Why I Have a Hard Time Feeling Fussy about the Red Sox
Every little thing’s gonna be alright.
In the above photo, the celebration for the Boston Red Sox winning the 2018 World Series begins. Before it becomes a mob of teammates jumping upon one another, it is the catcher, Christian Vazquez, hugging the pitcher who got the last out, Chris Sale. David Price gets there first. Joe Kelly is right behind them. And more and more players arrive until it’s just the mob.
Vazquez was the latest catcher to catch the final out for a Red Sox World Series title in the twenty-first century. Keith Foulke and Doug Mientkiewicz did the trick in 2004 to win the championship, but the 2007, 2013, and 2018 titles all ended on strikeouts for the Sox.
In 2007, Jonathan Papelbon pitched the last strike to Jason Varitek. In 2013, Koji Uehara delivered the knockout punch to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. And in 2018, Chris Sale delivered a pitch that brought Manny Machado to his knees and Christian Vazquez caught it.
For that, Vazquez will always live on in Red Sox lore. The gravy on that moment is the fact that he is currently hitting over .300 for the Sox, which is practically unheard of for a catcher.
Another thing that is practically unheard of is someone like Sale being the one to close out the World Series. Boston had Craig Kimbrel in the bullpen. He’s one of the all-time great closers! It’s always closers who, you know, close the game. But instead, Boston turned to Sale to bring the storybook, all-time winningest Red Sox season to an end. He’s the one who threw the first pitch of the season, too.
He finished what David Price started, as Price finally shook off the demons of the playoffs in a way only a Boston athlete could (we don’t see Clayton Kershaw coming out of that closet, do we?). Price can be seen just to the left of Sale’s head in the photo. Joe Kelly is right behind him. Kelly shook off the demons of a rocky 2018 regular season to become one of the game’s relief pitchers for one solid October.
Boston would not have won the World Series without any of these guys, but they definitely would not have won it without the most prominent hitter in the photograph, J.D. Martinez. The Red Sox were perpetually American League East champions from 2016 to 2018, but they never got over the hump. That is, until Martinez was brought in and he immediately became the difference maker. Boston had power back. They had confidence back. They had a slugger back.
And everything went right for the team. The 2018 team I’ve written plenty about over on UpToBoston. Everything went right, everything was perfect, and they won the World Series, along with 119 games across the seasons. They only lost three times during the playoffs! It was a season I’ll never forget.
But nothing went right for Dustin Pedroia. Machado basically ruined Pedroia’s career as the second baseman was on a track for the Hall of Fame. Not anymore. I’ll never forgive Machado for that, but I’m not going to wax poetic about Pedroia just yet. He hasn’t officially said he will retire and I won’t count him out until the ink is dry. But you can see Pedroia in the above photograph.
He’s all the way in the back. He’s not rushing to the mob. He’s slightly out of focus. He’s smiling, but he isn’t in a hurry to pound on Xander Bogaerts’ back or anything. He seems like he might just be taking it all in. And he’s hanging back, allowing the team that played every day together, while Pedroia became a player-coach in the dugout and in warmups, to celebrate. This isn’t really his team anymore.
Aside from Pedroia’s Hall of Fame bid being derailed by a dirty slide, the thing I’ll most regret about the unfortunate end to his time in the game is the fact that he never really got to play with this crew. We never really saw how Pedroia fit in with guys like Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Martinez, Vazquez, Steve Pearce, and more. It would have been cool to see the 2007 Rookie of the Year become the true veteran, but we were robbed of that. But we do know that even though Pedroia still leads, it isn’t his team.
Devers is probably the best hitter on the team right now. Jackie Bradley, Jr. is obviously the best defender. Mookie Betts just won MVP. Price and Sale are perennial Cy Young candidates. Nathan Eovaldi is an all-time Red Sox already. And Bogaerts is probably the team’s captain, if you had to pick one.
It’s a different era from the teams Pedroia played with. It isn’t 2007 when Pedroia slotted in with David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, and Jason Varitek. And it isn’t 2013 when Pedroia was one of the motley crew comprised of Ortiz, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and Shane Victorino. This is the 2019 squad that has Marco Hernandez, Brock Holt, Michael Chavis, and Eduardo Nunez trading reps at the second base position, which used to be a mainstay. It is the new era.
And yes, I’d love Pedroia to be a part of it. I think he would make an impact on the team and help them catch the New York Yankees in the division race. But I also don’t mind that the Red Sox might not go all the way this year. There’s a lot of cause to be frustrated and fussy about the team this year. They’ve greatly underperformed and they refuse to go after someone to help in the bullpen. But I just don’t feel that frustration anymore. And I think the last stand of Pedroia is emblematic of why.
He’s getting older, he’s probably getting wearier, too. I feel that weariness, even though I am just twenty-one years old. It’s because I’ve already experienced a lifetime of sports glory and successes that most fans would kill for. In my lifetime, I’ve seen six Super Bowl titles for my favorite football team, the New England Patriots. I’ve seen a NBA championship for my hometown basketball team, the Boston Celtics (still holding out for the Orlando Magic to grab one, though). I’ve seen a Stanley Cup victory for the Boston Bruins, my favorite hockey team. And I’ve seen four World Series titles for my favorite sports team ever, the Boston Red Sox. Throw in a couple Florida Gators victories and what more can I truly ask for?
I’ve reached sports fan nirvana and it almost felt like gluttony when the Patriots won again in 2019. It never gets old, but I do feel like I just don’t deserve it. Now that my two favorite teams won in the same year, what more can I hope to see, you know? I feel weary about more titles, as much as I may want them, because I feel like I’ve had my share. Now, it’s time for everyone else to get theirs. I want to see teams who have never won before actually hoist a trophy. It made me very happy to see the Toronto Raptors do that! I want other fanbases to experience that.
I want to see the unbelievable joy that would come from a Cleveland Browns Super Bowl or a Texas Rangers World Series or a San Diego anything. I want this feeling to belong to everyone.
What has made Boston’s championships so special has been the narratives. The scrappy, upstart 2011 Bruins squad. The “anything is possible” 2008 Celtics. The Patriots, who went from a Cinderella story to a dynasty to a “holy shit Malcolm Butler intercepted it!” to a come-from-behind for the ages to a team that won the Super Bowl when only best receivers were Julian Edelman and a twenty percent healthy Rob Gronkowski.
And especially the Red Sox.
In 2004, they broke the curse with the band of Idiots that came back from a 3–0 ALCS deficit against the Yankees. It’s probably the best story in sports history.
In 2007, they were dominant and I finally found my favorite athlete as Pedroia turned on the laser show and the Sox steamrolled to another title, the first one I can remember following every day of.
In 2013, they shed the horror of Bobby Valentine, avenged the Boston Marathon bombing, and returned to the lovable idiots who were so damn fun. I still watch the grand slams of Papi and Victorino and listen to “Three Little Birds.”
In 2018, they were one of the best teams in all of baseball and I rooted for them so damn hard because I wanted Mookie, Benny, Devers, Price, Kelly, and the rest to finally get their rings.
It’s been the most satisfying string of championships and I truly cannot wish for anything else. I can’t want any more than what they have given me already.
But I’m sure, if Pedroia comes back, then I’ll suddenly be pulling for a 2019 World Series title. Because the narrative would be a phenomenal, impossible comeback by Dustin Pedroia, former MVP. All it takes is a narrative to bring my deep-seeded hardcore Boston sports fan to come roaring back. And my demeanor can match the insufferability that any non-Boston sports fan believes I have (which I do) from the fact that I wrote this post to begin with.
But you just can’t help it. At the end of the day, there’s nothing better than seeing your team’s logo next to their sport’s trophy. The weeks of coverage that follow and the year of reigning that comes with it. Nothing compares.
But I’m content. Until the next one.
