These Red Sox have a chance to do something no Red Sox team has ever done before

No Red Sox team has ever made the postseason after being under .500 this deep into the season. Could this team make history?

At the end of May, Jared Carrabis was sharing an interesting and unfortunate tidbit he received from a buddy who goes by Black Irish. It was relevant after the Sox passed the 60 game mark a week and a half ago at 28-32, and it’s relevant as the Sox hit the 70 game mark at 34-36 now.

What they found is that since 1997 only eight Red Sox teams have had a losing record after 60 games (1997, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2025) and none of them ended up finishing over .500. (Whomp whomp!)

Hearing that, I then decided to keep going and found something similarly concerning. Going all the way back to the beginning of the franchise’s history, no Red Sox team has even been under .500 through 60 games and gone on to make the playoffs.

Knowing that, it’s probably a good time to stop and remember the Red Sox have been playing baseball here for almost 125 years; and while much of this has to do with the playoff field getting smaller and smaller the further you go back in history, there’s also an example of a team who was literally right in town at the beginning of last century and climbed their way out of the dungeon early and recovered to win it all. The 1914 Boston Braves were 25-35 through 60 games and then 30-40 through 70 games and still managed to end up winning 94 games and the World Series. No such season exists for the Sox!

The two closest examples containing second half surges are, not surprisingly, summers that are near and dear to the hearts of many older Bostonians: 1967 and 1988. Both of those teams were exactly 30-30 after 60 games, and continued to flounder barely above the .500 mark right until the All-Star Break. The ‘67 team of course managed to catch fire and captivate the entire region in a way that really kicked off the modern Red Sox phenomenon, and the ‘88 team fired manager John McNamara right at the All-Star break in favor of Joe Morgan. That team then immediately went 19-1 in their next 20 games, erasing a nine game deficit and leading to the expression “Morgan Magic” on the way to the division title.

I think it’s worth pointing out that local fans commonly refer to these two seasons as “The Impossible Dream” and “Morgan Magic.” Phrases that invoke amazement and wonder of what a baseball team did during the summer months, even without winning the World Series. Simply being .500 as late as 60 games into the slate and then going on a run that led to playoff baseball stirred that pot and delivered an indelible impression upon millions.

For many Red Sox fans who died before 2004, these were two of the greatest summers of their lives.

Shifting to a different century, here’s where I’d like to take you on a bit of a detour.

A year ago this week, I shared the story of how baseball saved my life, and how much the 2007 MLB season meant to me as both a fan and a person. What I haven’t gone into much detail about here is how two other seasons from that time period were instrumental in making me the fan I am today: 2009 and 2015.

Everybody knows about the 2007 Rockies, but 2009 was a magical summer in Colorado as well, and it was at this same intersection of time and place where I found Over The Monster’s Rockies sister site in Purple Row. During that summer, I made online friends and first learned about sabermetrics.

Before long, I realized I wanted to try to write about those gory numbers in a way that people would find interesting. I was a horrible writer at the time, but I knew there were stories in that math if you peeled back the onion, and I wanted to tell them. (Here’s an old favorite highlighting how the Rockies are likely screwed forever, but not for the reason you might think.)

Then in 2015, there was another earthquake in my baseball world: Troy Tulowitzki was traded to the Blue Jays that July, and it shattered my Rockies fandom! With both Colorado and Boston headed to last place finishes, I tracked that Toronto team all the way to the finish line where they chased down the Yankees and made a deep postseason run.

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

The relevance here is that when I picked up the Rockies as my NL team as a way to cope with being closeted and also to disconnect from real world interaction, it took me on a journey that saw three different teams make the postseason from worse positions than any Red Sox team in history. None of them won a championship, but each provided a 1967 or 1988 type of experience, only from even deeper holes.

So despite the immense amount of losing (and oh boy do I know about losing baseball teams!), there were also brief flashes of brilliance, greatness, celebration, and hope. Here’s a quick overview of what those three seasons looked like:

The 2007 Rockies started off 18-27 and had a single road trip in June where they got walked off four separate times. They ended up getting to 90 wins and an NL pennant.

The 2009 Rockies actually got off to an even worse start. They were 20-32 (including going 0-8 in their first eight one run games), and they got to 92 wins and the postseason.

And the 2015 Blue Jays, who I followed religiously after the Tulo trade because he was the last connecting piece to the 2007 season that saved my life, started off 23-30 and were still under .500 as late as July 28 (the day Tulo was traded) before they caught fire and won 93 games.

For me, as a Troy Tulowitzki fanboy, it was hard not to notice that he was at the center of all three turnarounds. In 2007, he went ballistic in the clubhouse right after the team lost that 27th game, and as a rookie, he bellowed and berated teammates (including veteran teammates) for not playing good fundamental baseball. Over the next couple of years before injuries caught up to him, he helped briefly change Colorado’s losing culture.

In 2009, Tulo drastically altered his batting stance and swing mid season in the first week of June, and at this moment he instantly transformed into the superstar hitter you probably remember from his prime. He had a .683 OPS on June 6th that year, and then posted a 1.040 OPS the rest of the way, all while playing gold glove defense at shortstop. (The team also called up Carlos Gonzalez from the minors that same week, so it was as if two young superstars were dropped out of nowhere into the lineup. Can you see where this is going?)

Then in 2015, the Blue Jays were under .500 when they traded for Tulo, but that moved served as a dividing line between a disappointing, mediocre season, and the most exciting three months of baseball Toronto has experienced since 1993. They closed the year on a 43-18 run, and despite already falling from his Colorado highs in the production department, Tulo’s glove and voice felt like the missing puzzle piece that clubhouse needed.

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

The point of that personal detour is I’ve witnessed teams I follow day in and day out look very similar to this current Red Sox circus and then turn into juggernauts during the dog days of summer. And I’m not talking like I saw the 2019 Nationals start 19-31 and go on to win the World Series. I’m talking about teams I knew on the level you only know when you’re following the particulars every day, and I’m telling you there’s parallels to be drawn from what they looked like to what’s we have in Fenway right now.

Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony coming into this clubhouse are akin to Troy Tulowitzki’s transformation and Carlos Gonzalez getting called up in June of 2009. An underachieving and injured starting rotation in the first half of the year that then found itself in the second is something that defined the 2007 Rockies, but it’s also something that could define the 2025 Red Sox with tweaks to approach and execution. There was veteran leadership meshing with young players during all of 2007, 2009 and 2015, and it’s something I already see happening with Alex Bregman and the beloved rookies.

And all this is before we even get to the trades that worked during those seasons, which could also be on the horizon here.

Want more? Do you know what the record of that 2015 Blue Jays team was in one run games before Tulo showed up? 10-23. Does this sound familiar? The 2009 Rockies also started their season 0-8 in one run games on their way to that 20-32 record. For reference, the 2025 Red Sox are currently 7-17 in one run games after last night’s one run win.

On a different pain scale, the 2007 Rockies were walked off seven times in the first half of their magical season, which also happens to be the exact number of times the Red Sox have been walked off in the first half of this season.

As ugly as these loses are, and as much as they can sink teams who become discouraged or disengaged, they can also be an oddly positive predictor for teams who remain energetic and engaged. Some squads just stink and lose big, but that’s not this group. Their positive run differential suggests they should be a few games over .500. Instead, the 2025 Red Sox are losing a bunch of close games where they fail to execute and a new leak springs up daily. This is closer to the bone, and from here, one of two things usually happen: Either the group just gets tired of it and eventually checks out and quits, or they survive and persevere through the tough losses. Eventually, the survivor teams hang around long enough to where they learn to lock down and find a formula that works.

Again, I’ve seen lots and lots of bad baseball teams, and the more I stop and analyze the current situation, the more I’m starting to believe the 2025 Red Sox could be in that final category. They still have the talent, they’re still within striking distance in the standings, and they’re in the process of getting injections of good vibes between prospects being called up and Alex Bregman coming back from injury at some point.

In fact, we might already be witnessing the turning point. We’re just one series into Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer playing together in Boston and they’ve already put together a pair of games where Anthony was a key to victory one night and Mayer was a key to victory the next.

Also, did you see all the guys on the top step of the dugout throughout the game last night? This is a group that’s remained highly engaged and invested in almost every single pitch every single night. If something clicks and they manage to keep their heads out of their butts for a full nine innings on a nightly basis, it’s not hard to see how momentum could start rolling. The pieces are all there, it’s just a matter of if they start executing consistently.

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

Of course, I’m not sure any of this will happen. Mistakes matter, and the Red Sox have piled up so many of them that it’s still more likely than not they turn out lethal when all the cards are counted at the end of 162 games.

However, what I do know is how special it will be if it does happen. I know what it’s like to watch Colorado transform from a football first state and into a purple haze where they’re briefly but stanchly enamored by their baseball team. I know how obsessed an entire nation became with the Blue Jays after the Troy Tulowitzki trade: Nine percent of the entire country of Canada was tuned in to watch Troy Tulowitzki and Andrew Miller’s epic 12-pitch battle in the last at bat of an August regular season game with a division race tightening.

And while I didn’t personally experience it, I know how my grandfather talked about the 1967 and 1988 summers and what they meant to him as a diehard Red Sox fan.

All of this is to say that if the 2025 Red Sox somehow go on a run with young studs like Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony making an impact and driving the bus, we’re going to see something extraordinary. Something an entire generation of young fans will never forget. This would be their 1967. This would be their 2004.

Hot streaks are always fun, but when you start the season under .500 after 60 and even 70 games and then start rocketing by everybody, it’s pure utopia! And despite the rich franchise history, Red Sox fans have never truly experienced this particular flavor of baseball magic.

But now we could, and it might be mere weeks away! As the stars begin to align, I feel like I’m watching worlds collide through a telescope. Nothing is immanent yet, but I’m getting excited simply by the possibility. With each win, I’m becoming obsessed with the idea of not just seeing a summertime surge again, but seeing it for the first time here.

Last night, the Red Sox posted the following quote from Marcelo Mayer regarding his thoughts on Fenway Park. Now just imagine what the atmosphere will be like for him and all of us by September if the midsummer magic returns and the impossible dream comes true again.