The Red Sox and the “House Money” postseason

Yes, that's the wrong color Sox, but I've been thinking this exact same thing as a Red Sox fan. After the way the 2026 season kicked off, I can hardly believe we're here, primed to clinch the second Wild Card . The months of April through June almost feel like a bad dream I once had, but no, they really happened: the team played bad baseball right out of the gate, Alex Cora was fired, Chad Tracy took over as an interim manager, and players who were seen as massively important to the Red Sox chances— Garrett Crochet , Roman Anthony , Trevor Story , and more—were quickly lost to long-term injuries.

Fans were calling this one of the worst Sox teams they had ever seen. I was one of them. I had written off the Red Sox completely by the time my birthday rolled around in mid-April. I publicly wrote how painful it was for me to recap my assigned games. It looked like it was going to be a loooong season.

Now, with a shrinking magic number, they can comfortably count on the second Wild Card spot. Given what the team has been through, to be here feels incredible. This is gravy, as they say. It feels like we—I'm collectively speaking of the fans, the players, the interim coaches—are playing with nothing to lose.