With opening day just a few days away, the Boston Red Sox will kick off their 2024 season at the Seattle Mariners.
Last year, the Red Sox had a disappointing end to the season with their second consecutive last-place finish in the American League East. With a 78-84 record in 2023, the Bostonians faced a bit more difficulty than triumph.
In a lot of ways, the 2023 campaign was nearly identical to their performance in 2022 as they once again finished at the bottom of the league. Although they had the occasional victory run every now and again, they fell to the basement of the league for the third time in four seasons.
The last time the Red Sox experienced the most notable and outward triumph was their 2018 World Series win over the Dodgers. Now, only one player from that season remains, Rafael Devers.
Devers, a third baseman from the Dominican, will begin his eighth season with the Red Sox. The now-veteran emerged on the scene in 2017 when he made his MLB debut in Boston and has stayed ever since. In the 2018 season, he batted .240 but has since improved to .271. In 2023, Devers was a team leader racking in 90 runs scored, 33 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Although Devers has struggled a bit on defense and has been called “inconsistent” by critics, his offensive skill has shined through in recent years.
Alongside Devers on the World Series stage was MVP Steve Pearce. The MVP sealed the Bostonian’s deal in the fifth game of the series with two home runs, contributing to the 5-1 win. Since then, Pearce has parted ways with the Red Sox and retired.
“We can talk about ‘18 all we want. The magical run in ‘21 or [the championships] of ‘07 or ‘04 or ’13, none of that matters. We’ve got to turn the page, man. That’s gone.”
Boston Red Sox Team Manager Alex Cora
However, team manager Alex Cora refused to dwell on the past. “We can talk about ‘18 all we want. The magical run in ‘21 or [the championships] of ‘07 or ‘04 or ’13, none of that matters. We’ve got to turn the page, man. That’s gone.” He said.
Now, the team has been left wondering for several years what they can do to remedy the drought.
Down in Florida as part of the Grapefruit League, spring training has been pretty successful for the Bostonians. With a 17-12 record, the group is outwardly doing well. However, spring training is no true indication and doesn’t necessarily translate into regular-season success.
Essentially, the spring game is largely different from the regular season. With minor leaguers in the mix, veterans using the matches as practice and pitchers refraining from using their best pitches, the game is different at its core. ESPN even noted that the correlation between spring and regular season records is 0.15. So although the Red Sox may be enjoying a favorable spring training record, their regular season fate still remains up in the air.
Heading into the 2024 season, Trevor Story, who will be entering his third season with the Red Sox, will be a name to watch. Story’s 2023 season was largely derailed due to elbow surgery which kept him sidelined for a portion of the year. Although Story did not return to his full batting potential, the shortstop provided instant defensive support with eight defensive runs saved in just 36 games.
The team will also be supporting manager Cora in his last contract year with the Red Sox. Cora took the position ahead of the 2018 season and rode the World Series high that same year. While Cora told ESPN it’s too early to discuss his future plans, the group still has a full season ahead of them.
As for the Mariners, they posted 88-74 and a third-place finish in the American League West last season. The Red Sox have their final spring training contest on Tuesday and will quickly pivot to the regular season in just 48 hours for a Thursday night season opener.