Report: Red Sox Pitchers Drank Beer In The Dugout

The Boston Red Sox continue to crumble, even after their historic September collapse. On Tuesday, WHDH-TV in Boston reported that two team employees said they had seen the now-infamous trio of Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester drinking beer inside the Red Sox dugout on multiple occasions when they were not pitching.

According to the employees, the three pitchers would leave the dugout as early as the sixth inning to fill cups of Bud Light in the clubhouse and return to drink the beer while watching the game. One of the employees said the pitchers looked "bored on nights they weren't pitching and this is how they entertained themselves."

ESPN Boston also contacted a Red Sox employee, who said he had heard complaints about the dugout drinking during the 2010 season, but had not personally witnessed it in either 2010 or 2011. While that employee said it would not surprise him if the three pitchers did drink in the dugout, another Red Sox staffer told ESPN Boston he was in the dugout during every game and that he never saw Beckett, Lester or Lackey drinking beer there, nor had he heard anyone say such a thing was happening.

The report comes two days after Lester addressed the clubhouse beer-drinking controversy and downplayed its effect on Boston blowing a nine-game lead for the American League Wild Card in the final month of the season.

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