WBOB Original Reads

The 2018 Red Sox are the Greatest Ever but not the Best

11/2/2018

Christian Martinelli

In the sports world these days, terms like “GOAT” and “the best ever” get thrown around too often. They’re too loosely by fans.

When people used to say the greatest of all time, athletes like Joe Montana, Babe Ruth, and Michael Jordan were the firsts to be mentioned.

Now someone has 100 yards receiving and a touchdown and people will be calling them the “GOAT” all over social media. It’s due to the participation trophy world that we live in.

The greatest of all time conversation is one that has caused many fights and many disagreements between many different perspectives, but the 2018 Red Sox have a hard resumé to argue with.

The Boston Red Sox just blew through the entire major-league regular season and playoffs without any trouble. They were star studded with the likes of Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Chris Sale, David Price, and Craig Kimbrell. The 2018 Red Sox were great.

They are far and away the greatest and most talented Red Sox team of all time. Not only that, they are also the best baseball team in the history of major league baseball. I said it! There has never been a team with this much talent going against amazing competition.

This team was unstoppable, and it was clear they weren’t going to be stopped by anyone.

It was unprecedented. The team has two possible MVP’s, three former Cy Young award winners, a brilliant rookie coach, and young depth at every position.

This was the most talented and accomplished baseball team ever seen in a single season. Dominant is the only word that describes this team and their undeniable greatness. This 2018 championship season will never be forgotten and forever cherished by Boston fans.

Although they were great, and to me the greatest ever, they were not the best ever. What? That makes no sense, let me explain.

The best Red Sox team of all time is the 2013 team. This might sound like a stretch since the 2018 team had 11 more wins than the 2013 team, and the 2004 team broke the 86 year curse, but there is a distinct difference between the word greatest and best.

The 2018 team has the greatest team ever, because they accomplished the most and were the most talented team this city has ever seen. The 2013 Red Sox are the best team ever, and that is due to the impact they had on the city after the tragic events of the Boston marathon bombing that occurred that year.

In their own right as a team the 2013 Red Sox were amazing, what made them even better was their uncanny ability to bring the entire region of New England together after it was shattered to pieces on that fateful day of April 15, 2013.

Three innocent bystanders were tragically killed, and 264 more were badly wounded by this mindless violence. The city was hit hard, and it was an emotional time for everyone that loved Boston.

There was one big man that uplifted the city as soon as it happened, and that man was David Ortiz. His famous speech before 37,000 fans at Fenway Park proclaimed, “This is our f***ing city, and ain’t nobody gonna dictate our freedom! Stay strong!!!”.

The Red Sox kept that same intensity that Ortiz instilled in them throughout the entire 2013 season. From that moment on the Sox went on a mission to win a championship for the ailing city.

The feeling that they were a team of destiny was undeniably strong. A moment no Red Sox fan will ever forget was created by the same man that uplifted the city when it was needed most. David Ortiz hit a clutch grand slam against the Detroit Tigers in the Championship Series, and wound up winning MVP of the World Series too.

They fulfilled their destiny by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to win the World Series, and acted as a beacon of hope and happiness to Boston. A feeling that was lost after that horrific day in April. It was now October and they were champions, and Boston was on the road to recovery.

That is why this Red Sox team was the best Boston has had, not on the field, but for the well-being of a great city. Sports are meant as a means of entertainment to us, but when given the chance they can really be an amazing tool to heal and bring masses of people back together.

The 2018 Red Sox deserve all the love and respect in the world for what they accomplished this year. It was no easy feat, but we can NOT forget what the 2013 team did for the cities’ morale. Love and positivity was spread throughout the city and the Sox were the catalyst for that. Who knows if Boston would have even recovered by now if it wasn’t for this team?

Boston is tough, gritty, and can deal with adversity. Sometimes the adversity can be too much even for the toughest of people, so the Red Sox used it as fuel to help heal an entire region during a horrendous time. If you were around for that magical 2013 season you will remember how much they uplifted a bludgeon community, and that is why they are the best Red Sox team we will ever see.