Photo: Clive Mason / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
By Chris Ryan
The Boston Red Sox enter one of the most important off-seasons of John Henry's tenure as owner.
I would argue that this fall/winter is more significant than any since 2003, and you could argue is even more imperative.
In 2003, the Red Sox owned this region, the fan base wanted to erase generations of failure to secure a title since 1918, quiet 'The Curse of the Bambino' and they were just a few pieces away. GM Theo Epstein, with the support of ownership, made bold moves acquiring starter Curt Schilling and closer Keith Foulke and the rest was history.
Fast-forward to 2024, the Sox have now won four World Series, but have now missed the playoffs five out of the last six years, and three straight seasons. They also have arguably fallen behind the Patriots, Celtics and Bruins in popularity in the region.
How did this happen?
Well, a lot has changed over the last 21 years. There is more and more competition for attention and dollars and fans have gotten used to winning around here.
On Halloween in 2018, I was at Fenway Park as the World Series champions gathered prior to their duck boat parade. I canvassed the gathered crowd on the field and looked for some good interview subjects and happened upon Henry. I wanted to know how he'd done this, winning four world series in 15 years when the franchise had won zero in the previous eighty-six.
It was an odd interview.
Instead of basking in the glow of the World Series trophy, highlighting his leadership style, or talking about players, he discussed the most important thing being "revenue".
He talked about how creating revenue allowed for everything else to take place. If you had revenue, you could sign better players, etc.
Henry continued that the dips that followed the World Series titles diminished overall revenue and potential revenue and that there needed to be a model more sustained competitiveness.
Looking back, that philosophy seems to have driven a lot of what we've seen over the subsequent six seasons.
In 2019, the Red Sox fired one baseball's best executives, Dave Dombrowski, less than a year after winning the World Series! Why? The Sox had failed to make the playoffs, and Dombrowski had increased payroll substantially.
The team then hired Chaim Bloom from the Rays, and traded a generational talent in Mookie Betts.
The plan seemed to be in place, keep costs low, increase revenue, focus on developing young talent.
The problem is that the last three years have been a sustained valley. Meanwhile, the Celtics are starting a dynasty, the Bruins are in the mix for the Stanley Cup each year and the Patriots are still living in the glow of the Brady/Belichick era with the region very interested in their success, and much more frequently, as of late, their failure.
The problem is that the Sox have largely become irrelevant, however attendance is still solid (11th overall, 32,838 average), but I have to believe that other revenue areas have dipped.
The Sox have an abundance of young position players, and in 2025 and 2026 will not have enough opportunities for everyone to play. If they wish to remain vibrant and relevant in this region (and grow revenue) they need to acquire more pitching and a right hand bat to supplement this group.
The Press Pass column drops Fridays and the show airs on iHeart NH Saturday and Sunday at 11a. Chris also covers the Patriots for WBZ-Boston's News Radio and host's New Hampshire Today weekdays from 6-9a on iHeart NH.