For the first time in a while, playoff baseball could be back in Boston
I can’t predict the future. Over 162 baseball games, any number of things can happen. The Texas Rangers won the World Series in 2023 and followed it up by winning 78 games without undergoing major roster turnover. The wizards that work in Las Vegas, however, can predict the future. Depending on where you look, the oddsmakers have the Red Sox odds of making the playoffs between -105 and -125. Those odds imply the Red Sox have a 50-55% chance of making the playoffs. If you want to get technical, they’re slightly lower than that because Vegas doesn’t give you fair odds. If you believe Vegas, and you should, that means the Red Sox will be in the mix in September.
I’m fortunate enough to attend games at Fenway regularly. I went to 50-something games last season despite a team that left a lot to be desired. I also was lucky enough to go to several games in September and October of 2021 (As well as a few playoff games in 2018). I know baseball isn’t as popular as it once was in Boston, but when the Red Sox get people’s attention, Fenway Park becomes a powder keg, just waiting for the opportunity to explode.
Watching the flawed 2021 Red Sox make a run is some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I can vividly remember watching Hunter Renfroe cut down Joey Wendle with a laser of a throw to end a game about a week after moving to Boston (Thanks for the tickets, Mr. Nunes). I spilled about $8 of an $11 Coors Light while celebrating Xander Bogaerts’ first-inning home run off Gerritt Cole in the Wild Card game. I spent a good portion of the rest of that game heckling a Yankees fan about their rapidly declining number of mound visits. His mouth said, “Nobody cares about mound visits,” but his tone indicated he cared deeply. Either that or he wanted to hurt me. I was also on the Sam Adams deck when Christian Vazquez walked off the Rays in game three of the ALDS and in the center field bleachers when Kiké Hernandez did the same about 30 hours later. The atmosphere in the park for each and everyone one of those games and moments was insane.
This isn’t to brag about my proximity to Fenway or access to tickets. It’s to say that when the games mean something, it’s that much better. I remember staring at the 2D gamecast on the way home from a high school cross-country meeting when Mike Napoli hit a home run in the 2013 ALCS, and the reaction on the bus was as memorable as some of the in-person memories. Sitting in the sun with a scorecard and a beer on a quiet Sunday afternoon is great. Standing in the bleachers, a crowded bar, or a tense living room on a frigid October night is even better, and I’m so excited to have that back.
Author’s note: The tense living room also requires beer.