It seems like just yesterday that the Red Sox were America’s team.
“The Idiots” ended the franchise’s 86-year World Series title drought in the most dramatic way possible. Bill Simmons was still writing about baseball. And the Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore 2005 rom-com Fever Pitch somehow got greenlit.
Fast forward 20 years and four World Series championships and the Red Sox aren’t just no longer America’s team, but apparently, they aren’t even Boston’s team. With Opening Day merely a week away, NBC10 Boston took to the streets to ask Beantown residents if they could name a single Red Sox player.
The results weren’t encouraging.
“Current? [Rafael] Devers. That’s probably it,” one interviewee said.
“When I was a kid, it was must-see TV when Pedro Martinez was pitching,” said another.
“Usually other years I kind of hear about it or people are talking about it,” one woman said. “But this year, I didn’t even know that they were starting. I had no idea.”
"Opening Day is right around the corner, however, no one seems to be talking about the Red Sox. We sent our Mary Markos out to Fenway Park to find out if anyone cares."
"Many (fans) can't even name a current Red Sox player."
[@NBC10Boston; @redsoxstats]pic.twitter.com/SZJSDusGsr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 20, 2024
The report went on to note that regular-season tickets remain available on the secondary market for as low as $11. NBC Sports reporter John Tomase cited the spending — or lack thereof — from Red Sox ownership on the team’s roster as the biggest reason for the current “apathy” among the fanbase.
Such a segment would have been unfathomable in the 2000s when the likes of Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Tim Wakefield, Johnny Damon, Kevin Youkilis, Curt Schilling, Dave Roberts and Jason Varitek were Gods among men in New England. But in the years since, not only has baseball declined in popularity nationally, but the Red Sox are no longer the power they once were.
Since trading superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2020 campaign, Boston has endured losing records in three of the last four years and currently lay claim to just the 12th highest payroll in baseball, according to Fangraphs. Entering 2024, the outlook in Boston doesn’t appear to be much brighter, with oddsmakers setting the team’s over/under win total at 77.5.
Sure, there will probably be plenty of buzz around town once Opening Day actually gets here. But barring an unforeseen run — or spending by ownership — it’s hard to imagine Red Sox players garnering anymore name recognition around town in the season ahead.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.