The 2025 Red Sox season officially begins Wednesday in Fort Myers.
Pitchers and catchers report to Fenway South.
You get a free subscription to all the books in your local library if you can name all the pitchers and catchers invited to camp.
The Red Sox have become the maestros of mediocrity.
81-81 in 2024.
359-360 (.499) overall since 2020, including the postseason.
Perfectly average.
Nobody likes “average.”
Give us a dynasty or a disaster.
Excellence or Ugh-cellence.
We’ll take 2011 over 2022 any time.
The current Red Sox have been afflicted by a pandemic of fan apathy.
A Fandemic, if you will.
This Fandemic comes at a time when the general public’s attention span rivals that of a yellow lab with ADHD.
The Red Sox need a vaccine, and power on the right side of the plate. We’re not sure Alex Bregman can ward off this Fandemic without a few boosters. The best vaccine for apathy, of course, is winning. Or at least trying to win.
There’s no better way to vampire the spirit of the fan base by playing Fantasy Baseball for Juan Soto only to end up spending less money in free agency than the Sacramento Athletics or Arizona Diamondbacks.
The folks at Fenway Sports Group may never want to say this publicly, but they must be as grateful as DraftKings for legalized sports betting in the Bay State.
As we were reminded during the Super Bowl, even a blowout can keep you glued to the screen. Ask the millions who unsuccessfully wagered on Saquon Barkley or Travis Kelce scoring a touchdown.
The Red Sox, like every other MLB team, benefit from both the revenue and eyeballs generated by legalized wagering. Still, you don’t need to watch the game to bet on it.
For every fan who has one eyeball on NESN and the second on the status of their same-game parlay, there are two more who now binge “Gilmore Girls,” live stream “League of Legends” or go-all-in on “Candy Crush.”
Visiting fans swarm Fenway Park each summer like Visigoths. “America’s Favorite Ballpark” doubles as John Henry’s favorite cash cow. Win or lose. It’s become a tourist trap with pole seats.
All is not woe. This season marks the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Red Sox. I was 10 that spring, summer and classic fall. The 1975 Red Sox have occupied the Oval Office in my baseball soul ever since.
Tony C. (and Hank Aaron) on Opening Day. Fred Lynn’s magical evening in Detroit. Tiant out-dueling Jim Palmer at Fenway on a September night in 133 minutes. Bernie Carbo’s home run. Dewey’s catch. Fisk’s home run. Yaz’s lollipop to center that ended Game 7.
I barely missed a pitch. In color. In black and white. Or on WHDH-AM 850.
A season-long celebration of the 1975 American League champions will help alleviate several “Fandemic” symptoms this year.
But with each 1975 celebration comes the danger of comparison to a team that included three Hall of Famers (and that’s NOT including Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant).
The El Tiante tribute on Opening Day will trigger more tears than a nuclear bomb made from onions. We’ll probably get a first pitch from Carlton Fisk, Dwight Evans, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Bill Lee and Yaz. Among others. And Yaz will be home before the bottom of the second.
The shared presence of Lynn, Evans and Rice will be a reminder of the best Red Sox outfield of my – or any other – lifetime. Especially when you move Yaz to left after Rice’s late-season injury.
The experts project a Red Sox starting lineup full of familiar-yet-mostly-underachieving names from 2024. Second base remains a three-way coin toss. (Vaughn Grissom appears to be the early leader). The 2024 Red Sox used nine players at second base who started more than two games. The 1975 Red Sox had three: Doug Griffin, Denny Doyle and Bobby Heise.
In 1975, the Rooster crowed daily. Rick Burleson played an MLB-best 158 games and started 157 at short. Last year, five different Red Sox players started at least two games at that position.
There’s no better example of lowering of standards on Jersey Street and the complete transformation of technology over the past half-century than the following:
In 1975, Red Sox fans on the “Nice” list got an LP record for Christmas entitled “SUPER SOX ‘75” that detailed the highlights of the season narrated by Ned Martin. The 54-minute, two-sided tale ends with Fisk’s home run at the end of Game 6. Game 7 never happens.
The Red Sox memorialized their 2024 season – the one that finished 81-81 in third place of the AL East, 13 games out of first – with a multi-episode Netflix docuseries. Where’s Channel 38’s Holy Trinity of “Hogan’s Heroes,” “The Movie Loft” and “The Three Stooges” when you need it?
Fingers crossed; we may only need the Red Sox to keep us occupied from the Celtics Banner 19 parade until Drake Maye’s first full practice in pads.
Fans are already guaranteed an upgrade over 2024, despite Henry’s best effort to focus his resources and passions on everything but baseball.
At worst, we’ll get a wondrous ride down our personal Memorial Drive back to the low-def summer of 1975.
At best, the 2025 Red Sox flirt with the final wild-card and keep New England watching until leaf-peeping season returns.
Anything to end this Fandemic.
(Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com)