After a demoralizing 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on June 2, the Boston Red Sox have fallen to 9-20 at Fenway Park, easily the worst home record in MLB. It's also the worst home record the Red Sox have had to this point in a season since 1932.
Offense that emerged during the Sox's latest road trip to face the Cleveland Guardians went up in smoke in Boston — they went from 34 hits and 21 runs over three games in the Midwest to five hits and two runs against a division rival. The Red Sox have a .654 team OPS at home and a .728 OPS on the road, the fifth-best in the league.
Something about playing in Boston is adversely affecting the Red Sox, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa confirmed this after their Tuesday loss. But his postgame interview has raised all kinds of questions from all corners of Red Sox Nation.
“I just feel like on the road we’re a very close-knit team, we come home and there’s just a lot of people. It’s different. It’s just a different vibe at home and we got to figure out a way to make it small like how it is on the road," Kiner-Falefa said.
Red Sox fans speculating about what Isiah Kiner-Falefa possibly meant in his June 2 postgame presser
If fans have interpreted Kiner-Falefa' statement correctly, it seems like there are distractions at home that aren't present on the road. It could be any number of things, but it would be unfair to point to any one thing without further reporting or clarification from someone else close to the club.
Red Sox fans have been brutal this year — probably because they've seen nine home wins all season long — and that could be playing with the players' heads. Sox fans have been screaming "sell the team" since the first weeks of the season, and although that's truly a condemnation of the front office, people wouldn't be saying it if the team wasn't playing so poorly.
There could also be outside distractions, like family or friends close to Boston. Life playing 81 games on the road can be brutal and proximity to family could take players out of the game (although it shouldn't, but this could be another cost of having a young team).
Are fans, friends, family, the front office, or something else distracting the Red Sox during home games?
Not all staff members and players travel with the team, such as players who are currently injured. Reuniting with them could also be taking attention off games.
There's also been an influx of attention on the Red Sox front office in the wake of Alex Cora's surprise firing alongside six other coaches, as well as the team's poor performance so far. Craig Breslow and John Henry have been seen at Fenway multiple times this season, and increased pressure from the men upstairs could be hurting the team. The spotlight on ownership could be distracting for the players, as well — some of them even admitted to feeling like the team cost Cora his job because of their ugly play (subscription required).
There's no way to be sure what distraction is plaguing the Red Sox, but whatever it is makes them worse. Their home record hardly speaks to a team that could be in contention by the time the trade deadline comes around and they're running out of time to save any chance they could have to be in playoff contention when it counts. The Red Sox play better when they play for each other, and the closeness of the team can't be compromised when they come home.
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