The Red Sox have started off the brand-new season on a good note. The Red Sox had. A ten-game road trip to start the season, which opened in Seattle. Boston had opening day in Seattle, which they ended up winning 6-4. Newly acquired Tyler O’Neill hit a home run to give the Red Sox an insurance run in the eighth inning. This may not seem like anything super special, but O’Neill made history by being the first player to hit a home run in five straight opening days.
It is cool that O’Neill made history, but this is also huge for the Red Sox because he is showing promise. In my previous article I praised the O’Neill pickup by Boston. I said that he was a gold glove outfielder with good speed and power who just needed a change of scenery. There is still a lot of season left, but O’Neill is showing signs that he can be a major player for Boston. The Red Sox proceeded to lose the next two games to the Seattle Mariners.
These loses aren’t anything to worry about as the Mariners are on par with, if not slightly better than, the Red Sox. These were close games, which should be encouraging for Boston. In the end they split the series, as Boston won game four. Garrett Whitlock had an excellent performance against Seattle with five innings pitched and eight strikeouts. The Sox bullpen held the lead for the victory.
Next the Red Sox had a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. Boston ended up sweeping the A’s as they should have. Oakland is easily the worst team in MLB and a disgrace to the sport. John Fisher, the A’s owner, is one of the cheapest owners in the sport. The team, under his leadership, traded away star players for practically nothing in return multiple times.
Fisher burnt down the organization in Oakland, so he can build in back up when they move to Las Vegas. Just around the time the Red Sox swept the A’s, Oakland announced that they will be playing the in a minor league park in Sacramento from 2025-2027 while their new stadium is being built in Las Vegas. I would not feel any remorse or pity for the Oakland Athletics organization, I feel pity for the passionate Oakland fanbase that suffered through years of incompetent ownership only to see their team leave the city.
I would be thankful that the Red Sox are a cornerstone of Major League Baseball and this will never happen to them. No matter the mistakes that the Red Sox ownership makes, they are still signing players and are committed to the city of Boston. Next Boston continued their West coast trip by playing the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels are a fractured franchise after losing their best player, Shohei Ohtani, to the Dodgers in free agency. Ohtani signed a ten year $700 million contract to make him a Los Angeles Dodger for life. This is a gigantic loss for the Angels that they did not try to fill. To be completely fair, it would be very difficult to replace Shohei Ohtani, as he is a unicorn. Than being said, I think the Red Sox are better than the Angels.
The Red Sox-Angels series is on going as I am writing this article, as they only played one game. The Red Sox won the first game of the series led by Tyler O’Neill. He went three for four with two home runs. This is just more evidence that he can be a difference maker on this team.
Boston plays two more games against the Angels and then heads home to Fenway Park to play their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox have shown some true grit through the first few series of the season. I think Boston will be a surprisingly good team that may shock the baseball world.