There was a time when Lars Anderson and Ryan Kalish were expected to be the future of the Boston Red Sox, the next wave of homegrown stars on the heels of Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jon Lester. Anderson was Baseball America‘s No. 17 overall prospect in 2009, and Kalish was considered by many the organization’s top prospect the next year. But the stardom so many foresaw was not to be for either man. Still, over a decade of trying to make it at baseball’s highest level, the pair forged a bond that has persisted through call-ups, cuts, injuries, several World Series rings, and finally, in April, Kalish’s retirement at age 30. The moment inspired Anderson, now playing for the Solingen Alligators in Germany, to write what he calls the “baseball obituary” of his closest friend.



Following an hour-long acupuncture session to help an ailing, aging throwing shoulder, I stepped outside into a warm, glowing spring morning in...