The Boston Red Sox have won another World Series title — their first since 2013 and fourth since breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” in 2004.
The Red Sox were the best team in baseball throughout the regular season and they completed a thrilling run through the postseason to capture the franchise’s ninth World Series title when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in a decisive Game 5 tonight.
And they aren’t going anywhere either. The team is young, and will be ready to defend the title next season.
The Boston win ended, and reduced the Dodgers to repeat World Series losers for the first time since 1977-78.
Boston won 108 games in the regular season — clinching a postseason berth in early September — and cruised past the New York Yankees and Houston Astros in the American League Division Series and AL Championship Series, respectively.
A matchup of dominant left-handed starters — both of whom had often struggled in the postseason — looked like it would be decided by the bullpens when both teams put runs on the scoreboard in the first inning. But both David Price and Clayton Kershaw showed some of their best stuff when the lights were at their brightest, settling down into a pitchers’ duel at Dodger Stadium.
Price, who had never won a postseason game as a starter coming into this season, was simply better.
FACTOID: The Red Sox are the first team to win a World Series on the 100th anniversary of a previous team championship. That’s history!
The 2018 Red Sox have stated a pretty solid case as being the best team in franchise history.
Their 108 wins set a team record.
Their plus-229 run differential matched the 1949 Red Sox, who didn’t win a title, for the second-best in team history.
The record, plus-255, was set by the 1912 Red Sox team that won 105 games and beat the New York Giants in seven games (plus a tie) in the World Series.
But what really sets the Red Sox apart is their dominance of the rest of the field in this year’s playoffs.
This was a loaded bracket, with the American League in particular being more top heavy with power teams than any circuit in recent memory.
On to the White House?
Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t think visiting President Trump in the White House will be an issue for the Red Sox.
“I think as an institution, Major League Baseball has always had the greatest respect for the office of the presidency,” Manfred said. “That doesn’t change, no matter who’s there. Often we’ve had situations where individuals, players, whatever, don’t agree with all of the policies of the individual that occupies the office. I think the important thing is respect for the office.”
In September, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed his displeasure about Trump questioning the death toll from Hurricane Maria in his native Puerto Rico.
“To be tweeting about 3,000 people (dying) and being efficient, it’s actually disrespectful for my country,” Cora said. “We see it that way. I know he probably doesn’t feel that way.”
Since Trump has taken office, the usual ceremony has become a hot-button issue.
The NBA’s Golden State Warriors didn’t go after winning championships in 2017 and 2018, and the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t visit the White House after winning the Super Bowl this year.