The Boston Red Sox secured win No. 94 on the first day of September, surpassing their win total for the entire 2017 season.
There is still nearly a month left on the regular season schedule and the Boston Red Sox already have more wins than they did last year.
Boston defeated the Chicago White Sox on Saturday to collect their major league-best 94th win of the season. That total eclipses the number of wins the Red Sox tallied in each of the last two seasons in which they were crowned AL East division champions.
The 94 wins is the most the franchise has collected in a single season since 2013 when they won 97 games and went on to win the World Series. Boston won 96 games when they won a championship in 2007 and 98 games in 2004 when they won despite settling for the Wild Card.
It seems safe to say that they will shatter the win totals of those championship teams this year. The Red Sox could post a losing record (12-13) the rest of the way and still end up with a franchise record 106 wins.
More from Red Sox News
- Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Why Red Sox fans should be rooting for Carlos Correa’s Mets deal to go through
In the club’s history that spans well over a century, only 17 times have the Red Sox won more games than this year’s team has already banked. Boston could drop two out of three in each of their remaining series and still end up with the third most wins in franchise history.
The Red Sox hit a bump in the road last month, losing seven of their last 15 games to wrap up August. That may have cost them a shot at the MLB record of 116 wins yet they still remain on pace for 111. Only three teams have ever won more than that in a season.
Despite this historic pace, Boston can’t afford to let their foot off the gas. A 7.5 game lead over the New York Yankees may seem comfortable this late in the season but it really isn’t a safe margin when you consider they must face their division rivals six more times this month. That includes the final three games of the regular season which essentially becomes a mini-playoff series if the Yankees manage to trim the lead enough to make things interesting for that final weekend.
The last thing this team needs is to set a franchise record for wins and still have to settle for a Wild Card spot. Imagine the backlash in this city if the Red Sox were to blow this lead and then lose the one-game Wild Card playoff.
Thankfully, we probably won’t find out. An epic collapse of that proportion is extremely unlikely. Even a mediocre record this month should still seal the division. The Red Sox need to take care of business against the Yankees in those head-to-head meetings. A split would suffice, as it at least prevents the Yankees from gaining ground.
Another division title hasn’t bee clinched yet but we’re getting close to it. As we’ve learned the last two years, AL East banners don’t matter much. This team has been a world-beater all year but they still need to maintain that dominance in October.