Although the 2018 Red Sox still have one last obstacle to complete before we have the "best Red Sox team of all time" discussion, they're well on their way to earning that title.
Neil Paine of fivethirtyeight.com raised the issue in a fascinating post after the Sox finished their five-game takedown of the Astros in the ALCS, and it's a legitimate point.
Not only did Boston set a franchise record with 108 wins this season, but the Red Sox' 7-2 postseason record heading into the World Series is the team's best ever. They were 7-3 in 2004, 7-4 in 2007, and 7-3 in 2013. The 2018 squad had to accomplish the feat vs the Yankees and defending champion Astros, both of which had over 100 regular season wins. The only other team to take down two 100+ win ballclubs en route to the World Series? The 2004 Sox.
It's hard to imagine anything ever living up to '04. The band of "idiots" rallying to complete a seemingly impossible ALCS comeback over the Yankees, and then finishing the job in the World Series to break the curse, will always be remembered most fondly. That storybook season is full of nostalgia and kickstarted an amazing run in Boston. As great as those memories are, what we've witnessed 14 years later needs to be appreciated for being one of the most incredible seasons in Boston sports history.
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With their postseason success, the 2018 Red Sox have made the concerns surrounding the team throughout the year look pretty silly in hindsight. The bullpen? It's come up huge with the exception of some heart attacks from Craig Kimbrel. Jackie Bradley Jr.? He was your ALCS MVP and proved myself and plenty of others wrong. David Price? We'll see what he does in the World Series, but his pennant-clinching outing in Houston shut the critics up for the time being.
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There's still work to be done. Alex Cora will be the first to tell you that. But when we look back on this 2018 team, there's a chance we'll remember it as the best Red Sox club ever assembled.
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