Red Sox Set to Kick Off 2024 Season Goal at Fenway Park
Tuesday afternoon’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles not only signifies the start of the Red Sox’s home opener but also marks the beginning of their pursuit of goals for the 2024 season.
Boston, fresh off a 7-3 West Coast road trip to start the campaign, will aim to improve their performance at Fenway Park, as emphasized by manager Alex Cora ahead of the highly anticipated day on Jersey Street.
Cora’s honesty was evident as he addressed reporters on Sunday, expressing the team’s need to step up their game at home. “We’ve been horrible at home since 2019, to be honest with you,” Cora remarked. “I think we were good in 2021. But in 2019 we were bad. And the last two years we’ve been bad. For us to accomplish our first goal, which is to make it to the playoffs, we’ve gotta play better (at home).”
Boston has only managed to achieve a record above .500 at Fenway Park twice in the last five seasons, with their best performance being a 49-32 mark in 2021, the year they came within two wins of reaching the World Series.
To address this issue, Cora revealed that the team utilized the main field at JetBlue Park more frequently during spring training to simulate Fenway Park conditions. Additionally, Cora emphasized the importance of making Fenway Park uncomfortable for opposing teams once again.
“We haven’t made Fenway uncomfortable to the opposition in a while,” Cora stated. “It’s awesome, man. I love it. ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the eighth and all that stuff. But, man, when you’re down seven, ‘Sweet Caroline’ doesn’t sound great, to be honest with you.”
Cora acknowledged that Fenway Park’s allure attracts fans from opposing teams, making it imperative for the Red Sox to establish their dominance at home to secure a playoff spot. “If I’m from California and my team is gonna play at Fenway, I’m going to circle that and I’m going to go to Fenway Park.
I’ll go to Yankee Stadium. I’ll go to Wrigley Field,” Cora explained. “That works against us at certain times. We know in October, it’s a different story. But for us to get to October, we’ve got to play better in the regular season.”
With a 10-game homestand ahead, the Red Sox will have ample opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of their offseason preparations for Fenway Park. As they embark on this journey, Cora’s emphasis on home performance sets the tone for the team’s aspirations for the 2024 season.
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