Can they keep it together in Seattle?
We all remember how dismal the month of May was for the Red Sox. After a meh April, May could have been the time to gel and fine-tune. But no—May brought us crashing down to earth, to the doldrums, even to the seventh circle of hell during some games. May was spent coming to terms with how profoundly I (we) had misjudged the Sox.
But it’s June now, and the Red Sox are coming to Seattle tomorrow. Normally, this is a time of joy for me. I never miss it, and neither does every other Sox fan or New England native in the area: every year during this series, Sox fans make up a good portion of the attendance at T-Mobile Park. Ticket prices go up because the Sox are considered a premium opponent. But last year, I noticed that Sox fans’ attendance was way down. It was a shock. This season, for the first time in at least a dozen years, the Sox series won’t take place over a weekend. The schedule didn’t change my plans, but I thought it was notable; a sign that others were seeing a depreciation in the Red Sox brand too.
But the Sox were so bad in May that I started to waver on attending the games. I asked myself if I really wanted to spend all that money just to get heckled by an usher (it’s happened; Seattle loves to hate on the Sox), see a frustrating game, and then go home mad.
I went back and forth. I delayed in buying tickets. May was rough with one thing and another, and then the Sox were just so godawful. But with the rise of Abraham Toro, the Red Sox unlikeliest Best Player of 2025, I softened a bit. Although I sure didn’t want to acquire him over the offseason, I have fond memories of his time in Seattle.
Then the new City Connects grew on me, and I thought I might treat myself to one the day of the game. Then Marcelo Mayer was called up. It would be the biggest Seattle debut of a Red Sox rookie since Rafael Devers, but the Sox were still going nowhere.
Then, in a desperation move, the Sox called up Roman Anthony. It’s been a small sample size—not even a week—but there are whiffs of a possible team turnaround. Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell started hitting again. The Sox had been unable to string together wins or build on momentum this season, yet they started doing that when Anthony arrived. They took the series from the Rays last week, and we’ve already won the Yankees series at Fenway, no matter what happens later today.
Counting the series against the Yankees that took place in the Bronx (immediately before Anthony’s arrival) and we suddenly have three series wins in a row. The Sox have won six of their last eight games—even if during Saturday’s game, we wondered if they were back to their old ways when it came down to the last nervous out in the ninth, with the tying run at the plate and a long ball smacked to center.
So why haven’t I still bought my tickets? Now I’m dying to go, but I have two herniated discs! It hurts to sit, stand, or lie down. June has started to look even worse than May. At least for me.
I’ve been huddled here, watching a lot of baseball, shuffling off to doctor appointments, trying to figure out if there’s any way I can possibly get to this game. And if I did…would it be possible to stay upright in a jostling crowd? Stand for about five hours (including straphanging on the light rail), since I can’t even sit down? Doubtful. There’s nothing more boring than talking about medical ailments, so that’s as much as I’m going to say. And I’m sure the meds have done enough talking already.
But I suddenly want to go to this Seattle series—badly. For Toro. For our callups. For me.
But my body may have betrayed me. And I may need to wait another year to see the Sox in person. (Sobs.) So what’s going to happen to us? I feel like my own future is as much of a mystery as the Sox but I’m hoping that their newfound momentum is contagious. Please let it rub off on me when you’re in town.