Around the League

Around the League: Thoughts from the Mind of an Avid Baseball Guy

By Mike Carreiro

I’d like to start this column by saying, boy is it fun to be a Red Sox fan right now! This team, in these parts affectionately known as the Fun Sox this season, is really starting to capture the imaginations of the city. This team seems to be finding different ways to win each night, whether it’s speed, power, pitching or defense.

Anytime the Red Sox start the season by dominating the Yankees head to head there’s just a different attitude about the team. And at 4-2 on the season vs the Bombers we are happy campers. 

But it’s not just the Yankees that are on the receiving end of offensive assaults by the Red Sox. It seems almost every team and every series is just being completely dominated by Boston. Since the end of May the Red Sox series record is 6-1-4, they have climbed into the 3rd Wild Card spot and the momentum they have gathered is continue to set them on an upward trajectory.

This isn’t the same old story that we have heard over the last few seasons, and I can’t wait to see how the Sox continue to get it done in the 2nd half of the season.

Baseball’s Youth Explosion

Every year there are new players that enter the league. These rookies offer a glimpse into what could be for their teams and there’s some excitement generated. However, over the last 5 years or so there seems to be just an explosion of new young talent in the league and they are dominating the game.

I can go back through the last 10-12 years and we can point out 1 or 2 rookies that come into the league and make an immediate impact and have the staying power necessary to become bonfire big leaguers, but most are here for a cup of coffee and then fizzle out.

Since 2020 though that list has ballooned to 5-10 young superstars entering the league and becoming house hold names, not just in their home towns but blossoming into superstars that everyone around the league knows.

This is great for a game that pre-COVID was looking for ways to increase viewership with a younger demographic. The Youth Movement is exciting, it’s an athletic brand of baseball capturing the eyes of both long time fans and new eyes to the game. 

So I will continue to urge you, the Avid Baseball Fan to keep your eyes and your ears peeled for these young talents. Enjoy them. Cheer for them. Boo them. But give them the reaction they deserve when they come to your city, because the reaction is what is electric. The reaction keep the game moving forward and the reaction is what these guys will thrive on!

Make sure to listen to Unraveling the Red Sox each week, as Bill and I discuss the Running, Rolling Red Sox as well as plenty of other great baseball banter. And next week, Ill be discussing the All-Star Game!!