Starting 9 and Section 10:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starting-9/id1265632650?mt=2
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/section-10-podcast/id976803232?mt=2
You can follow Jared on the social links below:
Twitter: @Jared_Carrabis
Instagram: @jaredcarrabis
Follow Jared on Barstool:
https://www.barstoolsports.com/bio/13983/carrabis
