Bosox Fans 63 & Younger Still Waiting For 1st 100-Win Season In RSN
An interesting view of the Boston Red Sox from Tom Scocca in an Op-Ed piece in the Boston Globe today:
If anything, I’m more concerned for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays outscored their opponents last year, and they’ve outscored their opponents this year too, and they’ve been buried in fourth place. At the trading deadline, the Sox tried to pick up Toronto’s best player, pitcher Roy Halladay. When Toronto set the trade price too high – high enough to maybe get the franchise back into contention someday – the Sox settled for taking the Cleveland Indians’ all-star catcher, Victor Martinez, instead.
Plucking the best players from the rest of the league has long been the Yankees’ approach. After slipping to third place last year, they outbid the world for C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira – a number-one ace and a number-three hitter – and are on pace to win more than 100 games for the fourth time in this decade.
The Red Sox, with their state-of-the-art brain trust and perpetual-sellout revenues, are hoarding talent, too. But they haven’t won 100 games since 1946. And they’ve finished first only once since Clemens left. But they’ve finished second in nine of the last 11 seasons, and are on their way to making it 10 of 12.
Since baseball added the wild card, the Sox have been playing in their own world, where the only goal is to make the playoffs. Pennant races are for the little people, in their second-class divisions. The 18- or 19-game war of hype and attrition against the Yankees is just for show. The Sox will gladly be the footstool to the Yankees’ regular-season throne, as long as they both get to October. They’re in this together.
The Red Sox haven’t won 100 games in a season since 1946? I had to check that one myself – because it seemed too crazy to be true – but, it’s correct. Furrther, the time before 1946 when Boston won 100+ games was 1915.
Imagine that – just two 100-win seasons since 1915. What does that average out to…once every 47 years? I’ve been a Yankees fan since 1973 and I’ve never known this about Boston until today. Wish I knew this stat before…it would have come in handy at times, for sure.
