Editorial: April 5, 2024: Limited Investment on Lansdowne
A lack of spending on this season's Red Sox team.
A lack of spending on this season's Red Sox team.
A lack of spending on this season's Red Sox team.
"Time," it’s been said, "Begins on Opening Day."
Starting fresh in the spring — disappointments behind us, days of sun and smiles and warmth ahead — it all has a powerful pull. Especially now, when so much in the world makes even a smile on some days seem as elusive as a triple play.
And few teams — or fans in baseball are as in need of some smiles and good fortune as our Boston Red Sox.
They begin the new season having finished in last place two years in a row, and three times in the last four years.
The optimist can point to some encouraging signs — and wins, too during the team’s first road trip of the season. The realist, the pragmatist, and most folks in the bleachers will point out that there are more than 150 games yet to be played. Or that the Sox, unlike their competitors, have again declined to upgrade their on-field product. Yes, that costs money, and it’s not always money well-spent. But it’s worth noting that the 2018 team had the game’s highest payroll. They also won the World Series. Today, they are twelfth in terms of spending.
Mind you, the Sox are not stuck for money. They begin the season charging just a dollar short of the highest ticket prices in baseball.
Owner John Henry presides over the sprawling Fenway Sports Group, which counts the Sox as just one property among many, including a pro soccer team, race cars, even the Pittsburgh Penguins. And, he recently led a $3 billion dollar investment in the controversial world of professional golf.
To be sure, it's Mr. Henry’s money and it’s Mr. Henry’s team. He gets to do what he wants with both. And if lightning strikes and a team with no superstars and few expectations surprises us all, well, we’ll be as pleasantly surprised as anyone.
But a Sox fan needn’t hold shares in the team to feel deeply invested just the same. We hope that ownership won’t lose sight of that or the importance of continued investment.
Meanwhile, the season is young. And hope, as always in baseball, springs eternal.