In past years, Red Sox fans would go into the offseason with an ambitious wish list and big dreams for the upcoming season. Usually by Christmas the team’s done most of its shopping, giving fans the chance to buy new jerseys and tickets and look forward to a big new year.
This year? Fans aren’t feeling quite so festive.
After four mostly disappointing years Red Sox fans have reached their wit’s end, and the discourse surrounding the club has reached a depressing low. Not even a change in leadership from Chaim Bloom to Craig Breslow has lifted fans’ spirits, and the stubborn optimism that once defined the fandom has been replaced by chronic melancholy.
It’s going to take more than a couple free agent signings or trades to help lift the mood.
Because Opening Day is still four months away, the kind of inspiring worst-to-first turnaround it’ll take to break the cycle of negativity isn’t something Santa can deliver this Christmas morning. But there are a few other things on Boston’s wish list that might brighten some spirits, even if they aren’t quite as concrete as, say, a front-of-the-rotation starter or a big right-handed bat.
A sense of direction
When the fog rolled in and things looked most dire, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stepped up and helped guide Santa’s sleigh on its annual trip around the globe.
The Red Sox could use that kind of guiding light to help pierce the fog right now.
Over the past few years they’ve seemed aimless, attempting to compete (or claiming to) while simultaneously executing a long-term rebuild. The results have been unsatisfying, and at times it’s felt like the roster was assembled on the Island of Misfit Toys.
Now heading into 2024, fans just want to know which way things are going. Are the Red Sox going “full throttle” as chairman Tom Werner recently declared, or is Boston looking at another bridge year? Can fans realistically get their hopes up for a big season, or is the club still setting the table for Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony’s arrival in 2025?
Some clarity would go a long way towards helping fans set reasonable expectations. You can only get your hopes up so many times before disappointment turns to apathy.
A vibe shift
When the Grinch descended upon Whoville and ransacked the town, he stole all the presents and food to be found. But when the Whos down in Whoville awoke Christmas Day, they sang all the same, to the Grinch’s dismay.
Red Sox fans could learn a thing or two from the Whos about resilience in the face of adversity.
Yes, a lot has gone wrong lately, but that doesn’t fully explain the pervading sense of doom that has fallen over the fanbase. It’s not just that fans don’t believe things will get better, many mock the notion that the Red Sox will ever really try again.
Of all people, the Fenway Faithful should know better.
So many of Boston’s best moments occurred when things seemed to be at their darkest. The first World Series in 86 years came only after the Red Sox fell into a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 hole. The 2013 championship came after a last-place finish and a citywide tragedy. It’s not even like the Red Sox haven’t made any big moves lately, but for various reasons the Trevor Story signing and Rafael Devers extension barely made a ripple against the overwhelming tide of public opinion.
Whether through a big signing, a big trade or some massive change in fortune, the fans desperately need their mojo back. But realistically, if we want to get to the root of the issue, there’s only one thing on Boston’s wish list that will ultimately make a difference.
Some commitment from John Henry
There’s a moment late in Will Ferrell’s holiday classic “Elf” when Michael, Buddy the Elf’s younger brother, tries to help New York City rediscover its Christmas spirit by interrupting a local news report and reading from Santa’s list on live TV. When the reporter expresses bemused skepticism, Michael finds her name and tells the world exactly what she wants most for Christmas.
“Charlotte Denon wants a Tiffany engagement ring and for her boyfriend to stop dragging his feet and commit already,” Michael says to hoots and hollers from the assembled crowd.
It’s a hilarious moment, but also an apt analogy for where Red Sox fans are with this franchise right now.
Red Sox fans care about their team. They stuck with the club through 86 years of championship futility. In the last 12 years they’ve endured a roller coaster run featuring six last-place finishes, including three in the last four seasons.
Yet as much as fans are invested, lately it’s felt like owner John Henry doesn’t feel the same.
Since trading Mookie Betts in 2020 the Red Sox have scaled back spending and mostly haven’t competed for the best players on the market. Henry himself hasn’t spoken to reporters in nearly four years, and while the Red Sox seemingly sit on the sideline his ownership group has invested huge sums of money in outside ventures, like buying the Pittsburgh Penguins and becoming major players in the professional golf landscape.
Where the Red Sox were once Henry’s one and only, it now feels like his eye is wandering and his heart isn’t in it. That’s been tough on Red Sox fans, who just want to feel like their commitment matters and that this isn’t all a waste of time.
That kind of validation, more than a starting pitcher and a right-handed bat, is the gift Red Sox fans need this Christmas most of all.