Red Sox to introduce MLB version of ‘Hard Knocks’ at worst possible time
The Boston Red Sox and Netflix have announced they'll be collaborating on a season-long, "Hard Kocks"-esque docuseries to be filmed during the 2024 season.
The collaboration announcement took baseball fans everywhere by surprise — especially considering the army of Red Sox fans stating that they wouldn't be supporting the team this season in the wake of multiple offseasons worth of bad business decisions.
The docuseries will follow the team for the entirety of the coming season and will be released in 2025. As part of the deal, Netflix will also be releasing a retrospective docuseries about the 2004 Curse-breaking, World Series-winning team to be released later in the year.
Following any baseball team for a 162-game season will be no easy task, and the docuseries took years of planning. According to MLB.com's Ian Browne, discussions for the series began in 2021, and they didn't include the Red Sox at that time. Boston came into the conversation about 18 months ago, CEO Sam Kennedy said to Browne.
The Red Sox and Netflix have announced a collaboration at a strange time for the team
Netflix is teaming up with Major League Baseball for two new projects about the Boston Red Sox.
— Netflix (@netflix) February 7, 2024
For the first time, Netflix will follow an MLB team over the course of a full season. This docuseries will feature unprecedented access to Red Sox players, coaches and executives… pic.twitter.com/1VKdax4Dvt
Kennedy also called the series "one of the largest marketing initiatives [the Red Sox] have ever undertaken." That statement puts some of the team's offseason decisions into perspective.
Maybe the front office believed they could punt on the 2024 season because they'd make enough money through the series' marketing to recoup the losses. Maybe it'd bring attention to a franchise that talented players have come to dismiss over recent seasons. Or ... it could just be distracting to the guys in the clubhouse. A 162-game season is already a grind — having a film crew along with a social media team in the players' space all the time probably isn't conducive to producing the highest-possible quality product on the field.
Red Sox fans after having to watch their games twice this year. pic.twitter.com/vazA5NM4EG
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) February 7, 2024
On a more optimistic front, Jordan Montgomery and Jorge Soler still remain unemployed for the coming season. Maybe the Sox are waiting for the cameras to start rolling to make their biggest moves to draw interest back to the team and to the docuseries.
Boston could promote its rising stars in Triston Casas, Brayan Bello, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and more. The coming season could be Alex Cora's last with the team. There are a lot of intriguing storylines to follow.
If the Red Sox are going to have their every move filmed this offseason, it would make sense to have big things planned rather than to put out a mediocre team and be fine with it. Red Sox Nation would never let the organization get away with throwing the season away on camera for the entire country to see.
Can't stop thinking about how wild it is for the Red Sox to know this was happening and have the roster look like this.
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) February 7, 2024
Boston could have big things coming. Theo Epstein is back in the front office, at least a little bit, and his purchase of a stake in Fenway Sports Group could be just a small part of a potential upswing for the Red Sox.
Maybe Fenway Park could be full of away fans and tourists, and the Boston season that gets documented could be one of the worst in recent memory.
We'll find out in 2025.
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