FIFTY OVER .500???

Today is August 8, 2018.

Last night the Red Sox won another game, a game they had no business winning.

They came back twice to defeat the Blue Jays 10–7 in ten innings.

They are 80–34, a winning percentage of .702.

They have won five straight, 9 of 10 and 24 of 29.

The 2018 Red Sox continue to win in a fashion that has few precedents in the franchise’s 118 years of existence.

If they lose each of the regular season’s last 48 games they will finish with a record of 80–82 or two games under .500. If they win 30 of those games they will sit at 110–52; if they win only 20 they will be 100–62.

(They haven’t won 100 games in a season since 1946).

And if they win 26 — going 26–22 down the stretch — their record will be 106–56, good for a winning percentage of .654. and topping the 105-win mark which would set a new franchise record.

(The 1912 edition posted 105 victories).

In the last fifty games they are 37–13 .740. .740!!! The team has suffered one three-game losing streak all season which came in April.

They have a 42–15 mark with a .737 winning percentage at home; 38–19 .667 on the road; .621 in each month; and are 18–10 (.643) in one-run games.

Of the last 48 games, exactly half are on the road. Sixteen of the 48 or one-third of the remaining contests will be played against sub-.500 teams: 7 vs. Baltimore (.304); 4 vs. the White Sox (.366); 3 against the Mets (.418); and 2 against the Marlins (.412).

Boston’s record thus far against teams of this ilk?

49–14 .777. .777!!!

(The Sox are 31–20 .608 against clubs at or above .500).

Oh and they will enjoy no fewer than seven more off-days dotting what’s left of the August-September calendar.

If the Red Sox play out the remaining schedule with a modest 26–22 record in the books, they will finish the 2018 campaign fifty games over .500.

In but three seasons of the organization’s 118 years have the Red Sox recorded such marks. In 1912 they were 105–47 .690; in 1915, 101–50 .668; and in 1946, 104–50 .675.

In ’12 and ’15 they won World Series championships and in ’46 they lost the World Series in seven games.

What’s happening here is mind-boggling. It defies logic. It is bizarre, unreal, dreamlike, weird and freakish. It is surreal.

But it’s right there in black and white. They just win. And win. And win.

Different scenarios, different heroes, different circumstances and in different ways.

Sure the competition is a little weak overall, but the 2018 Sox beat the teams they should as well as the handful of others. They win pretty and they win ugly. They win with offense, with defense, with starting pitching, with the relievers and with any combination of these four component pieces.

(Their baserunning? Plenty of steals but…).

And they are resilient. When they lose they tamp it down and then out right away. It’s over. Quickly.

Next game? Move on.

A testament to solid leadership and of course the performance of the players.

I don’t know what will happen.

I do know this: At the risk of imposing a ‘curse,’ of jinxing them, I must stop writing now.

[8/9/2018 Update: 81–34 .704; six straight; 10 of 11; 25 of 30; 47 games over .500… and 1–0 on the way to 26–22.]

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in August 2018.]

ADDENDUM: The 2018 Boston Red Sox finished the regular season with a record of 108–54; W-L% .667; 54 games over .500.

They beat the Yankees in the ALDS (3–1); the Astros in the ALCS (4–1); and the Dodgers in the World Series (4–1).

Their 119 wins — regular season and playoffs — ranks third all-time behind the 1998 Yankees (125 wins) and the 2001 Mariners (120).