Recent history shows repeating will be difficult for Red Sox
FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s a short walk from the players’ parking lot to the clubhouse entrance at JetBlue Park, just enough time to glance to the left and take in the large blue banner stretched across the back of the ballpark listing the nine seasons the Red Sox won the World Series.
The large blank space next to 2018 serves as a reminder that it’s always about what comes next for a franchise such as the Sox.
For this particular group, which returns nearly intact after winning 108 games and tearing through the playoffs, it’s a chance to make even more history.
No team has repeated as World Series champions since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
In the 18 seasons since, only two defending champions have returned to the Series the following season. That’s how difficult it has been.
The Yankees won the pennant again in 2001 but fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Series. The Philadelphia Phillies won the Series in 2008 then lost to the Yankees in the Fall Classic a year later.
When compared to other major sports, baseball is the outlier.
The Golden State Warriors have won the last two NBA championships. The Miami Heat (2012 and ’13) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009 and ’10) also repeated in the last decade.
The Patriots won backto-back Super Bowls in the 2003 and ’04 seasons. The Pittsburgh Penguins were NHL champions in 2016 and ’17.
In college football, Alabama claimed consensus national titles in 2011 and ’12. Florida had two NCAA basketball championships in a row from 2006-07. The University of Connecticut women ran off four in a row before finally being stopped in 2017.
In baseball, sharp regression has been far more likely than repeat success. Nine World Series champions have missed the playoffs the following season since 2001, and four had losing records.
The 2014 Red Sox set an all-time example of how not to handle success. After winning the World Series in ’13, the Sox were 71-91 a year later and finished in last place. Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Andrew Miller were among the veterans traded away that season.
Terry Francona won two World Series with the Red Sox and got the team back into the playoffs the following season. But they weren’t able to get beyond the ALCS.
“There’s the same [challenges] you always have, that it’s really hard to win. And then on top of that you have to fight the human nature of guys wanting to re-live [the previous season],” said Francona, who now manages the Cleveland Indians.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora played for Francona in 2007 when the Sox won the Series. The 2008 team won 95 games but fell in seven games against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. They were good but not good enough.
“It’s not that easy,” Cora said.
If there’s a hangover effect in baseball, Cora feels it’s more physical than mental. The Red Sox played 14 extra games over 28 days after the regular season and made three more road trips.
“Last year, health-wise, we were really good,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready. Hopefully everybody stays healthy.”
To the degree he can foster that in spring training, Cora will try. He plans to hold starting pitchers Nathan Eovaldi, David Price, Rick Porcello, and Chris Sale out of games until mid-March to compensate for their playoff workload. Their preparation will largely come in the bullpen or in tightly controlled scrimmages.
The same will be true for the primary position players. Their at-bats will be limited for a few weeks.
“People probably won’t like our lineups in spring training,” Cora said.
Cora certainly has not shied away from the challenge. On Jan. 17, he told a large crowd at the Boston Baseball Writers dinner, “If you thought last year was special, wait until this year.”
Raising expectations, as he did last season, could work for Cora. Placing the focus on repeating will make it hard to dwell on the past.
NEW HAVEN — For all that Hall boasts in elite depth and talent in the distance events, it tends to lack on the field side. The Warriors don’t tend to score points via shot put, long jump or high jump, and it puts a little bit of pressure on the runners.
But that’s how they like it.
“It just shows that we have to do the best in our events," said Miller Anderson, who won the 1,000meter run and was also part of the winning 4x400 relay, and the sprint medley that finished second. “We can’t rely on those field guys to get some points for us too. I think it makes it fun. No room for errors.”
Hall won the Class LL indoor boys track and field title at the New Haven Athletic Center on Saturday with 60 points. In addition to Miller’s win in the 1,000, the 4x400 team won with a time of 3:31.34 to give the Warriors a one-point advantage over Norwich Free Academy, which finished second with 59 points.
Trey Cormier took second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:22.20, and second in the 3,200 with a time of 9:24.48. The 4x200 relay took third at 1:33.76. The sprint medley was second in 3:42.95, and Muhammad Ali took fourth in the 600 with a time of 1:26.24.
“I think we’re definitely a sleeper pick for state title for indoor and outdoor track,” Cormier said. “There are a lot bigger schools out there. We make up for it in coaching, and just the depth of our team. We just have a really, really well-rounded team.”
Glastonbury girls take second place
No one came close to touching the Glastonbury girls 4x200 relay. The Tomahawks ran mostly unbothered, as anchor Sam Forrest crossed the finish line over three sec- onds before Brien McMahon’s anchor.
If there are such things as signs, then the Tomahawks’ dominance in the Class LL girls indoor track meet’s first event was a beacon of good things to come, as Glastonbury finished runner-up to Danbury. The Hatters scored 74 points, while the Tomahawks had 73.
“It has a positive outcome for the rest of the day,” Maya Bridgeford said of the relay win. “I can look back for the rest of the day and say, ‘I won the 4x2, I can keep going strong.’”
Glastonbury did just that, as it picked up key points in almost all events. Forrest went on to win the 300 with a time of 41.42 seconds. Sophomore Mallory Malz took third in the pole vault (10 feet), freshman Molly Harding took third in the 600 (1:39.57) and the quartet of Grace Sparrow, Angela Braga, Joelle Solecki and Grace Michalowski took third in the 4x800. Selina Soule took third in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet. The 4x400 relay won with a time of 4:02.28 - a meet record - but couldn’t catch the Hatters.
“As a team we’ve been working really hard to push ourselves and be the best we can be, and it’s really showed this meet,” Harding said.