Fun Fact: Only one team wins the World Series every year. Which means 29 teams don’t win the final game of the year which according to Moneyball means their season didn’t fucking matter. When a team gets eliminated from winning the World Series I’ll do a profile of their season.
Today’s Team….Boston Red Sox
How Did They Get Eliminated
After taking Game 1 in the Wild Card Series against the Yankees they would fall in the final two at Yankee Stadium. They would lose Game 2 with a Yankee 2-Out Rally in the 8th inning. Then a 4 run 4th and 8 shut-out innings by a rookie was all the Yankees needed to eliminate the Sox and move on to Toronto.
What Do I Know About This Team Because I Only Follow the Brewers and Pay Attention to Playoff Baseball?
It feels like the Red Sox season could be defined by two trades they made. The first ties back to the Brewers sending Quinn Preister to Milwaukee for a couple of prospects. Priester didn’t really get to prove himself in Boston, he toiled away in the minors when he was traded there by the Pirates in 2024. Preister has excelled in Milwaukee. The stat that sticks out is the 19 straight wis the Brewers had when he started a game.
Now there’s no guarantee that this happens in Boston, but I think that just shows how different all of these front offices are. Two teams can look at the same guy and come away with two completely different outcomes or expectations. The Red Sox look at Preister and say, “well he’s young and we have a good rotation, we can leave him in the Minors until we need him for a couple of starts.”
The Brewers look at Preister and say, “Here’s a guy that given the opportunity could be pretty good for us. We need starting pitching help and he’s just in the minors, if he works out great. If not we see something in him that we can work on to get to where he needs to be.
The other big trade was more nationally known and that was sending Rafeal Devers to the Giants in mid-June. As I wrote about in my season review of the Giants; the Red Sox and Giants went in opposite directions when this trade went through. The Red Sox would have the 3rd best Al record at 51-37; the Giants 40-50. (the Giants did try to make a push for the playoffs but the first two months of the Devers era were too much to overcome.
The Red Sox concession workers went on strike during the season and encouraged fans not to purchase anything during the game.
Are concession prices getting a bit out of hand? Sure. But sometimes I think about the $16 burger and fries I’m buying as some restaurants and think, “eh, I’ve spent more on worst.” There is always the argument about beer being too expensive but that is actually the deterrent to drinking too much. If beer was cheaper going to games might be the worst experience there is. I don’t know a ton about the reason for the strike but I will always support people trying to get fairer wages.
I went to Fenway for the second time ever this season when the Red Sox played the Rangers. It was not a great game for the Red Sox but it was still fun to go to a game. I went by myself because my job has an office in Boston and I was there for work. I took the train to and from the game. On the way back there was a stoppage and I was stuck on the train for 45 minutes. I didn’t have any headphones or ear buds so I couldn’t do too much on my phone. After a while a lady in the back in the most Boston accent ever said, “Git me, off dis fawking twain.” It sucked being on the train but it was great to hear that.
Back to the team Aroldis Chapman was dominant late in the season. He went 16 straight appearances without giving up a run and had an ERA just north of 1. He loaded the bases in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and found a way to get out of the jam. He still throws absolute gas and while there is speculation this was his last season he could find his way throwing again next year.
I watched like 3 episodes of the docuseries that Netflix did of the 2024 season. It was fine. Obviously I didn’t finish it but it did a good job of showing the grind of being in the show. I’ve watched almost every documentary there is about the Red Sox winning their first World Series in almost 100 years.
Ceddanne Rafela was the bobblehead they gave away when I went to Fenway. Not being one to keep bobbleheads of a team I don’t follow I gave it to someone at the office I was visiting that week.
So Now That I’ve Actually Done Some Research How Did They Make the Playoffs and What Led to Their Demise?
The Red Sox led the Majors in errors committed and while it didn’t really hurt them in the first two games of their Wild Card series they did have an error in the 4 run 4th that proved to be the difference in that game.
Offensively they were solid, leading the league in Doubles, and were 4th in both hits and batting average. Trevor Story had a great year leading the team in Home Runs after missing most of the 2024 campaign with an early season shoulder injury. They had the 4th most hits with runners in scoring position and also drove in the 4th most with runners in scoring position, this despite have a team batting average in the middle of the pack.
Jarren Duran led the American League with 13 triples building off his impressive 2024 season. What’s crazy is that Durran actually had more triples last year.
Alex Bregman came over from Houston to play Third Base but he suffered a leg injury that kept him out for almost 2 months. He was able to make it back and contribute in the stretch run, but still didn’t produce what he had done in Houston.
Roman Anthony is the future of this franchise as they signed him to a large contract to buyout his team controlled years. It paid off. He batted .292 and hit 8 Home Runs. He was the August Rookie of the Month. Unfortunately, he got injured in August and didn’t play at all in September or in the playoffs.
As a team they had the 4th best ERA and were one of the best teams at keeping the ball from going over the fence. Their relievers, anchored by Chapman, had the 2nd best ERA and had the 6th most saves.
The other large signing they did with a young player was for Garrett Crochet who has emerged as their ace. He led the team with 18 wins and had a league high 255 strikeouts. I forgot they signed Walker Buheler but that was probably because they released him in August after he had an arm injury earlier in the season.
Everything about this team seems like they were balanced from a pitching and a batting perspective, sure the errors were an issue, but that wasn’t what haunted them in the playoffs. Getting a shutout obviously doesn’t help but the Yankees weren’t exactly knocking the cover off the ball either. They had a chance in Game 2 with the game tied late, but couldn’t get it done and they are now in the offseason.
Will they Make the Playoffs Next Year?
There are some routes for the Red Sox to make the playoffs next year. Let’s start with how they could do it through winning the division. The Blue Jays have a lot of questions on who will be coming back next season. They have some big names that the might let walk which means their reign at the top of the division could be at risk. There’s always the Yankees to worry about, but the Red Sox actually took 9 of the 13 matchups against the Yankees this year. So to win the division they will need to have a full strength Roman Anthony and Crochet will need to be the Ace he was this year. They have a lot of their young players locked up and assuming Bregman doesn’t opt out of his contract they should have a solid core coming back contending for the Division.
If the Yankees do what the Yankees do and spend a ton of money to stay out of the Wild Card spot than the Red Sox might have to settle for the Wild Card again. But they should be in that top Wild Card spot locking down the home game at least in that series.
They will be one of the many teams in the market for a first baseman as they were one of the worst teams in the majors to get production from their first basemen.
Just one postseason award.
Roman Anthony for Rookie of the Year. He got a rookie of the month nod and was a great story for the Red Sox during the season. Unfortunately he couldn’t finish it out but he should be getting some MVP votes in the future.
Hey Grok, in 100 words summarize the 2025 Boston Red Sox. Please don't be racist.
Grok and even Gemini broke down when trying to get a summary. Its fine. We are in the school year, and AI is busy writing book reports.
Did the Savannah Bananas Play at their Field?
They Did!
It was the 2nd straight year they played at Fenway. Johnny Damon had an at-bat. So did Jackie Bradley Jr. Brock Holt, a former Brewer, hit a foul ball into the stands that was caught.
The All-American Rejects played some songs during the game. I think the one thing that Banana Ball does is that it gives me a new bit of trivia about a band. Every game this year it seems like they have a popular local band playing during the game. So thank you Banana Ball now I know the All American Rejects came from Boston.
Is there a baseball movie featuring this team that has dumb baseball logic I need to vent about?
Fever Pitch!
I don’t care what people think. I like this movie. I once was someone who didn’t mind Jimmy Fallon. I thought he was fine and actually liked it when he was the host of the Late Show. I don’t watch the Tonight Show, or that much late night for that matter, but I know his show isn’t for me. When the writer’s strike happened and there was a podcast with the late night hosts it was clear that Fallon was the weak link.
Anyway, there isn’t much baseball logic to dissect in this movie. If anything it provides a very accurate backdrop of what it is like when you are a diehard fan having to deal with the inevitable loss that your team provides. It can be easy to think that can happen to all aspects of your life, but realizing that our ups and downs are just part of life is a great lesson to learn from a movie as sappy as this one may be.
How Will Your Team Do Next Year?
This will be a good team if they can stay healthy. The Blue Jays need to figure out a lot and the Yankees will be the Yankees. But I’m not going to pick the Yankees to win the division. Next year: 95-77 win the Division.
Next on the Chopping Block
We are at the Divisional Round but by the way the Yankees played in their first 2 games against the Blue Jays it could be them next.