Even Chaim Bloom's own kids can't believe infamous trade before Cardinals tenure

There are few jobs in sports packed with more public pressure than being in charge of a baseball team's roster. Moves are broken down, analyzed and, in many cases, criticized. Chaim Bloom, the St. Louis Cardinals' new president of baseball operations, has had it even harder than many, as he's been somewhat typecast as a guru of roster teardowns as he oversees the Cardinals' rebuild after executing one of the most unpopular moves in recent Boston Red Sox history.

Chaim Bloom's trade of Mookie Betts during his tenure with Boston was controversial in the Red Sox community — and now within his family.

When Bloom dealt Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in February of 2020, Red Sox fans were livid over the departure of their star outfielder. Whether the move was a directive from ownership or more of a Bloom decision is not completely clear, but regardless, Bloom became persona non grata in Beantown.

However, his harshest critics over the move aren't the media, but his own children. According to Bloom in an interview on the "Foul Territory" podcast, his sons are now old enough to follow and appreciate baseball, and his oldest realized last year that his father orchestrated the Betts trade.

Bloom's admission that even his own kids were incredulous about his trades was another moment that reminds Cardinals fans of how different Bloom is from his predecessor, John Mozeliak. The always tight-lipped Mozeliak rarely spoke of his family despite his son William being a student at Villanova University and working in baseball analytics at the college, and he never appeared to talk of relatives' or friends' reactions to his transactions. Bloom, by contrast, freely admitted his kids' horror over their father's Betts move in yet another humanizing moment for the new Cardinals executive.

In a welcome change from the previous regime, Bloom has pledged to be transparent and said that he welcomes fans to question his moves. As the new face of the Cardinals gets down to business rebuilding the team, he is likely to face plenty of pointed questions from the fanbase. However, don't expect much to faze him given that his toughest critics come from within his walls.