Red Sox 2018 Team Breakdown
Analyzing the ‘Post Ortiz’ Era Red Sox
Simply one of the most dominant teams of the 2010’s era, the 2018 Boston Red Sox cruised their way to another dominant championship run under captain Right Fielder Mookie Betts and manager Alex Cora. Boston had to get over the hump after the retirement of David Ortiz in the 2016 season they finished 93-69 and were swept in the ALDS by Cleveland. They proceeded to finish with the exact same record in 2017 at 93-69 this time losing in 4 games in the ALDS to a surging Houston Astros.
2018 was the year to take that next step for Boston, with former #1 prospect Andrew Benintendi having his first full year of service time and young power hitter Rafael Devers looking to make an impact for the big club. Those 2 top prospects at the time looked to make a similar impact as Xander Boegarts and Mookie Betts did in the Red Sox 2014 championship winning season when they were top rated prospects. Boston also cut previous manager John Farrell loose following disappointing playoff losses, a big risk considering he won 93 games 2 years in a row.
Boston was the most consistent team in baseball in 2018, recording a 19-6 record in April and July and winning over 62% of their games 5 out of 6 months. Their run differential finished at an astonishing +229 as the staff was led by dominant lefty Chris Sale followed by veterans David Price and Rick Porcello. Boston would end up cruising to a 108 win season in 2018, the most in franchise history and good for first place in a competitive AL East.
The mix of veterans and young talent throughout the roster made Boston an absolute nightmare for opposing teams to match up with and they were practically invincible at Fenway, going 57-24 at home. Their 119 win total including the playoffs are the 3rd most in baseball history, trailing only the 1998 Yankees and 2001 Mariners. They’d go on to eliminate two 100 win teams in the AL bracket with ease being the Yankees in 4 games in the ALDS and defending champion Astros in 5 games.
You may be curious what the formula was that made Boston so dominant, and it starts with the sheer amount of star power they had. Here's a short list of just the all-stars Boston had this season, and their season long numbers:
RF Mookie Betts: 10.7 WAR .346 AVG 32 HR 80 RBI 1.032 OPS 30 SB
DH J.D. Martinez: 5.9 WAR .330 AVG 43 HR 130 RBI 1.078 OPS
CP Craig Kimbrel: 1.3 WAR 2.73 ERA 42 SV 13.86 K/9
SP Chris Sale: 6.2 WAR 12-4 Record 2.11 ERA 13.5 K/9 158 IP
1B Mitch Moreland: 0.9 WAR .245 15 HR 68 RBI .758 OPS
These players all had significant impact in the championship run, but there were some notables left out like SS Xander Boegarts’ .288 AVG 23 HR while driving in 100 and Rafael Devers 21 long balls. The offense ranked first in the AL in average, OBP, SLG, OPS, hits, doubles and total bases. This was partly due to Alex Cora’s ability to platoon with preferred matchups against left handers and right handers, where guys like Steve Pearce, Brock Holt and Hanley Ramirez all played key roles. Listed below is the full team baseball savant page for qualified hitters:
The page is mainly highlighted by the career years from Martinez and Betts, but gold glove defense and utility is another thing this team had so much of. Jackie Bradley Jr, Betts and Benintendi made up the best defensive unit in all of baseball, with Benintendi making a huge game saving catch against Houston in the ALCS. Defensive utility came in the infield with Eduardo Nunez, Brock Holt and Ian Kinsler. Their utility allowed guys like Rafael Devers and Mitch Moreland to have the day off against tough lefties where the matchup isn’t as favorable.
Boston played up to their status in the postseason in 2018, with a lot of franchise defining moments against tough opponents. I mentioned the Benintendi catch in the ALCS, but Jackie Bradley Jr went on a tear in that series taking home ALCS MVP honors while hitting 2 massive homers in the series and driving in 9 runs.
Flashing forward to Game 3 of the World Series against LA, the game ended up going 18 innings and Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi pitched 6 huge innings in extras keeping Boston in the game until an unfortunate walk off solo homer from Max Muncy in the bottom of the 18th inning. Eovaldi would end up pitching 8 innings in the series with a 2.25 ERA and eating huge innings that saved Boston’s bullpen to eventually close out the series in game 5. Unsung hero 1B Steve Pearce took home World Series MVP honors, slugging .333 with 3 HR and 8 RBI in the series in the 3 hole. Listed below was Boston’s full lineup in the World Series:
RF Mookie Betts
LF Andrew Benintendi
1B Steve Pearce
DH J.D. Martinez
SS Xander Bogaerts
3B Rafael Devers
2B Ian Kinsler
C Sandy Leon
CF Jackie Bradley Jr
With a franchise with as much deep history as the Red Sox do, they had their best season of all time by a lot of metrics in 2018. Many baseball experts consider this Red Sox team to be one of if not the best team in the 2010’s.
Personally my favorite part about this team was the collective group effort. Some Red Sox teams in the past had defining players like David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia carrying the majority of the load, but this team used all 26 men to get the job done.
That’s not to say that guys like Betts, Sale and Bogaerts aren’t Red Sox legends, but they didn’t win 108 games on their own. Betts would later be traded to the Dodgers following the 2020 season over a weird contract dispute, Xander Bogaerts signed a 11 year deal with the San Diego Padres in December of 2022 and Chris Sale was traded to the Braves this past offseason. The only player from the 2018 team on the current Red Sox is Rafeal Devers, as he continues his all star campaign in 2024.
Sources:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2018_WS.shtml
https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/transactions/_/name/bos/season/2017
https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/steve-pearce-career-world-series-stats
