The Red Sox have found plenty of ways to lose this season, but their shaky defense remains one of the most glaring —and seemingly avoidable— problems.
Boston led all of Major League Baseball with 54 errors heading into their day off Thursday, continuing a pattern that has become far too familiar.
The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier [pointed out Thursday](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/05/sports/red-sox-reasons/) that the Sox finished atop the majors in errors in both 2023 and 2024. The last time the franchise pulled that off in back-to-back seasons was over a century ago, in 1922 and 1923. They’ve never done it three years in a row. But that’s exactly where they’re headed, and it’s making the margin for error in one-run games even tighter.
Surprisingly, the team’s defensive struggles haven’t been directly reflected on the scoreboard in their many one-run losses. The team has allowed just four unearned runs across its 17 one-run defeats, excluding extra-inning “ghost” runners. But errors have a way of building pressure, extending innings, and forcing extra pitches. Eventually, they cost you.
Nearly half of Boston’s losses this season have come by just a single run. That’s a lot of games that leave Red Sox fans clinging to the immortal Lloyd Christmas line: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?”
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But all the close contests have kept belief alive in the clubhouse and the bleachers, even with the team stuck below .500 and running out of time. The hope is that a cleaner brand of baseball could turn close games into wins, but that shift needs to start now.
“We are supposed to be better,” outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela told The Globe, echoing manager Alex Cora’s broader call for sharper play. “It’s the truth.”
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For the Red Sox to make a push for an American League Wild Card, discipline and detail need to start showing up every inning—not just at the plate, but in the field.
Featured image via Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images