Since 1901, the Red Sox have been a city gem to Boston. In times of hardship, people of Boston and the surrounding areas turned to the Red Sox for help in mourning and coping with adverse situations. They are more than just a comfort in times of austerity, but have also been an almost constant spectacle over the past hundred plus years, delivering the city eight World Series Pennants. 

The Boston Red Sox have made many game changing acquisitions, making fans very excited for this season. A few players are coming back from injury that were out for the majority of last season and are going out in free agency this past off-season; they also signed one of the best pitchers in baseball. Chris Sale, an ex White Sox who had an ERA of 3 last year, will offer the Red Sox a rock solid ace on the mound for tight game situations, as well as the postseason. To add to this amazing line up, Pablo Sandoval is also coming back this season after being injured for the majority of last season. Sources have reported that Sandoval is looking excellent in spring training, appearing to be in the best shape of his life. There is also a formidable group of players returning in the upcoming season that were incredibly productive last season. Some of these players include Mookie Betts, who came in second in the American League MVP voting, as well as Hanley Ramirez and Andrew Benintendi.

We caught up with former baseball coach and current Ipswich High School Gym Teacher, Gardy O’Flynn. Gardy has a great deal of optimism for the Red Sox this season. We asked Gardy if he believes the off season acquisitions were a good idea, considering the amount of money they spent, “Well, I am a season ticket holder with a few of my buddies, and the extra free agency spending translates to an extra one or two dollars to my season tickets, so I think that the moves they made were well worth it.” We also asked him about Chris Sale, to get his take on it, “I think [Chris] Sale will be an excellent fit with the Sox. He has a strong arm and a lot of different pitches that can help keep hitters guessing. [David] Price also has had some off the field issues, which doesn’t help. He has been having elbow problems which is usually a sign that the pitcher’s arm has been growing weak and there’s not much left as far as productivity goes.” Mr. O’Flynn has been a lifelong fan and still works with many baseball experts.

Overall, looking towards the upcoming season, it seems as though the Boston Red Sox will most certainly be an excellent team that should win somewhere in the range of 90-100 games. The sight of another World Series Pennant being brought to Boston is just over the horizon.