The 2024 Boston Red Sox Are Painfully Average

The team’s record has sat at a near 50-50 split for most of the season. They ended March 2-2, April 17-13, and May 29-29. They have not been more than two games away from .500 in either direction since May 7. Their highest win % came on May 1, where they rose to 18-13 against the Giants. Since then, they have continued to skid, falling from 1.5 GB to 13.0, where they sit now.

The lack of pizzaz exists across the board for the Red Sox. The team batting average sits at .250, a meager .009 above the league average. Boston’s. 732 OPS doesn’t stray far from the league‘s .700. Boston’s pitchers are generating 8.8 strikeouts per 9 against a league average of 8.4. They’re giving up 0.9 HR per 9, the league average is 1.1. You get the picture.

The categories in which the Red Sox stand out the most are the ones nobody wants. Every break from the norm is overshadowed by poor performance somewhere else. For example, they have a 3.48 team ERA versus the league’s 3.97. Being .50 under the average is not insignificant. They are fifth in the league with 606 total hits, and fourth in doubles at 130. However, their defense undoes these gains completely. They lead the MLB in errors committed at 52. They are dead last in fielding percentage at .980.

Trevor Story to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery

When added up, all of these different factors begin to cancel each other out. What’s left is a painfully boring and average product. Combining this with ownership that seems uninterested at best and hostile at worst leads me to believe that this result is more calculated than accidental. Red Sox owner John Henry has told fans to curb their expectations, describing their hopes to contend for championships every year as “unrealistic”. It’s worth noting that Boston is the third most valuable franchise in the MLB but isn’t even in the top 10 for payroll this season. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2021, and have finished last in back-to-back seasons in the AL East. I don’t expect this season to be any different.

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