ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona declined comment Monday on a report the team received a mailed threat targeting black and Latin players.
The Boston Herald, citing unidentified sources, reported the threat was believed to be postmarked in Memphis, Tenn., and that a suspect believed to be from Baltimore but living in the Memphis area was being sought. The newspaper said the team increased security for its three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I will not discuss that out of respect to everyone concerned,” Francona said Monday night. “It’s not something we can address.”
No names of players were identified in the newspaper report.
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said he first learned of the threat from reporters.
“There’s some people out there that have nothing to do and they like to send letters,” Ortiz said. “I guess it’s part of what we do. I don’t think they’ll be anything crazy coming out of it.”
Boston and Tampa Bay were playing for the first time since a bench-clearing brawl between the teams at Fenway Park on June 5. The Herald said the threat was not believed to be related to any bad blood between the Red Sox and Rays, who are battling for first place in the AL East.
“We don’t comment on security procedures,” Major League Baseball spokesman Patrick Courtney said.
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