The 2018 MLB season was one to remember for the Red Sox.
Boston won a franchise record 108 games en route to a World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that ended with Chris Sale striking out Manny Machado.
While both Mookie Betts (Dodgers) and Sale (Atlanta Braves) are on different teams, the two reconnected recently and looked back on the magical year on “On Base With Mookie Betts.”
“I just remember showing up to the park, and every day was like, ‘we’re gonna win,’” Betts said. “Every day we just came and beat the brakes off ‘em and went home. I remember a stretch when it was just like, every day we just came, and we beat the brakes off them, and we went home. And Cora had it to where we were just hanging out in the clubhouse… and we get to the playoffs, and we were just steamrolling them.”
Sale added: “There was really no panic at all. And the playoffs are very pressured, I mean, it’s a tense environment. I think just the way (Alex Cora) ran that team, there were a couple of points in the year where you look up, and you’re like, ‘Man, we’re the nastiest team in the league.’”
After 2018, though, things changed for the Red Sox. Betts was traded to Los Angeles in 2020 while Sale was traded to Atlanta in 2023.
The Red Sox haven’t been able to replicate that same kind of success since then. In fact, they’ve made the postseason just once in 2021 since the 2018 season. Rafael Devers remains the only player currently on the roster from the 2018 team.
