“I believe that we will win more games than we will lose,” said Dick Williams, the Red Sox skipper for the 1967 season. Forty-six years later, 2013 Red Sox manager John Farrell echoed the same sentiment prior to the start of this season.
So far Farrell appears to be just as prophetic as Williams with his Red Sox already winning more games this year (70) than they did all of last year (69) with 45 games left to play.
The 1967 season most commonly referred to as “The Impossible Dream” was a magical season that saw Carl Yastremski patrolling left field under the shadow of the Green Monster while slugging his way to the Triple Crown.
Ace Jim Lonborg won 21 games and the Cy Young Award that year as well. It was a magical season that caught New England by storm and according to Red Sox NESN broadcaster Jerry Remy, “was what made Red Sox Nation what it is today.”
There are similarities between the 1967 and 2013 teams. Both teams had miserable seasons the year before with this current installment of the Red Sox posting the worst record since, you guessed it, 1966. The 2012 Red Sox went a miserable 69-93, while the ’66 Red Sox went a slightly less miserable 72-90.
Both teams had low expectations and were predicted to finish dead last in their division/league the following year. However both the ’67 and 2013 Red Sox have been one of the surprise team of the American League.
Through 117 games the Red Sox have a Major League lead 70 wins tied with the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have already surpassed their win total from last year. Through 117 games last year, the Red Sox were three games under .500 at 57-60.
Its not just that the 2013 Red Sox are doing well and winning, but how they are winning.
This edition of the Red Sox has featured 18 wins in their final at bat including 11 walk-off wins this season. That is already over triple the total of walk-off or final at bat wins all of last year. This Red Sox team has fight in them. Much like the city that they represent, when they get knocked down, they get up again stronger as ever.
The 2013 Red Sox are a resilient team playing in and representing a resilient city and because of that, fans are starting to get behind this Red Sox team again. Who knew that it would take less than a year for Red Sox fans to get behind this team again after the debacle that happened last summer?
Should us Red Sox fans be surprised by their amazing start? A start that has made believers out of Red Sox Nation once again much like the 1967 Red Sox made believers out of the city of Boston and all of New England?
In an article that I wrote back in October, I hinted at the possibility of an Impossible Dream Team 2 featuring the 2013 Boston Red Sox.
With 45 games and one and a half months left to play the Red Sox have turned a wishful dream into possibly a reality.
Can someone please pinch me to see if I’m dreaming?
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