The highs and lows of the 2026 Red Sox

What was your favorite moment of the season?

Wilyer Abreu’s go-ahead home run in the seventh inning against the Rays just after the All-Star break. The team went into the break red hot, but at that point they were still only one game over .500, and being a playoff team was far from cemented. When the ball left the park, it was a real “this team might actually be magic” moment, and watching the games stopped feeling like a chore.

Roman Anthony’s absolutely stunning slide into home plate on August 31 against the Mariners. It tied up the game, setting the table for the Sox to walk it off in the next inning—but that’s not what I love about it. It is beautiful in its own right. It’s so precise, it could be ballet. It’s tight and complete, like a perfect poem: if you add or subtract anything, it doesn’t work anymore. It’s hypnotic; I almost go into a trance when I watch it. It brings me somewhere else and it’s amazing to me that the human body can do things like this.

It was the dramatic White Sox game on August 6. The team looked so down and out and I was texting folks throughout the broadcast stating “you know, it’s okay to lose a game, they just don’t have it tonight.” Then came the runs in the 9th inning, and then the 10th, 11th and 12th. The hottest version of this team simply did not say die.

Opening Day. There was a certain level of buzz, excitement and expectation about the future of the team I don’t think we’re going to see again for a long, long time. The Sox won 3-0, Garrett Crochet tossed six scoreless innings, Roman Anthony went 3-4 with a walk and seemed poised to have a gigantic season off his .920 OPS in the World Baseball Classic, and Marcelo Mayer had a pinch hit double and scored the winning run. The future seemed set, a division title seemed possible, we didn’t quite know how bad the rift was between Alex Cora and the front office, and playoff baseball at Fenway Park in 2026 felt likely. [Sigh]

It would be unfair to say the season was all downhill from there as it contained many wild ups and downs; but, just like a roller coaster, the top of all the other hills never reached the heights that preceded the first drop at the beginning of the ride. And, unfortunately, I think the Red Sox are worse off as a club moving forward because of it.

The first thing I did on the Game 15 / Game 16 winning streak doubleheader day was grab a ticket to what would have been history. I’ve never been to a playoff game but I felt like the atmosphere at that game and the eruption at the Rafaela walkoff against the Rays in June 2025 must be what it’s like to witness some of those great moments. People cheering the team after they lost game two and didn’t extend the winning streak to 16 was magical. With the way the season ended I hope that isn’t forgotten. 2026 was a special team, even if that didn’t mean playoff glory.

Collectively, the four-game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway Park in late June. For about the 10th time in two months, we went into that series knowing that “if they don’t turn it on now, the season will be over,” and even that felt impossible when you did the math at 32-46. From Caleb Durbin popping his pinky back into place to take Cam Schlittler deep in the opener, to the Red Sox lineup picking up Wilyer Abreu’s defense in extra innings in the finale, there were four TEAM wins in a row that embodied who they were for a 32-5 stretch this summer that I will never forget.

Seeing that wild walkoff (and review!) against the Giants in August was one of the coolest endings to a game I’ve ever seen at Fenway. Maybe it was the fine domestic beverages I had that evening talking, but after that victory I thought that we might’ve had some special devil magic that could’ve helped us come October. I thought we might’ve had the Mandate of Heaven.

What was your least favorite moment of the season?

Besides the end, probably losing Garrett Crochet for the season. His last outing (besides the postseason) came on the day Alex Cora was fired, and vibes were at an all-time low. I still can’t help but think about how differently the season might have gone if he were healthy.

Well the end, obviously, but outside of that, it was the pelvic thrust hit celebration from March and April.

For sure the hitting woes the team faced in Colorado, of all places. If I were to name one game, the game that seemed thoroughly in hand up 2-0 before the offense laid an egg and Aroldis Chapman seemingly caught the yips and couldn’t record an out. Luckily, something pretty special followed that soon thereafter, and Chappy was awesome down that stretch.

The bludgeoning at Yankee Stadium to end the season is the cop-out answer. But guess what? It’s also the correct one. Not just because getting your brains beat in by the most unlikeable team in sports by a combined score of 18-2 sucks, but because all the components that surrounded it also sucked and have the potential to be long lasting.

Best case scenario is the disaster somehow ends up contained to those two nights and doesn’t prove to be a harbinger for pretty much anything in the future.

That final loss to the Rockies before things turned around. It felt like the last game (19 inning walkoff loss) before the All-Star Break in 2006 against the White Sox. We didn’t know at the time, but that was the beginning of the end for the 2006 team. This year was already turning into a lost cause and that felt like the tipping point – getting wiped out by a team that is supposed to be bad and seeing that worse team is the one from Boston. Glad to be wrong!

When the Red Sox took their foot off the gas on August 31st, after losing three of four to the Yankees. Fenway Park had collectively taken their tarps off and supported the squad with relentless enthusiasm for months, but suddenly the games felt inconsequential. I was in attendance at “The Jedixson Paez Game,” and I’m still waiting for a refund. Once they did that, we all knew that the next game(s) that truly mattered would be a month later on the road, and they were never able to get the car back into “Drive”.

Not gonna say the obvious answer, although of course my least favorite part in earnest was the Wild Card loss. Besides that, I gotta say it was that Brayan Bello implosion against the Braves back in May. Five early runs for Atlanta prompted me to start asking existential questions to myself about Bello, who does deserve his flowers for eventually bouncing back following his stint in AAA. Still, that was the moment where I officially thought we’d be in for a loooooooooooooooooong season.

Who was your favorite player?

I’ve been Payton Tolle’s biggest supporter, but even I wasn’t expecting him to improve as much as he did year over year. Even more important than his numbers, he’s just an absolute joy to watch with his on-field antics.

Willson Contreras, the heart and soul of the team for a lot of the season.

Mickey Gasper. I liked him when he was playing in Worcester. He was dreadful in his first time up, failing to get a hit in 18 tries, went to the Twins and performed, well, sub-optimally, came back on a minor league deal, lit the world up down there, came up and struggled, and then hit like Mickey Mantle for the hot streak. The team all ran cold at the same time, but when they were mostly hot and Gasper found the ball, you really did believe.

For 2026 specifically, Caleb Durbin. He fought back from an absolutely miserable first couple of months (he was batting .190 as late as June 16th), grinded through injury, played excellent defense, got his uniform dirty pretty much everyday because he has to play that way to survive in this league, and made a huge impact in that 15-game winning streak. He’s never going to be a superstar, but I think he fits in well somewhere on a championship roster.

Ceddanne ‘Nuf Cedd Rafaela. Catch after catch after catch. We’ve been lucky to watch some really good center fielders in Boston but sometimes he’s on another level.

Payton Tolle. His ability to combine incredible talent with a genuine love for playing baseball is what everyone should strive for. From the second he sent the Red Sox off to the WBC with USA shaved into his chest hair, I knew he was a real one.

We have a guy who can become our first legitimate homegrown ace since Jon Lester. For this year, for the stuff he’s done on and off the field, it’s gotta be Mr. Tolle.

Who was your least favorite player?

I appreciate that Patrick Sandoval was able to make it back on the mound after several injuries, but the guy just doesn’t have it anymore. There were players who were worse than Sandoval, but he was the most frustrating guy to watch on the mound.

Marcelo Mayer. I wasn’t sorry to see him go.

It’s been 10 for me for three of the last four years, but this year, it’s 16. I will say this with a precursor that fans get too belligerent with players and that I’m mindful and empathetic of Duran’s mental health struggles. However, the early iteration of this team suffered too many distractions due to Duran chirping back at guys he already beat by simply being on a Major League diamond, and his slash line of .207/.266/.361 simply shouldn’t be good enough to be a starting outfielder of a playoff contender. Never mind that he’s not even that good in the outfield. And also, the public lambasting of a teammate that is FAR outperforming him on not tagging up on a ball he would’ve clearly been thrown out on was dreadful. I mean, this has to be the worst season a guy who’s stolen 20 bases and hit 20 home runs has ever had, right?

Jarren Duran. He represents too much of the missed opportunity and threat of decay that seems to be hanging over this franchise. The doubles and triples that were once a staple of his game evaporated in 2026, and I’m beyond tired of seeming him do absolutely nothing every time this team goes into Yankee Stadium (he has the most at bats by any left hander in Yankee Stadium without a home run). It’s time to move on.

Adley Rutschman. Yeah, it was fun when he hit from both sides in the home run derby. That was years ago. Hopefully he has a big 2027 if there’s a season.

Marcelo Mayer. It wasn’t a coincidence that he went on the IL at the start of the Yankees series in late June and what happened to this Red Sox team in the weeks that followed. His attitude, work ethic, and hesitance to play through minor bumps and bruises were never going to survive in Boston.

Duran. Not worth repeating everything already said. You’ve seen the numbers. Next.

Overall, the 2026 Red Sox season made you feel…

The more seasons that go by, the less I care about winning the World Series. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to get drunk on Boylston Street as duckboats meander by as much as anyone, but not winning it all doesn’t ruin a season for me anymore. The remarkable, improbable, unexplainable run in July and August was a blast. Fellow Bryant Bulldog Mickey Gasper becoming the best hitter on the planet for a span was electrifying. The end of the season was a damper, but the team rescued summer and gave me a reason to keep watching. I don’t think I answered the prompt, but it was a fun season.

Right now I’m still angry at the way they closed the season—from September through the embarrassing Wild Card series. Maybe those rough edges will smooth out with time and perspective, who knows. What I do know: there were high highs, and low lows. Those highs were amazing, while the lows were the worst. As I continue to process, it’s hard to distill into one feeling so I guess I’ll say like I was on a rollercoaster.

Highs and lows. I realized how truly bad this team can be when everyone just stops performing. Those moments bookended how good a team made of scrappy platoon guys and a few decent hitters like Abreu and Contreras was. And this was without their ace, even if they seem to have found another top-of-the-rotation stud. Through it all, there were some coaching inconsistencies that I feel confident will peter out as Tracy simply learns the ropes.

Flabbergasted! My head is still spinning from all the shocking moments. I can’t believe things took such an ugly turn from where we were on Opening Day. I can’t believe the club managed to salvage the season from 32-46 with the 15-game winning streak while they were mostly injured. I can’t believe they were so unprepared for the Wild Card Series. I can’t believe how bad the injury stuff got. I can’t believe how messy the Alex Cora stuff got. And honestly, I can’t believe how different of a place we’re in from seven months ago. It’s going to take a while to grab our bearings after that whirlwind.

I don’t think every year needs to be “World Series or bust” to be successful but almost eliminated from the idea of playoffs in June is mind-boggling. Were they ever as good as the streak made them look? No. But late June, July, and August was one of the best (and most fun) stretches I’ve ever watched. And there wasn’t a guy massively overachieving. I mean, Gasper, but it’s not like it was a full season with 60 homers out of nowhere. Chandler Simpson on the Rays hitting zero homers is more unlikely than a career minor leaguer coming up and hitting 10. I had a fun season and clearly so did a lot of the team. If they lost 2-0 and 4-2 to the Yankees, which is not an unreasonable take with slightly better pitching (the bats didn’t show), people wouldn’t be nearly as upset right now.

Stagnant. Despite the numerous twists and turns — and I have to say there were more of them this year than any season I can remember — we’re right back where we were one year ago. With a similar record, the same seed in the playoffs, losing to the same team, and with the same offensive struggles and lack of power hitters that we saw a year ago. With the same GM saying the same (robotic) things that don’t really feel like answers at the end of the season.

The entire spectrum of emotions. At one point or another, this team made me feel something—and it was something different each and every time. I went from optimistic to apathetic before the All-Star Break. Delusion turned into delirium over the course of 15 straight wins in the summer. Ambitious dreams in August made way for tempered anticipation for a postseason berth in September. All of that led to anger, sadness, and—frankly—exhaustion by the time it was all said and done last week in the Bronx. Now, with a potential lockout looming and no Red Sox emotional rollercoaster to be had, I don’t know what I feel.