As the MLB season got underway, there was not much buzz surrounding the 2021 Red Sox.
The Red Sox were coming off a 2020 campaign to forget about. They were last in the AL East, and had the fourth worst record in all of baseball. They were without Alex Cora and Chris Sale, and had guys underperforming in JD Martinez. On top of all of that, they had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. This all resulted in the Red Sox finishing the shortened season with a 24-36 regular season record.
The 2021 Red Sox were indeed supposed to be better than the 2020 team, but the question was how much better?
Many thought that they would improve, but it’s hard to find anyone that thought they would be be one win away from heading to the ALCS.
Sports books across the country and national analysts pegged the Red Sox to finish the regular season with 80-84 wins. Many thought they would finish third in the AL East, and could sniff a wild card berth if things broke their way.
The Red Sox re-hired Alex Cora to be the team’s manager, and Cora immediately re-connected with the team, and sure enough the team improved. Rafael Devers mashed 38 home runs, JD Martinez got back on track, and Xander Bogaerts put together another all-star campaign. Nate Eovaldi put together a healthy season, that displayed shades of dominance.
Chaim Bloom had some key in-season acquisitions that proved to be pivotal. Most notably, the addition of Kyle Schwarber. He’s helped this Red Sox team, giving them another potent bat at the top of the order. Since Schwarber has arrived in Boston, he’s hit .291, with an OBP of .435. Schwarber also hit a massive home run in the wild card game against the Yankees. It’s fair to wonder if the Red Sox would be at this spot without Schwarber.
Going back to the end of the regular season, the Red Sox are 6-1 in their last seven games, averaging over six runs per game during that stretch. Alex Cora has been pushing all the right buttons managing this team, navigating through a bullpen that was full of question marks. The bullpen has been a massive strength this postseason, led by Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock. The Red Sox have had some clutch at-bats, most notably, Christian Vasquez’s game winning home run in the 13th inning in game 3 of the ALDS.
The Red Sox weren’t supposed to win more than 85 games, they weren’t supposed to beat Gerrit Cole and the Yankees in the wild card game, and they were supposed to get swept by the 100 win, Tampa Bay Rays.
Well, here we are on October 11th, and the Red Sox have proved everyone wrong, and have exceeded expectations every step of the way.
The Red Sox are one win away from an ALCS berth, and just five wins away from heading back to the World Series.