Staking a claim as one of the greatest teams in baseball history, the 2018 Red Sox finished with 119 wins, including an 11-3 record in the postseason. Matched against the defending world champions (Astros), and two of the game’s signature franchises, the Sons of Alex Cora clinched all three playoff series on the road, shredding the competition by an aggregate 84-51. Pearce, who hit two homers and knocked in seven runs in the final two games, was named World Series MVP.
This is an alternate universe for Sox fans of a certain age. During the 86-year drought, the Red Sox lost the World Series four times, each in an excruciating seventh game. Not anymore. The Red Sox own the World Series in this century, winning in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. The Sox are 16-3 in World Series games in the new millennium.
Full column: Boston Globe