Time for applause
We should appreciate 108 wins
A show of hands, please, if you remember that 105-win season the Red Sox put together in 1912.
For everyone else — a.k.a. everyone else — please take a second to give a heartfelt round of applause for the regular-season gift that is the 108-win Red Sox season.
Then, take another moment to acknowledge the fact you and I may never see a Red Sox team win exactly two out of every three games again in our lifetimes.
You don’t have to be a practicing Buddhist to be present and mindful of this moment, to take the time to acknowledge just how special of a season the Sox just produced.
It also doesn’t make you a sap, a homer or pom-pom holder to stop and smell the bouquet of roses this team just dropped in your lap.
Sniff now and forever cherish the aroma.
You and I both understand that about five minutes from now, just after you close out of or turn the page on this story, we’re all going to become frothing-at-the-mouth lunatic sad-sacks and neurotics, sharpening our knives and quills as we dissect all the flaws and shortcomings of the squad as it prepares for the first of as many as three upcoming postseason tests.
The unknowns, the doubts, the concerns, the freakouts — all that jazz that comes with the territory around here?
It’s coming all right, but right now, cast a gaze upon this unspoiled terrain, this virgin forest, this newly discovered planet.
Yes, there are still 11 October games to win before this Red Sox team can be crowned the franchise’s legit “Best Team Ever.”
Just don’t forget about the first 108, three more than any other Red Sox team ever won. That’s remarkable. Between now and whatever comes next, they were still remarkable.
Like you, the Red Sox understand 108 will mean squat if they don’t win 11 more. But for a glimmer there, you could see manager Alex Cora utter an iota of contentment.
“We’ve got (today) off and we’re satisfied, we’re happy with it (108 wins),” said Cora. “But we know what’s coming. Our goal is to win 11 games in October, that’s what we set to do in spring training and we’ve done a good job staying in the moment. Step by step, getting to the playoffs first then winning the division then securing home-field advantage then taking care of guys and now. Everything starts Friday.”
Aw, man. Friday can wait a second.
Let’s not forget to congratulate Mookie Betts, who won a batting title (.346), who’s got the inside track on the AL MVP. A bit like the 108 wins, we may never see a better all-around season from a Red Sox.
Betts tried to keep the 108 vs. 11 wins conundrum in some balance when asked about winning the World Series.
“It means everything, that’s why we play the game, but if we don’t, that doesn’t mean it’s a failure,” said Betts. “We still set a record and it’ll be a great team. It’s tough, nobody said it was going to be easy. We know that, that it’s going to take some work. These 108 wins mean absolutely nothing going into the playoffs. We know that, just taking it one game at a time.”
If Betts and the others can actually take it one game at a time, stay within themselves, give 110 percent, put good swings on balls, reflect on this season when it’s over, why can’t we just take this moment to give a huzzah to a player like Betts? Cora could. “He put in the work, he’s a good student of the game,” said Cora. “Baserunning-wise, defensively. Not selfish. Whenever he had to play center field, he played center field. I think everybody in the organization is proud of him.” And others, too. J.D. Martinez hit a home run yesterday, No. 43 on the season, the most ever for a first-year Red Sox.
We learned this season that we have yet to see the best of Xander Bogaerts, as he reached career-highs with 103 RBI, 45 doubles, 71 extra-base hits, .522 slugging and .883 OPS.
We saw center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. do just about everything he needed on defense to win his first Golden Glove, we watched Chris Sale dominate like few others before his shoulder let him down and we saw David Price have a splendid comeback season.
A rookie manager led them to 108 wins, and now the team turns its attention to what’s next.
The calendar flipped to October at midnight, so everything is different now.
Still, April through September — pretty good, huh?