The Boston Red Sox just completed their eighth straight win with another walkoff, and they’re making this look easy now. They’ve gone 31-5 over their past 35 games, sitting at 63-51 and just a half-game behind the first Wild Card spot.
Nobody saw this coming back in April.
Alex Cora was still managing the team then, and fans were ready to run Craig Breslow out of town. The roster looked like it wasn’t built for competing, and Boston seemed headed for another lost season. Turns out, the roster wasn’t the issue.
The Turnaround Nobody Expected
Before the Red Sox fired Cora, they were absolutely brutal. Sitting at 10-17 and dead last in the AL East, this was painful for fans who remembered Cora leading those dominant 2018-21 teams.
This season just felt different. The pitching and defense formula that worked before wasn’t clicking, and it seemed like the year was already over in April.
Then Boston made the move that changed everything.
The organization fired Cora and brought in AAA Worcester manager Chad Tracy as interim skipper. They cobbled together a coaching staff from different levels of their farm system, and fans weren’t thrilled about using Cora as a scapegoat.
After all, he’s a two-time World Series champion – once as a player and once as a manager.
Tracy’s Different Approach
What makes Tracy’s success interesting is how he’s approached the game differently. Where Cora leaned heavily into analytics, Tracy’s pulled back toward more aggressive, old-school tactics. More stolen bases, more bunts, more risk-taking.
The results speak for themselves. The Red Sox are 53-34 under Tracy, transforming from one of the worst teams in baseball to a legitimate playoff contender.
It’s been a complete organizational shift, and it’s working.
What’s Next for Tracy
If Boston keeps this run going into October, Tracy deserves recognition in two ways. First, the Red Sox need to drop the “interim” tag from his title. With the same roster that struggled under Cora, he’s turned this team into one of the best in baseball.
Second, Tracy should be in the conversation for Manager of the Year. Taking over a dumpster fire situation and turning it into a playoff favorite in just a few months – that’s the kind of turnaround that wins awards.
The stronger his case gets, the more likely Boston is to make him their long-term solution.
Right now, it looks like they’ve found something special. Tracy’s taken a team that looked dead in the water and made them relevant again. That’s not something you let walk away easily.
The Red Sox might have stumbled into their next great manager by accident, and that accident is looking better every game.
