How Do the 2026 Red Sox Stack Up Historically?
Is this one of the worst starts to a season for a Red Sox offense?
Throughout most of my life, the Red Sox were known for offense. Ted, Yaz, Fisk, Rice, Boggs, Mo, Nomar, Manny, Papi, Mookie, the list goes on and on. The problem was always pitching. Between Luis Tiant leaving in 1978 and Pedro Martinez arriving in 1998, the Red Sox had exactly one star pitcher, Roger Clemens. 2004 broke that trend and that balance of offense and pitching was the catalyst for four championships.
The recent exodus of star hitters from Boston is well documented so I won’t rehash that painful tale of woe, however it seems as though 2026 is the year they hit rock bottom. At the quarter mark of the season (40 games), the offensive numbers are hard to comprehend. These are the Red Sox, a team that plays at hitter friendly Fenway Park. Let’s start with something simple. There are 177 qualified hitters in MLB (3.1 plate appearances for each team game). The Red Sox have 7 qualified hitters and here are their ranks:
Three of the Red Sox starting position players are in the bottom 10%. Only 3 are even above the league average of .709. So, this got me thinking, given the Red Sox history of offense, just how does this team stack up over the last say, 100 seasons?
This is how the 2026 team ranks after the first 40 games of the last 100 seasons
The rate stats are mind-boggling. 94th in batting average, 92nd in OPS. They can’t get on base and they have no power. This is literally one of the worst offensive starts to a season in Red Sox history. It is incomprehensible.
Years upon years of heartbreak passed as the Red Sox failed to win World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986, but you knew you could go to the ballpark and see a hitting exhibition. 1979 was probably my favorite year as a young Red Sox fan as Fred Lynn and Jim Rice lit it up every game at Fenway, but they finished 3rd in the AL East because guys like Mike Torrez, Bob Stanley, and Steve Renko were in the rotation. 1997 was a great year to go to the park as well. Mo Vaughn hit 35 dingers and Nomar hit 30 but they won 78 games because they had pitchers named Aaron Sele, Jeff Suppan, Butch Henry, and Heathcliff Slocumb.
I don’t go to Fenway anymore but even if I lived in the area, it would be the last place I’d want to go. Watching this team bat is depressing. They keep running Trevor Story and his $25M salary out there because, well, he makes $25M. Any other player would be DFA’d at this point. Caleb Durbin looks like a complete bust, and it’s an indictment on Craig Breslow that he traded Kyle Harrison for him who currently has a 2.41 ERA and 11 K/9 for the Brewers. Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are struggling as sophomores. Thankfully, they have a professional hitter in Willson Contreras, and third year players Abreu and Rafaela seem to be figuring it out, but it’s just not enough.
This team needs a complete house cleaning on the offensive side of the ball. The catchers are giving you nothing. Maybe Mickey Gasper is the answer there, I don’t know. Jarren Duran has been awful. Based on his history, he should be able to turn it around but 40 games in there are no signs of life. Maybe it’s time for Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard, and Kristian Campbell. Breslow and Tracy need to make some hard decisions and shake a few things up, because this ain’t working. Unfortunately, it seems like there are some sacred cows on the roster. Look, I’m from New Hampshire. If you’ve ever attempted to tip a cow, you know that there is no better way to inject some excitement into a situation.