What a summer for Boston sports! For anyone who forgot to check the local news, the Red Sox traded franchise player Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for three pitchers and an outfielder — a bag of chips plus a soda. It was a messy break-up, to say the least. One day in early May, Devers is happily playing designated hitter, and the next, a flood of reporters and Sox fans alike take to their keyboards with disdain after Devers refused to play first base. It felt like a toxic smog had surrounded the clubhouse. The nickname “Diva Devers” took off, and by mid-June, Devers was gone.
Clubhouse drama seemed inevitable last season when the Sox acquired Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to replace Devers at 
third. Last season, Bregman won a Gold Glove, and Devers made the All-Star team. However, all seemed to be working out fine at first. To put it simply, the Sox expected Devers to step up as a leader; he didn’t, and management prioritized team culture (plus freeing up Devers’ $313 million contract!) and let him go. I liked the move when it happened, and I’m still pleased with the results. Following the trade, mixed reactions spread rampantly on social media, but all one could do was watch and wait. And it’s been nearly impossible to look away.
After an 11-2 win against the Washington Nationals on America’s birthday, the Sox went on a 10-game win streak that propelled them into third place in the American League (AL) East — the first such streak since the 2018 championship team. Despite the rushing success, I remained skeptical since the bulk of their streak came from beating up on struggling teams, but the team hasn’t slowed down. Starting August off strong, the Red Sox swept the AL West-leading Houston Astros — another impressive feat done for the first time since 2018. Am I suggesting that the Red Sox are going to win the World Series? No (fingers crossed, though!), but for the first time in a while, things are looking good at Fenway.
What’s the secret sauce? I’m not one for clichés, but it seems like the team has adopted and rallied behind somewhat of an aggressive underdog mentality. The team’s batting average is sitting around a solid .252 (7th in the MLB), and while handfuls of home runs aren’t flying out the park every night (11th in the MLB), batters are getting on base (8th in the MLB), and runs are being scored (4th in the MLB). The boys are swinging and with confidence!
Likewise, with a team ERA of just 3.67 (5th in the MLB), the pitching staff has definitely stepped it up a notch. Now, I’d be a fool to ignore last year’s second half of the season’s bullpen collapse, which drove the Sox from second in the division in August (like today … ) down to a .500 team and out of playoff contention by September. However, I’m confident in the current one-two-three of Garrett Crochet-Brayan Bello-Lucas Giolito, and I’m loving the 37-year-old “Cuban Missile,” Aroldis Chapman, who’s somehow still throwing 103 mph fastballs to close games.
“What’s the secret sauce? I’m not one for clichés, but it seems like the team has adopted and rallied behind somewhat of an aggressive underdog mentality.”
Lastly, although the team has a collective chase percentage (swinging for strikes at balls) of 29.5% (8th in the MLB) and could benefit from some more patience behind the plate, it seems like the group embraces these embarrassing swings and moments: The next batter steps up with the same attacking mentality — a true testament to the culture they’ve established.
Now, it’s no secret that, over the past few years, the Red Sox have garnered a reputation for being a team that gives up in the clutch time, and though roughly 41% of this season’s losses have come from “one-run” games, the team leads the league with 10 walk-off games. Out of all the stats I’ve mentioned in this column, this figure alone, and the movie-like nights created at Fenway in the process, has sparked hope in countless ecstatic fans sitting in the audience, myself included, that this “Cinderella-story” season could make it all the way.
So, while the team should still be focused on making it through the wild-card round, glimpses of promise are starting to show in Fenway. With red-hot rookie Roman Anthony recently signing a confidence-boosting eight-year contract extension, I’m excited to see what this team can pull off in September.
