Sox season ends where it began

Every spring, at 0-0 before Opening Day, hope is the common denominator for all baseball teams. Hope that this will be the year.

But the Red Sox didn’t start with reasonable expectations of going all the way in 2024. No doubt, there was hope in corners of Sox Nation, but Vegas oddsmakers back in February anticipated 80.1 wins, and the house was right again.

On Sunday, after 162 games, the Red Sox finished dead even at 81-81, ranked third in the American League East. It marked the 25th time Boston had returned to a .500 record this season.

The Red Sox have now missed the postseason five times in the last six years (also 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023).

As it was last year, the second half was a brutal one for Boston. After going 53-43 (.552) before the All-Star break (5th-best in the American League), the Sox stumbled to a 28-38 (.424) record in the back half, the third-worst mark in the AL. Boston was 30-41 (.423) last season’s second half.

On the road, the Red Sox were 43-38 (.531), their first winning record in away games since 2021 (also 43-38). But at Fenway, the losing streak extended to a second consecutive year, finishing at 38-43 (.469), the worst full-season home record since 2019 (38-43).

Interleague play, so often a hallmark of Red Sox excellence, faltered again in 2024. Boston went 21-25 (.457) against National League clubs this season, extending the club record with a third consecutive losing seasons in Interleague. Prior to 2022, the Sox hadn’t ever compiled losing records in back-to-back seasons of Interleague play.

Good Starts, Rough Ends

Red Sox starters allowed a .236 opponent average this season, which was the 4th-lowest BAA in the Major Leagues. They also compiled a 3.81 ERA (6th-best in AL) and 1.191 WHIP in 2024 (3rd-best in AL). Both were significant improvements over 2023, when Boston starters had a 4.68 ERA and 1.290 WHIP. It was the team’s best starters’ ERA since 2018 (3.77).

The Boston bullpen, was a different story. Their .259 BAA was the worst in AL and 2nd-worst in the Major Leagues after the Rockies (.282). The pen’s 80 home runs allowed was the most of any Boston relief crew since 2019 (83).

Only the hapless White Sox, the team that set the Modern Era record for most losses in any single season, blew more saves than Boston’s bullpen (31). Sox relievers converted on just 56% of their save opportunities. Only the Marlins (55%) and White Sox (36%) were worse.

Extra Outs

The Red Sox defense compiled American League-high 115 errors in 2024. Only the Marlins had more (117). The tally of Boston bumbles included an MLB-worst 27 errors by outfielders (27). Boston’s error tally was their most in any single season since 2004 (118).

Since 2019, no Major League team has committed more errors than the Red Sox (543).

Errors lead to unearned runs and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Red Sox led baseball in that total, too, with 95 UER, or more than half an extra run allowed per game in 2024. Boston’s UER total was 20 more than the next-highest tally in the American League (75 for the White Sox).

The 95 unearned runs were the most in any single season for Boston since 1996 (114).