It can’t possibly be as easy as manager Alex Cora and star hitter J.D. Martinez just made it look, right? In his first ever season as an MLB manager, Cora became the first Puerto Rican to lead his team to a World Series championship as the Red Sox beat the Dodgers four games to one with a 5-1 victory on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium. Not to be outdone, Martinez turned in by far the best first season in franchise history for a free agent as he ravaged MLB in the regular season (.330 AVG, .402 OBP, .629 SLG, 43 HRs and 130 RBIs) and his success only continued in October as he paced Boston with a .300 AVG, .403 OBP, .520 SLG, 3 HRs (1 in each playoff round) and a team-high 14 RBIs. If not for teammate Mookie Betts’ similarly brilliant 2018 campaign (.346 AVG, .438 OBP, .640 SLG, 32 HRs, 80 RBIs, 30 SB), Martinez would be a lock for American League MVP.
After two AL East pennants in a row but back-to-back first round exits in the playoffs, these Sox didn’t enter this season with such sky high expectations but they quickly rewrote team history with a franchise record 108 wins in the regular season followed by an incredibly impressive playoff run where they went 11-2 overall. In fact, they beat consecutive 100-win clubs from the American League (Yankees and Astros) before vanquishing a team (Dodgers) that had lost in Game 7 of the World Series last October. Their resume for being considered as one of if not the best team in the long storied history of the Red Sox is about as solid as can be. In fact, only the 1998 Yankees (generally considered the best team in modern MLB) is the only one with more wins (regular season and postseason combined) than these Red Sox, they finished with an absurd 125 victories.
The scary part for the rest of MLB is that Boston is still a relatively young team with a great nucleus and being managed by Cora (who made all the right moves in the playoffs and really coached circles around LA’s Dave Roberts all series) and with Martinez in his prime (he’s 31 with 4 years left on what looks like a bargain of a contract now-5 years for $110 million-that he signed last February), this group isn’t going anywhere for the next few years. You can’t expect World Series crowns every fall but Cora’s calm demeanor and ability to connect with his players, not to mention that he’s anything but a corporate robot like previous manager John Farrell, should give Red Sox fans plenty of confidence that he’s a star in his new chosen field. Likewise, Martinez’s renowned work ethic has gotten him this far so it’s doubtful that this will suddenly make him give up his maniacal routines and obsession with the craft of hitting. These guys are both prideful winners that seem built for long-term success in Boston, who could doubt either of them at this point?
