Red Sox got from worst to best with team chemistry

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

Before the beginning of this season, every sports outlet had woeful predictions for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox had just come off of their worst season in a long time, and hadn’t changed the team too much, so things weren’t necessarily looking good for the team.

But despite having many of the same players who didn’t work in 2012, a new manager and a lot of chemistry have put the Red Sox back on top. And now everyone is talking about them.

Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images

The New York Times ran an article today by Tyler Kepner called “Red Sox Are a Monster Again.” Kepner highlights all of the elements that turned an awful team into the best team: the chemistry with the players and the manager, smart investing in new players, and trimming the worst of the old ones.

And when you look at the the progress the Red Sox have made, it is a pretty astounding story. With John Farrell, they brought in a familiar face, and the relationship seemed to be good from the start. The players they acquired in the off-season, like Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and Mike Carp, started producing almost instantly. It was as though everything just clicked.

“It was evident in spring training that we had brought in some players that had not only had success in the past but were team players,” said Farrell according to the Kepner article. “There was a clear-cut plan of what was trying to be achieved, and that was followed by targeting the right guys.”

So by deliberately choosing players they thought would be good teammates as well as good players, Red Sox management was able to construct a first place team. And with such a large lead in the AL East, they may have constructed a playoff team.

Comment or follow me @_SamMG