Lots (too much?) of discussion about the ping pong, up and down recent history of the Boston Red Sox. On the one hand, they've won 4 WS Titles in the 23 years of the 21st century (to pick a random starting date). No other team has as many titles as the Red Sox do. Nor do any other teams with WS titles have as many last place finishes as the Sox do.
Here are their finishes in the AL East since 2000*. I am going to assume 5th place for this year:
2000: 2nd
2001: 2nd
2002: 2nd
2003: 2nd
2004: 2nd - WS CHAMPS
2005: 2nd
2006: 3rd
2007: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2008: 2nd
2009: 2nd
2010: 3rd
2011: 3rd
2012: 5th
2013: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2014: 5th
2015: 5th
2016: 1st
2017: 1st
2018: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2019: 3rd
2020: 5th
2021: 2nd
2022: 5th
This equals:
1st: 5 times
2nd: 8 times
3rd: 4 times
4th: 0 times
5th: 5 times
Years like this (and 2020) suck. But years like 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018 were pretty damn good.
To compare them to the two other franchises often considered models in the NL, the Dodgers and Cardinals, you get
Dodgers Cardinals
1st: 12 times 11 times
2nd: 5 times 7 times
3rd: 3 times 4 times
4th: 3 times 1 time
5th: 0 times 0 times
The Red Sox have been up top 13 out of 23 seasons
The Dodgers have been up top 17 out of 23 seasons
The Cards have been up top 18 out of 23 seasons.
Wow. That is great consistency for the Cards and Dodgers. 0 last place finishes (and the Cards are in a 6 team division, they have 0 5th OR 6th place finishes and have only been worse than 3rd once!
The Cards do have 2 Championships. The Dodgers have 1.
How about our fiercest rivals, the Yankees?
1st: 12 times
2nd: 8 times
3rd: 2 times
4th: 1 times
5th: 0 times
So 20 high finishes out of 23 years. Most impressive. Better than the Cards and Dodgers. And 2 World Series titles!
So which would you, as a fan, prefer? Ignore the laundry and the history. We're just talking about Titles vs. Consistently competing. There is something to be said for knowing your team is going to be competing every year.
* Edited from 2001, which was a typo, to 2000. And yes, date I started was semi-intentional. Ignoring all the Yankee prior victories by starting in 2001 felt like putting my thumb on the scale to make them look bad
Here are their finishes in the AL East since 2000*. I am going to assume 5th place for this year:
2000: 2nd
2001: 2nd
2002: 2nd
2003: 2nd
2004: 2nd - WS CHAMPS
2005: 2nd
2006: 3rd
2007: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2008: 2nd
2009: 2nd
2010: 3rd
2011: 3rd
2012: 5th
2013: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2014: 5th
2015: 5th
2016: 1st
2017: 1st
2018: 1st - WS CHAMPS
2019: 3rd
2020: 5th
2021: 2nd
2022: 5th
This equals:
1st: 5 times
2nd: 8 times
3rd: 4 times
4th: 0 times
5th: 5 times
Years like this (and 2020) suck. But years like 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018 were pretty damn good.
To compare them to the two other franchises often considered models in the NL, the Dodgers and Cardinals, you get
Dodgers Cardinals
1st: 12 times 11 times
2nd: 5 times 7 times
3rd: 3 times 4 times
4th: 3 times 1 time
5th: 0 times 0 times
The Red Sox have been up top 13 out of 23 seasons
The Dodgers have been up top 17 out of 23 seasons
The Cards have been up top 18 out of 23 seasons.
Wow. That is great consistency for the Cards and Dodgers. 0 last place finishes (and the Cards are in a 6 team division, they have 0 5th OR 6th place finishes and have only been worse than 3rd once!
The Cards do have 2 Championships. The Dodgers have 1.
How about our fiercest rivals, the Yankees?
1st: 12 times
2nd: 8 times
3rd: 2 times
4th: 1 times
5th: 0 times
So 20 high finishes out of 23 years. Most impressive. Better than the Cards and Dodgers. And 2 World Series titles!
So which would you, as a fan, prefer? Ignore the laundry and the history. We're just talking about Titles vs. Consistently competing. There is something to be said for knowing your team is going to be competing every year.
* Edited from 2001, which was a typo, to 2000. And yes, date I started was semi-intentional. Ignoring all the Yankee prior victories by starting in 2001 felt like putting my thumb on the scale to make them look bad
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