The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox (2025) s01e08 Episode Script
Episode 8
1
[expectant music plays]
[McDonough] It's the Red Sox
and the Orioles, game three,
and the Sox really are in
can't-lose territory these days.
They have been searching for a way to put
pitching, hitting, and defense together.
It's been an elusive combination,
and time is running out.
Need all the Advil. All of it.
"Ibuprofen" means
"I be playing."
- How you feeling, big dawg?
- All right, you?
[Duran] Good. Grinding.
You know how it is.
- Yeah, September. That's the way it is.
- [Duran laughs]
[McDonough] Jarren Duran's ready
to go on this very pleasant night,
and so is the Hall of Fame voice
of the Red Sox, Joe Castiglione.
Thank you very much, Sean McDonough.
Great to have you with us here.
Jarren Duran will bat
first, and the pitch.
He swung, a line into
center field, a base hit.
Duran leads off the eighth
with a first pitch single,
bringing up Devers,
who's walked.
- Oh man. I'm grinding right now.
- Same.
My fingers hurt. My knees hurt.
Yeah. It's that time of year.
[Joe] Baseball's
an endurance test.
A hundred sixty-two
games. It's a daily grind.
They always say, "It's a
marathon, not a sprint."
- [crowd chants] Let's go, Red Sox!
- [clapping in unison]
[Joe] I joined the
Red Sox in 1983.
2024 is my 42nd year overall.
[poignant music plays]
Baseball's like
building a pyramid.
What happened today is built
on what happened yesterday,
the week before, the month
before, the year before,
the generation before.
Welcome to the 2005 home
opener here in Boston.
It's been an 86-year wait,
but the Red Sox are finally
getting their rings.
[Will] This is a town
that not only did they not win
a World Series for 86 years,
but they lost in epically
Greek-tragedy fashion.
And when they finally crossed
that threshold in 2004,
Joe narrated that moment and
the three titles that followed.
[Joe] Swing, and a ground ball
stabbed by Foulke. He has it.
He underhands to first,
and the Boston Red Sox
are the world champions
for the first time in 86 years.
Can you believe it?
"Can you believe it?"
At the belt, the pitch.
Swing and a miss. It's over.
The Red Sox have swept
the Colorado Rockies.
[Will] He is the soundtrack to so
many of people's best memories.
[Joe] Swing and a miss.
Strike three. It's over.
The Red Sox have won
the world championship.
[Will] But he also helped
navigate the harder times.
He's there for the
Buckner moment in '86.
[Joe] This game has
more twists and turns
than a Colorado highway
through the Rockies.
[Will] He was there in '03 when
Aaron Boone hits the home run.
[Joe] Swing and a
long drive to left.
Gone. A home run. The New York
Yankees have won the pennant.
And he holds Boston's hand
through loss and tragedy
and says, "We're gonna be okay.
There are brighter days ahead."
"There will be a new season."
We've been dancing around
it, Joe. Take it away.
Okay, well, I never
thought this day would come
and, uh… [smacks lips]
…certainly mixed emotions,
but after 42 years and some
6,500 games… [chuckles]
…I think it's time, uh,
to hang up the microphone,
at least on a regular basis,
and, uh… [smacks lips]
…announce the retirement here.
It's something I never
really thought I'd do,
because, you know, I've had
so many great thrills here.
[director] Why this year have
you decided to step away?
Well, I owe time at home,
and I just think it's time.
I wanted to go out on my own terms and
before I lost my fastball. [chuckles]
I was 23 years old when
this picture was taken.
The Washington Senators, they were managed
by "the Thumper," the great Ted Williams.
He was cussing in a most unusual way
I'd never heard before. Very creative.
When you think back, of all the things
that have happened between 1970 to today,
it just is overwhelming, really.
Forty-two great years
with the Red Sox.
[poignant music continues]
One thing I like to do
coming back from a trip…
I get into Fenway at three
o'clock in the morning.
I like to sit out there and
look at the dark Fenway Park
with just the
security lights on.
[crowd murmurs faintly]
[Joe] It's breathtaking.
- [baseball bat clacks]
- [crowd cheering faintly]
[Joe] To think about all the
things that have happened here.
- [cheering lifts]
- [rousing music plays]
This is for you, Boston.
[crowd cheers]
[Joe] I think the
fan base realized
that this team, this franchise could
win multiple championships and did.
There's nothing more
exhilarating than a pennant race.
3-2, Baltimore.
[Will] The Red Sox would
have to get some runs
to keep their
playoff hopes alive.
Here's his pitch, and he
swings and drives one to left!
High and deep.
- And this ball is long gone.
- [cheering erupts]
A walk-off home run, Tyler O'Neill,
and the Red Sox have won it.
Their first walk-off home run of
the year. The final, 5-3, Red Sox.
A high, towering drive
deep into the night,
and the Red Sox walk it off.
[raucous cheering]
[Joe] You look at the young players
and the hope for the future,
and I think it's optimistic.
[Red Sox team cheering]
[commentator 1] The Red Sox
are heading to the Bronx next.
[commentator 2] Sometimes
it's just that one series
where it can get you back on
track for this Wild Card race.
- [commentator 1] Yeah.
- [commentator 2] But they gotta get hot.
Live for another day, baby.
[Joe] This is a team that shows
a lot of hope and promise.
[music fades]
[crowd chatter fades in]
[stadium organ plays]
Come on!
Come on, WooSox!
[man 1] Come on! You got it!
[clapping continues]
[man 1] Come on, Triston!
Get a strike in there.
- [man 2] Bobby!
- [man 1] Get 'em out!
[Cooper] And here comes Triston Casas,
continuing his rehab assignment,
the big left-hand hitter.
[fans whoop, applaud]
[Casas exhales sharply]
I get nervous just
because I care, you know?
I wanna have results,
and I want production.
You know, yeah, I'm coming
back from an injury and stuff,
but I want results from the first time
that I step back in the box. That's all.
[director] Good luck today.
Uh, save it for someone who
needs it, huh? I don't need that.
- Come on, Triston!
- [expectant rock music plays]
Come on, Triston!
[Cooper] 2-2, Casas rolls one
over to the second baseman,
and it's fumbled out
there by Geraldo,
but he picks it up,
and he throws late.
- Hey!
- [fans whoop, clap]
[Casas shouts]
[Cooper] And so ends, in all
likelihood, the day for Triston Casas.
I think he'll be
ready by Monday.
- Congratulations, man.
- [Casas] Thanks, man.
[Cooper] We're not guaranteeing
he'll be in the lineup every day.
Who knows? Maybe he's ready tomorrow,
but that's just one man's prediction.
- [boy 1] Triston, please!
- [boy 2] Triston!
[kids clamor]
- [boy 3] Please will you sign my ball?
- [boy 4] Thank you.
[boy 3] Will you sign my ball?
- Yeah!
- [boy 5] Thank you.
- Thank you. I see you hit bombs.
- Thank you.
[boy 6] Triston, I can't wait
to see you with the Red Sox.
- Yo, you have your phone?
- [boy 4] A picture with my phone?
- Yeah, you have a phone?
- [boy 4] Yeah.
- Here, gimme it.
- [boy 4] Okay.
[funky, expectant music plays]
[Casas] Last night,
after my first at bat,
something just popped in my head
and told me I was ready to go.
- Thank you, sir.
- [Casas] Here.
- Bro, thank you so much.
- Oh, yo!
- [Casas] For you.
- Whoa.
[woman] Such a fan.
Thank you so much.
[Casas] It's good enough to
come out and play 100%, right?
My bat speed numbers are back
to… to what they were before.
That was what I was
worried about the most,
was, you know, whipping the bat
around at Major League speeds,
and I'm right back to it.
The pain is what it is.
You know, it's not gonna bother me
from playing the game that I need to,
and that's what I wanted most.
[Sean] Triston Casas,
just returning,
and now here it is, the
middle of September,
you're trying to catch
up in the playoff race.
The Red Sox may be having some life
left to them in their wild card chase.
They announce that Trevor Story, who's
been on the IL, will be returning.
[commentator] Been talking to
Trevor Story earlier today.
Of course, trying to
rehab his way back.
Getting closer and closer. Watched him
taking some batting practice today.
I think, as bad as it was early,
that's how good it's been lately.
We're riding that momentum
of how it's feeling good, so…
Um, obviously, this whole
thing is around the playoff run
and being able to
play in October, so…
[Cora] He's been relentless, you
know, in the rehab, in the workouts,
in everything that he needed
to do to be back at this level,
and for us to get back in this
race, you know, we need everybody.
[funky, expectant
music continues]
[music fades out]
[car horns honking]
[telephone line rings, clicks]
- [man] Hey, Raquel.
- Hey, Ry. How are you?
- [Ryan] Good.
- Good.
I'm working on getting you that
backup for, um, the budget stuff.
I can give you the stuff for, like,
baseball uniforms and equipment.
Right? 'Cause…
- Stuff that goes up every year. Baseballs…
- [Ryan] Yeah.
[Raquel] We have to provide two cases
of baseball for every visiting team.
That's mandated by MLB, so
that's like another 35,000.
- [Ryan] I got you.
- I'm still working on it. Okay.
- Okay.
- I'll get that to you today.
- Thank you.
- [Ryan] Thanks.
[Raquel] I'm so behind in
these budgets. It sucks.
To actually do them during the season
is… We've never done that before.
We usually do it
when the season ends,
which we usually
hope is late October.
Um, so having to do 'em now during
the season is… is tough to do,
especially since we don't know,
like, what's gonna happen.
Like, you know how much money we
spend on baseballs? It's ridiculous.
Just during the regular
season… 490,000.
Um, but that doesn't
include Spring Training.
[director] 400… You
spend half a million…
Almost half a million dollars.
- [director] Just on baseballs.
- On baseballs.
And that doesn't even include
the minor leagues. It's crazy.
Like, we spend
19,000 on helmets.
Bats, we spend 150,000 probably.
[director] How much
do you spend on mud?
Not a lot. Five hundred bucks.
When we're in the playoffs,
it's just electric around here.
That's when I don't mind
doing another budget,
'cause we have to do a postseason
budget, which nobody minds doing, so…
But it is always electric around here
during the postseason. It's great.
[commentator chatters on TV]
[Raquel] We are four games
behind in the wild card.
We still have a long way to go.
So I'm not counting us out yet.
[reporter] All of a sudden, Boston's
playoff chase has some life again
for that third wild card
spot before they travel
to the Bronx to
play the Yankees.
Somehow, this team
is still in it.
[expectant music plays]
[brakes squeal]
[clattering]
Like, how important is this weekend?
Like, is this a big weekend?
[Crawford] It's really, really
important. It's really crucial.
I mean, every single game from
here on out is very crucial.
This series means more to us than it does
to them, I guess, to put it that way.
- The Red Sox-Yankees makes it fun.
- [Alex] Yeah.
[Crawford] A little more
fuel on the fire, but…
[Alex] That bulldog energy?
[Crawford] Yeah.
Try to channel my inner dog.
- Yeah? Inner dog?
- [Crawford] Dawg.
That's what everyone's
probably doing right now.
[electronic music plays]
[Andrew] We talked in Baltimore about
continuing to stay in the fight,
about the opportunity that
continues to be ahead of us, right?
We don't get these opportunities
to be in a race every single year.
It is special.
Um, so continue to just make
every pitch every time, right?
Dev, you got anything?
Every meeting, you say nothing.
- Fuck these guys. Let's go.
- [Andrew chuckles]
- All right, there it is. Let's go.
- Hey, that's something.
Big game, big series at Yankee
Stadium with the Red Sox.
They're at a crucial point in their
season. There's two weeks left.
Triston Casas and
Trevor Story are back.
It's fun to be right back with the
boys, fighting for a playoff spot.
That's what it's all
about, why I came.
You feel the hostility when
you're in Yankee Stadium,
and I'm sure they feel the same
way when they're at Fenway, so…
It's special, man. One of the
biggest rivalries in sports.
Fenway gets loud. Yankee
Stadium gets louder.
They've been actually better than
us, you know, the last two years.
This year, they're tremendous,
but it's always cool to play them.
Go out, believe in yourselves,
lead with confidence.
Win the series.
Have a happy flight.
[commentator] The Red Sox clinging
on to life in the wild card hunt.
Fifteen games to go in the
regular season for the Red Sox.
[Joe] Here's Jarren
Duran. Two of his last 22.
Here's the pitch, and he swings and
grounds it weakly to the right side.
[rousing electronic music plays]
- Torres flips. He's safe.
- [Yankees fans groan]
[Sam] This is a more
difficult place to play.
2003, I'm an employee of the team.
I'm sitting at Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Boone hits that home run
to walk us off, and it's like,
"Oh my God, like, we are
cursed. We actually are cursed."
[Joe] The pitch. He
swung on it, missed it.
Here he goes on the first pitch.
- And the throw is in time. He's out.
- [crowd cheers]
1949, you know, they gotta
win one game in New York.
They lose them both, you
know. 1948, one game playoff.
And then right up to '03, the
Aaron Boone-Wakefield thing.
Just crushing… crushing losses.
So it wasn't just
they didn't win.
They came close. They
took you to the edge.
[electronic music continues]
[Will] Aaron Judge,
he's not homered 16
consecutive games.
[Joe] 3-1 pitch is up and away, ball four.
This is the longest drought of his career.
[commentator] He's overdue.
- What up, AJ? How you feeling?
- Good. You?
[Casas] Feeling all right, all
things considered. I've been worse.
[Joe] Low and inside, ball four.
Up and in, ball four.
Walked the bases loaded.
Chisholm wears the number
13 here on Friday the 13th.
[Will chuckles] It's sort of feeling
like a Friday the 13th, isn't it?
[Joe] It is.
[Sean] It used to be,
"How are they gonna
blow this one?"
But those 2004 Red Sox changed
the mindset in New England.
[Will] With the bases loaded…
Fly ball to center.
[Will] …their season
is on the line.
[Joe] Swing and a high
fly, right-center field.
To the warning track goes Duran.
He's there, and he makes the catch
in front of the Yankee bullpen.
That had about five feet to go.
It would've been a grand slam.
[Cora] Come on, JD! Attaboy!
[Sean] All of a sudden, there
was a positive example to cite,
and they had
transformed themselves
into this franchise that
offered hope and belief.
[Andrew] Right there. Let's go.
Come on. Attaboy, Fitts. Attaboy.
Now we go! Now we go! Let's
go! Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!
[music abates]
- [Hendricks] All right. What do we got?
- [Martin] We got a tie game.
[Hendricks] Is it? Who
are we playing? [chuckles]
[Martin] You're such an idiot, dude.
His pitch count's getting up there.
Close game. Um…
- [Hendricks] Big series.
- Yeah, big series. It's like…
We're gonna go…
Any signs of struggle,
you know, we're gonna deploy.
You only notice us
when shit goes bad.
That's a true statement.
[Hendricks] Nobody comes
to us when we do well,
but they sure as shit will
be out there when we suck.
Last year, when we were in
Chicago, we got janitor's outfits
because we're the guys who come in
and clean up everybody else's shit.
I've been on a team where we came
from behind, and we got hot at the end
and ended up winning
the World Series.
So you're never out of it
until you're out of it.
[Will] Top of the sixth,
Jarren Duran to lead it off.
Chops it on the
right side, through!
- [Hendricks] Oh.
- Hey, there we go.
[funky, upbeat music plays]
[Joe] Two down,
here comes Yoshida.
[Cora] I'm telling
you, think homer.
Home run, boys. Home run.
Home run, baby!
[Will] Yoshida
strikes one to right.
[player 1] Masataka?
[Cora] Home run, baby! Home
run, baby! Home run, baby!
[Will] That ball is gone!
[Cora] Told you so!
- [player 1] Oh my Japanese king!
- [crowd cheering]
[player 2] Come on. Give it
to us, Masa. Give it to us.
[exclaims]
[Cora] Think homer, boys!
Think homer! Attaboy!
- [clapping]
- [funky music continues]
[Faust] The scoreless tie
is broken, 2-0, Red Sox.
[Cora] Attaboy!
[Faust] Ground ball
single for Casas.
[funky music continues]
[Faust] Hard-hit ball, deep
right field from Trevor Story.
- It's gone!
- [Yankees fans groan, boo]
[Red Sox bullpen clapping]
[Faust] Opposite field
shot for Trevor Story.
His first homer of the season. His
first extra base hit of the season,
and he doubles the Red Sox lead.
Now the Red Sox trying to climb
their way back into the wild card.
- [Cora] Uh… Boos.
- Do you want him ready for Soto, though?
Uh…
["Can't Take My
Eyes Off You" plays]
- Let's see what happens with Volpe, right?
- Yeah.
I love you, baby… ♪
[Will] As tired as I get of hearing
Frank Sinatra on loop in this ballpark,
I do not feel the same way about
Frankie Valli, as Volpe digs in.
Frankie Valli, "Can't
Take My Eyes Off Of You."
[tense music plays]
[Will] Big 3-2 pitch coming.
Outside, he walked
him. This can't happen.
[Casas] God fucking
damn it, man.
[Will] I still haven't seen Jersey
Boys. I need to change that.
- I've seen it five times.
- [Will] That right?
[Joe] Yeah. New York, Fort
Myers, Boston, Toronto.
Twice in Fort Myers, actually.
- [Will] And he walked him.
- [crowd cheers]
[Will] Low fastball, almost
a mortal sin by Kelly.
Two walks, and the Yankees
have two on with nobody out.
[tense music continues]
[line ringing]
[player] Watch!
[Andrew] Booser for Soto.
- [intriguing music plays]
- [crowd cheering]
[Will] Kelly, on the ropes.
Torres to left, a base hit!
Here comes Volpe around third,
and the Yankees are on the board.
Zack Kelly has given up the
first Yankee run of the game,
and I don't know that
they can stay with him.
[Faust] Red Sox make
a pitching change.
[commentator 1] That's a
big spot for Cam Booser.
[Cora] Come on, Boos.
Here we go. Let's go.
Attack, attack, attack.
Let's go. Vamos.
[tense, suspenseful music plays]
[Faust] Cam Booser comes
in to face Juan Soto
with two on and nobody
out in the seventh.
[Will] Tying run at
the plate in Soto.
What a menacing figure he is.
Still nobody out in the seventh.
Soto takes a ball.
1-0.
Booser delivers. Soto takes low.
Judge waiting on deck.
- [Andrew] Come on, Boos.
- [Will] Ahead 2-0.
Here it is. Soto takes a ball.
[crowd cheers]
[Will] 3-0.
[cheering continues]
[tense music continues]
[Cora] All right, ground ball
double play. Here we go. Vamos.
Get this fucking guy. Come on.
[Will] Postseason hopes
clinging, dangling by a thread.
The Red Sox on the
ropes here. 3-0 to Soto.
Booser is ready. The pitch.
He walked him on four pitches.
- Not even close.
- [Faust] Four-pitch walk to Soto.
And they're loaded
for Aaron Judge.
[tense music continues]
- [soundscape fades]
- [muffled cheering]
[cheering intensifies]
[Will] And what do you know? Here's
Aaron Judge with the bases loaded.
Listen to Yankee Stadium.
[cheering, whistling]
[Will] He throws.
And a breaking ball in
the dirt. Not even close.
Easy take for Judge, 1-0.
This is the worst
possible scenario
because Booser does not
know where it's going,
and he may just have to
groove one to find a strike.
If that's the case,
we're in huge trouble.
- [suspenseful music builds]
- [cheering continues]
[Andrew] Come on, Cam.
[soundscape fades out]
[Faust] Judge strikes
one, deep left field!
[cheering resumes]
[Faust] A grand slam, and
the Yankees have the lead!
- [soundscape fades out]
- [glum, foreboding music plays]
[raucous cheering fading in]
[music abates]
[Ian] That was the loudest I
heard any stadium all season.
It felt like, "Okay, the
Red Sox season's over."
[Sean] It's as if the
clock struck 12:00
on a lot of those
guys in the bullpen.
[Giolito] These guys get put in
impossible situations all the time, man.
Sometimes you get put in a
situation where it's like
the failure rate is probably greatly
outweighing the success rate.
[Cora] We gotta keep going. There's
nothing we can do. Keep going.
That's all. That's all we gotta
do. We gotta keep going. Fuck it.
[Booser] Reality is, this game's
tough, and you're gonna fail.
You gotta help your team
win. You gotta be consistent.
And you gotta be a guy that
your manager can trust.
I think it might be that simple.
[Faust] The Sox with
a heartbreaking loss
fall to four and a half games
out of the wild card spot.
We're just a little over two weeks
remaining on this improbable ride
on life support.
[Gordon] The Red Sox just
finished off a four-game series
against the New York Yankees.
They lost three out of four.
The playoff odds says they are almost
dead certain to not make the playoffs.
[Jones] I mean, it's
just completely pathetic.
Pathetic isn't even a strong enough word
to describe the state of the Red Sox.
[geese honking]
[people chattering indistinctly]
[man 1] The White Sox couldn't get
the job done last night. They won.
[men laugh]
- [man 2] That's great.
- [chatter]
How are ya, tiger?
[man 3] All right, everybody.
Where is everybody? All right.
Two hundred Wednesdays in a row…
- [man 4] Amazing.
- …outside.
All right? Groton Yalta.
- [men] Groton Yalta.
- There you go. There you go, boys.
Hello, everybody. This
is Dan Shaughnessy.
Welcome to my porch
for the 200th meeting of
the, uh, Yalta Groton.
You'll see on here.
It's a long, boring story
how that name came to be,
but we are here every Wednesday at
two o'clock for 200 consecutive weeks.
Will fans ever get over
Mookie Betts being traded?
- Never! No, never!
- They shouldn't.
- I'm gonna be like
- No. No, terrible.
It's usually six,
seven, eight guys.
If we have two, it's a quorum.
So in order to have the streak
continue, it's gotta be at least two.
I go to the concert. They give
me four hits of psilocybin.
- Oh my God.
- Okay? I had like five beers.
And then they pass
a joint around…
[Dan] Since we have
good attendance today,
I'm gonna take this moment to count
the books written on the porch.
How many books have
you written, Bob Ryan?
[Bob] Fourteen.
- [Dan] Dick Johnson?
- [Dick] 25!
[Dan chuckles] Okay.
So the game against the
Yankees at Shea Stadium, right?
- [Bill] Mm-hmm.
- That great game.
How many pitches did you throw
in that game? Do you remember?
- In that game?
- [Bill] All of 'em.
[all laugh]
[man 3] Good answer. Because
that was a great game.
[man 5] No. You're in the
presence of a man who
Freddie Lynn made the
great running catch.
- Bob Heise caught the ball and spiked it.
- [man 3] You caught the popup.
Roger Moret went out and shut
them out in the second game.
If we use Roger Moret in the
'75 World Series in Game 2,
I'm President of
the United States.
[all laughing]
We don't go into Afghanistan. Pat
Tillman is still fucking alive.
[man 6] Yeah, right?
You're right. Right.
[director] What is it that made you
guys care so much about baseball?
We're so old… we're
so old, we grew up,
you know, when… when… when
baseball was all there was.
You know? They hadn't
invented soccer yet, or
- [man 6] There was no NFL season.
- [man 7] There was no nothing, yeah.
[director] You coined the
phrase, "Curse of the Bambino."
It's the book. Yeah.
My book was the first time that those
words were put in that sequence.
[director] It's weird, but do you
think that book had anything to do
with John Henry buying the team?
[chuckles] They made it part
of their mission statement.
If you look at the press
guides, when they took the team,
it was one of the five goals, to
break "the curse of the Bambino," so…
And they succeeded in that
one, so it was pretty good.
And again, these guys
bought the team in '01, '02,
and they won four World
Series in this century.
So, uh, yeah, that
never goes away.
You know, things aren't swell right
now, but, hey, they had their run.
And, uh… But around here, it's,
"What have you done for me lately?"
Bob still holds up that
Red Sox fans are spoiled
and should not be bitching
about this season.
Why can't we bitch?
Well, number one, because
if anyone told you,
Spring Training, that they would ever,
A, once actually be 11 games over 500,
which they were,
and, B, would have some exciting,
interesting young players,
some reason to keep watching, uh,
and they weren't expected to win.
They're better than we thought.
My argument back to him is
they're a big market team
behaving like a
middle market team.
But I'm not hung up on that. Duran
was worth the show all by himself.
Abreu, I had no idea how
good Abreu really was.
I lo… You've gotta love
the potential for Rafaela.
- [Dan] Yeah.
- But it's hard to win… period.
But some would say that
they're not trying.
If you read The Boston Globe this
coming Sunday, you might, uh…
- [Dan] You got something for us?
- Yeah.
- [Dan] Oh good. Very good.
- Yeah.
[laughter fading out]
[stadium organ plays]
You know, there was still kind
of, like, a glimmer of hope
going into the final week of the
season that there might be able to, um…
that they might be able to make
a push and make it exciting
going into the last weekend and
maybe sneak into a wild card.
Um… Last night ended
up being a tough loss.
But it's like now really
an extreme long shot.
[Jared] When nobody
believed in the Red Sox,
genuinely nobody believed,
that's when they played
their best baseball.
[man] Everybody had very low
expectations for this season,
and halfway through the summer,
it's a full house in here, and
everybody's buying jerseys.
When everyone started
to talk postseason,
had expectations of getting to October,
that's when they went in the shitter.
[gloomy music plays]
[Will] The Red Sox find themselves
once again one game below .500,
76-77,
and the Red Sox looking to cling
to very faint playoff hopes.
[Duran] Where is everybody?
Is it wrong of me to go
in the clubhouse right now
and try and get everybody to
come out here for the team?
- [man 1] No.
- [Duran] Come on, man.
We're fighting for
a playoff spot.
Let's just hang out with the
boys for a little bit. Come on.
You wanna hang
out with the guys?
Nothing against
you, papi. I just…
We need everybody right now.
There's Kenley, sitting
in his fucking underwear.
That's not a winning culture.
Like, those are the guys
we fucking need out here.
You know what I mean?
Come on, Wily!
I think when it's all said and done,
people are gonna look at this year
as a year of growth
for individual players.
They know more about what they have now
than they did back in March and April.
[gloomy music continues]
Come on, Duran.
[Joe] Well, the Red Sox have the
lead, 1-0, and here's Jarren Duran.
- [clack]
- There's a looping line drive to left.
Larnach on the go, can't
get it. It's down for a hit.
- And Duran puts on the brakes.
- Oh.
[Cora] Come on, JD!
[fans cheering]
[man 2] Don't do
it! Don't do it!
[cheering, whistling]
[Joe] Brings up Triston Casas,
who's hitting a .240 with
nine homers, 22 RBIs.
[Will] The 1-2,
swing and a miss.
And he was so late, Casas,
on the fastball there.
[Faust] Triston Casas in a long slump,
three for 32 now after his strikeout.
[commentator] Casas injured
his rib in late April,
came back in mid-August, had
a hot start upon returning,
but he's been ice-cold lately.
First base has been kind of a
revolving door for the Red Sox,
trying to find that guy.
That was the one I wanted.
[chuckles] That was the one I wanted.
[gloomy music continues]
Being in a slump
is the worst thing
'cause I come to the
field every single day,
and I feel like
I'm doing nothing.
There's 45 minutes in
between each at bat,
and… and you want it so bad that…
that it feels like an eternity,
and, yeah, it's… it's tough.
It's typically something
that's going on mentally,
uh, that… you just need to
be able to try to flush.
[Joe] The pitch, swing, and a line
drive, base hit into right field.
Everything's been the other way.
- Triston, what's up, baby?
- What up? How you doing?
- Good. You?
- Doing all right.
You swinging that thing?
[clicks tongue] I mean, I'm swinging
it. I don't know if I'm hitting it, but…
[Dan] Casas, I would
entertain trading him.
In my view, he's another
guy you could sell high on
'cause the… the
potential's so great.
But, you know, you trade him, he
hits 46 home runs, it's not so great.
[man chuckles]
As much as I wanna throw
my stuff and I wanna yell
and say bad words
and break bats,
I need to be able to keep my cool…
[chuckles] …and keep good body language.
And I always remember my
dad and him telling me,
"That's not the best way to go
about it. It's not the bat's fault."
That's his… that's his favorite
line, "It's not the bat's fault."
He's like, "Hit your head
against the wall, not the bat."
You know? So… funny.
[Joe] All right, here
we go with Casas.
And he swings it,
drives one high,
back to the wall, and
gone into the bullpen.
- A three-run homer for Triston Casas.
- [fans cheering]
And how about that?
The Red Sox lead 3-0.
His tenth home run.
He's got 25 RBIs.
Ah-ha-ha!
Let's go, five! Let's go!
[Joe] Well, Triston
Casas getting high-fived
after the three-run homer.
- Whoo!
- [player 1] Nice job, Triston.
[Cora] Attaboy! Attaboy!
[player 2] Swing that shit!
[mellow music plays]
[in Spanish] Outta here.
[Will in English] Swing and a high drive,
deep to left field, toward the pole.
- It's back, and it is gone!
- [fans cheering]
[Will] Second three-run
homer of the day for Casas.
[clack]
[Joe] He hits this one high and
deep, back toward the triangle.
- Long run for Buxton, and…
- [Story yells]
- [crowd cheers]
- …it's gone! Into the bullpen!
Three home runs in
three at bats for Casas.
Can you believe it?
- [Story] Holy shit!
- [Joe] Wow!
If you look back, there's
a lot of good stories,
a lot of good things, as far as,
like, growth and development.
You see the… the light at
the end of the tunnel now,
and I truly believe this is the
last struggle of the organization.
Uh, I think next year,
we're gonna be playing for
something bigger than a wild card.
[player] Oh, let's go.
Where is everybody?
[commentator] Red Sox need
a win tonight to stay alive
on the playoff side of things.
Keep playing well, man. Keep playing hard.
Okay? Let's fucking go. Let's fucking go.
Tek was down 0-3 in the playoffs,
and they won the World Series.
[players murmur]
[Cora] And he was 0-12 too.
- [players chuckle]
- [Cora] The Red Sox were down 0-3.
[low, suspenseful music plays]
[Will] They need to win this
game to avoid being eliminated
from the playoffs.
High fly into right field. Look out.
O'Neill is back at the track at the wall.
- It's gone.
- [crowd cheers]
[Will] A two-run homer
and the Red Sox officially
eliminated in 2024.
Fuck. Goddamn it.
[Will] Sox brought it
to the end of September,
but they come up short,
and they will miss the playoffs
for the fourth time in five years.
[melancholy music plays]
We're watching the…
One of our friends on the Tigers, they
just clinched going to the playoffs.
We're watching his live.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.
Definitely super happy for him.
Am I a little bit like, "Damn"?
Yes. Yeah, it's gotta be us.
- [Casas] Yeah.
- It sucks.
It sucks to watch other
teams celebrate, I think.
I was fortunate enough, with
the Braves, to be a part of it,
so now that I know what it's
like, what it feels like,
and, dude, it's like… I got
FOMO right now for sure.
I mean, you can't just come
this far to come this far.
I mean, we've been so far away from
our families, like, for so long.
- Right? From home, like, from everything…
- [Grissom] Yeah.
Three more weeks of ball, like, at
the most meaningful time of the year,
like, playing with your homies,
like, going for the chip, right?
[Grissom] The weather out
there too, playoff weather.
For the title of "Best
Team in the League."
- Oh yeah.
- Like…
- Not everyone can be.
- Everyone's watching.
Like I said, we're gonna be at
home, watching those guys play.
- Right. Right.
- [Grissom] Kind of sucks.
It doesn't matter to me whether the game
means anything or not. It's baseball.
Oh, it's definitely a
bad year, unfortunately.
At the beginning of the year,
if they could've picked
up a couple more starters,
they would have a chance
to end up second anyway.
But when they didn't do that, I said,
"That's it. They're going nowhere."
Not a great season, but we'd love
to get some momentum, obviously,
coming back for next year.
And just hope we're playing
October baseball again.
They'll be fine.
They'll get better.
And hopefully, next year,
we'll be in the playoffs.
They played strong till the All-Star break
and, uh, you know, kept going as a team.
But, you know, we'll
get 'em next year.
[somber music playing]
[music fades out]
[Jeremiah] I'm just looking
for the Green Monster.
Okay, yeah. You can go up this
way, or you can go up that way.
- Okay.
- Also, are you Jeremiah Poope?
- I am.
- I, like, used to…
Well, I went on a tour with you,
and, like, we're friends on Facebook.
- Are we really?
- I like your stuff.
[Jeremiah] My gosh.
Thank you so much.
- You're amazing.
- [Jeremiah] Thank you.
[muttering under breath]
Right here.
- Wow.
- [man] Hey, Poope!
[woman] Jeremiah Poope!
- Oh, hey there.
- We were on your tour yesterday.
[Jeremiah] I remember you.
Thank you again for coming.
I hope you had fun.
I keep getting recognized, but
couldn't get anybody to go to the game.
Wah, wah. Story of
my life. Oh well.
[Will] You always like to head
into the offseason on an up note.
This is basically the
battle for third place.
The winner of this game today
will finish at exactly .500,
and the loser will finish in fourth
place and two games under .500.
[mellow guitar music plays]
[Will] 2-1 to Lowe,
little dribbler.
Priester, oh, fought with it,
went long, and nobody got it.
And now Lowe's gonna
be on with a base hit.
- [Lowe] Attaboy. Swing it.
- [Casas] Fuck yeah.
[Lowe] I needed a knock to
go above .240 for the year.
No way I'm hitting .239.
[Casas laughing]
Oh shit.
I think I'm… I think I'm right
there. I think I'm like .230 some…
I don't know. I haven't looked
yet. I don't want to either.
[chuckles]
I know the… I know the
OPS started today at 800.
I know I got two more turns.
It was a long season. I thought
we did some great things.
We had our bumps in the road,
but all in all, I thought
we had a really good season.
You know, we had some
young guys that had to, um…
kinda learn their bumps in the
big leagues, which was good.
But they came out stronger,
and I'm just excited what they're gonna
be able to do in the years to come.
[Joe] There's a drive by Grissom
toward the wall at left-center field.
And this one's gonna
hit off the green.
And the throw coming to
the plate is way off line.
Diving in with a run is Duran,
flying around the bases.
[Duran] I've only been a part
of October baseball one time,
but as much as I hate to say it, it
feels normal to be home at this time.
[reporter] What is it
just to finish 81-81?
In the room, you know,
a lot of disappointment.
You know, like, I still believe we had
a chance to make it to the playoffs,
and we didn't play well towards the end,
and that's the reason we're going home.
[Will] Ground ball and a diving play,
throw to the plate and not in time.
- [crowd cheers]
- [Will] Grissom gets in there.
[Craig] I'm exhausted. Uh…
You know, it's been kind of an
up-and-down season in a lot of ways.
Uh, to finish at .500
kind of feels appropriate.
- [Joe] Oh.
- [Will] Oh, thrown away.
And the Red Sox butcher that.
Lowe coming around.
But also disappointing, given there were
certainly moments during this season
when our expectations were fully
set on making the postseason,
on being, uh… you know, ready
for a deep postseason run.
[Joe] Final inning
of the 2024 season.
Two balls, two strikes, two out.
Here it is.
Swing and another
foul out of play.
[Will] Could you share
what you're feeling, Joe?
[poignant music plays]
Nostalgic. Sort of
numb. You know, it's…
I guess I've never been in this
position. I've never retired before.
But Roger Clemens said he
unretired three times. [chuckles]
- [Will chuckles]
- So watch out.
[both chuckle]
[Joe] Slaten is ready.
The payoff pitch. Swing, and
a line drive center field.
Rafaela going over to his right.
- He stabs it, and the ball game is over.
- [crowd cheers]
[Joe] The season is over.
All good things… [chuckles]
…must come to an end.
- [somber music plays]
- [fans cheering, whistling]
[Grissom] I got the chills right
now, and it didn't even mean nothing.
I wish I had baseball tomorrow.
- Ugh.
- [cheering continues]
[Joe] I would like to close,
as we've done every season,
reading from the great words of the
former commissioner of baseball,
A. Bartlett Giamatti.
- [soundscape fades]
- [soft, stirring music plays]
"It breaks your heart. It is
designed to break your heart."
"The game begins in the spring,
when everything else begins again…
and it blossoms in the summer,
filling the afternoons
and evenings,
and then as soon as
the chill rains come…
it stops,
and it leaves you to
face the fall alone."
"You count on it, rely on it,
to buffer the passage of time,
to keep the memory of
sunshine and high skies alive,
and just when you need it most,
it stops,
and summer is gone."
[stirring music continues]
[voice breaking] Wow. Beautiful
words by a beautiful man.
[Jen] It becomes
part of your life.
When the season's
done and it's over,
it's this very, uh,
weird… uh, finality.
[music abates]
[Sam] We play every day. This
is not a… a normal sport.
Win, lose, there's
a game the next day.
And then when it stops,
it's… it's
depressing. [chuckles]
It's like your body goes through
this rhythm, and it's like,
"Oh shit. The season's
over. Like, what now?"
And you think about, "Oh God. It's
gonna be a long, dark winter here."
You have to take a couple
of days, pick yourself up,
and then… and then look
forward to the next year.
[clang echoes]
[Andrew] There's a saying, "It's
the biggest offseason of my life."
Well, every offseason is the
biggest offseason in your life
because you're entering a
different chapter of your career.
[pensive music plays]
You are a minor leaguer trying to
work your way to the big leagues.
You have a guy who's trying
to fight for a roster spot.
You have a guy who's seeking free agency,
so he's going into his free-agent year.
Then when you sign the contract, now
you have to produce consistently.
Every off-season is huge.
[Duran] This year,
we were so close,
and we were not supposed
to be close at all.
[director] Are you
hopeful for next year?
I have no doubt that we're
gonna be something special.
[rousing, expectant music plays]
[Casas] I'm a work in progress
still as a human being.
Being comfortable in your own skin,
not caring what people say about you,
it's very important.
You never know when it's gonna
be your last hit, last home run.
Coming back from an
injury and stuff,
I'm taking every single at bat like
my life's on the line. Do or die.
In this game, you know, baseball,
we play 160 games in a row.
We have to decompress and
disengage from the game.
It's all about balance, right?
But we do miss Dada when
he's gone, don't we?
[Audrie squeals]
- [Stephanie] Yes.
- [O'Neill] Daddy misses his girls too.
[Bello in Spanish] For me, baseball
is the best sport in the world.
Even though there are many
bad moments, that's normal.
The biggest adjustment I
made this year was mental.
To hang in there without dwelling
on the bad things that happened,
but think about what
I did well that day.
[Booser in English] I've really
fallen in love with the journey
and the grind of the game.
Minor Leagues, Major Leagues,
I still have a uniform
and an opportunity to play the game
that I love more than anything.
I'm just thankful for the
opportunity to have been here.
[music continues]
[Cora] You can talk
about our defense,
you can talk about our offense,
you can talk about the bullpen,
but you cannot
question the effort.
These kids, this group,
they never stopped playing.
Everybody has put
this organization
in a spot that is gonna
be very successful…
[music halts]
…starting next year.
["Sweet Caroline" by
Neil Diamond plays]
- [music continues over speakers]
- Hands ♪
[fans singing along]
Touching hands ♪
Reaching out ♪
Touching me ♪
Touching you ♪
Sweet Caroline ♪
[crowd] Bah! Bah! Bah! ♪
- [music halts]
- Stop it. It's an embarrassment.
People wanna come to
sing "Sweet Caroline."
- [Dan] Should be erased…
- Not me. I sit down.
- [Dan] …from the soundtrack of life.
- I stay seated.
I deplore it. I think it's
a civic embarrassment.
It is. Embarrassment that we…
that the people of America
have to look at these
idiots at Fenway,
you know, singing a song that has nothing
to do with baseball or anything else.
They're down 8-1.
- [Bob] I love that. Thank you.
- "So good, so good."
[Bob] That's usually my
number one complaint.
At least be a little bit… You
know, don't be so tone-deaf.
[Bob] Only play it
if you're ahead.
Yeah, that'd be better, way better,
but nothing would be the best.
[fans] So good!
So good! So good!
[music continues over stadium
speakers] I've been inclined ♪
[fans] Bah! Bah! Bah! ♪
[song and fans] To believe
they never would, oh… ♪
- [soundscape fades out]
- [upbeat instrumental music plays]
[music fades out]
[earth skitters]
- [baby giggles]
- [gulls calling]
[waves crashing]
[clicking]
- [commentator] Number 23.
- [crowd cheers]
[strings stab]
[cheering fades]
[expectant music plays]
[McDonough] It's the Red Sox
and the Orioles, game three,
and the Sox really are in
can't-lose territory these days.
They have been searching for a way to put
pitching, hitting, and defense together.
It's been an elusive combination,
and time is running out.
Need all the Advil. All of it.
"Ibuprofen" means
"I be playing."
- How you feeling, big dawg?
- All right, you?
[Duran] Good. Grinding.
You know how it is.
- Yeah, September. That's the way it is.
- [Duran laughs]
[McDonough] Jarren Duran's ready
to go on this very pleasant night,
and so is the Hall of Fame voice
of the Red Sox, Joe Castiglione.
Thank you very much, Sean McDonough.
Great to have you with us here.
Jarren Duran will bat
first, and the pitch.
He swung, a line into
center field, a base hit.
Duran leads off the eighth
with a first pitch single,
bringing up Devers,
who's walked.
- Oh man. I'm grinding right now.
- Same.
My fingers hurt. My knees hurt.
Yeah. It's that time of year.
[Joe] Baseball's
an endurance test.
A hundred sixty-two
games. It's a daily grind.
They always say, "It's a
marathon, not a sprint."
- [crowd chants] Let's go, Red Sox!
- [clapping in unison]
[Joe] I joined the
Red Sox in 1983.
2024 is my 42nd year overall.
[poignant music plays]
Baseball's like
building a pyramid.
What happened today is built
on what happened yesterday,
the week before, the month
before, the year before,
the generation before.
Welcome to the 2005 home
opener here in Boston.
It's been an 86-year wait,
but the Red Sox are finally
getting their rings.
[Will] This is a town
that not only did they not win
a World Series for 86 years,
but they lost in epically
Greek-tragedy fashion.
And when they finally crossed
that threshold in 2004,
Joe narrated that moment and
the three titles that followed.
[Joe] Swing, and a ground ball
stabbed by Foulke. He has it.
He underhands to first,
and the Boston Red Sox
are the world champions
for the first time in 86 years.
Can you believe it?
"Can you believe it?"
At the belt, the pitch.
Swing and a miss. It's over.
The Red Sox have swept
the Colorado Rockies.
[Will] He is the soundtrack to so
many of people's best memories.
[Joe] Swing and a miss.
Strike three. It's over.
The Red Sox have won
the world championship.
[Will] But he also helped
navigate the harder times.
He's there for the
Buckner moment in '86.
[Joe] This game has
more twists and turns
than a Colorado highway
through the Rockies.
[Will] He was there in '03 when
Aaron Boone hits the home run.
[Joe] Swing and a
long drive to left.
Gone. A home run. The New York
Yankees have won the pennant.
And he holds Boston's hand
through loss and tragedy
and says, "We're gonna be okay.
There are brighter days ahead."
"There will be a new season."
We've been dancing around
it, Joe. Take it away.
Okay, well, I never
thought this day would come
and, uh… [smacks lips]
…certainly mixed emotions,
but after 42 years and some
6,500 games… [chuckles]
…I think it's time, uh,
to hang up the microphone,
at least on a regular basis,
and, uh… [smacks lips]
…announce the retirement here.
It's something I never
really thought I'd do,
because, you know, I've had
so many great thrills here.
[director] Why this year have
you decided to step away?
Well, I owe time at home,
and I just think it's time.
I wanted to go out on my own terms and
before I lost my fastball. [chuckles]
I was 23 years old when
this picture was taken.
The Washington Senators, they were managed
by "the Thumper," the great Ted Williams.
He was cussing in a most unusual way
I'd never heard before. Very creative.
When you think back, of all the things
that have happened between 1970 to today,
it just is overwhelming, really.
Forty-two great years
with the Red Sox.
[poignant music continues]
One thing I like to do
coming back from a trip…
I get into Fenway at three
o'clock in the morning.
I like to sit out there and
look at the dark Fenway Park
with just the
security lights on.
[crowd murmurs faintly]
[Joe] It's breathtaking.
- [baseball bat clacks]
- [crowd cheering faintly]
[Joe] To think about all the
things that have happened here.
- [cheering lifts]
- [rousing music plays]
This is for you, Boston.
[crowd cheers]
[Joe] I think the
fan base realized
that this team, this franchise could
win multiple championships and did.
There's nothing more
exhilarating than a pennant race.
3-2, Baltimore.
[Will] The Red Sox would
have to get some runs
to keep their
playoff hopes alive.
Here's his pitch, and he
swings and drives one to left!
High and deep.
- And this ball is long gone.
- [cheering erupts]
A walk-off home run, Tyler O'Neill,
and the Red Sox have won it.
Their first walk-off home run of
the year. The final, 5-3, Red Sox.
A high, towering drive
deep into the night,
and the Red Sox walk it off.
[raucous cheering]
[Joe] You look at the young players
and the hope for the future,
and I think it's optimistic.
[Red Sox team cheering]
[commentator 1] The Red Sox
are heading to the Bronx next.
[commentator 2] Sometimes
it's just that one series
where it can get you back on
track for this Wild Card race.
- [commentator 1] Yeah.
- [commentator 2] But they gotta get hot.
Live for another day, baby.
[Joe] This is a team that shows
a lot of hope and promise.
[music fades]
[crowd chatter fades in]
[stadium organ plays]
Come on!
Come on, WooSox!
[man 1] Come on! You got it!
[clapping continues]
[man 1] Come on, Triston!
Get a strike in there.
- [man 2] Bobby!
- [man 1] Get 'em out!
[Cooper] And here comes Triston Casas,
continuing his rehab assignment,
the big left-hand hitter.
[fans whoop, applaud]
[Casas exhales sharply]
I get nervous just
because I care, you know?
I wanna have results,
and I want production.
You know, yeah, I'm coming
back from an injury and stuff,
but I want results from the first time
that I step back in the box. That's all.
[director] Good luck today.
Uh, save it for someone who
needs it, huh? I don't need that.
- Come on, Triston!
- [expectant rock music plays]
Come on, Triston!
[Cooper] 2-2, Casas rolls one
over to the second baseman,
and it's fumbled out
there by Geraldo,
but he picks it up,
and he throws late.
- Hey!
- [fans whoop, clap]
[Casas shouts]
[Cooper] And so ends, in all
likelihood, the day for Triston Casas.
I think he'll be
ready by Monday.
- Congratulations, man.
- [Casas] Thanks, man.
[Cooper] We're not guaranteeing
he'll be in the lineup every day.
Who knows? Maybe he's ready tomorrow,
but that's just one man's prediction.
- [boy 1] Triston, please!
- [boy 2] Triston!
[kids clamor]
- [boy 3] Please will you sign my ball?
- [boy 4] Thank you.
[boy 3] Will you sign my ball?
- Yeah!
- [boy 5] Thank you.
- Thank you. I see you hit bombs.
- Thank you.
[boy 6] Triston, I can't wait
to see you with the Red Sox.
- Yo, you have your phone?
- [boy 4] A picture with my phone?
- Yeah, you have a phone?
- [boy 4] Yeah.
- Here, gimme it.
- [boy 4] Okay.
[funky, expectant music plays]
[Casas] Last night,
after my first at bat,
something just popped in my head
and told me I was ready to go.
- Thank you, sir.
- [Casas] Here.
- Bro, thank you so much.
- Oh, yo!
- [Casas] For you.
- Whoa.
[woman] Such a fan.
Thank you so much.
[Casas] It's good enough to
come out and play 100%, right?
My bat speed numbers are back
to… to what they were before.
That was what I was
worried about the most,
was, you know, whipping the bat
around at Major League speeds,
and I'm right back to it.
The pain is what it is.
You know, it's not gonna bother me
from playing the game that I need to,
and that's what I wanted most.
[Sean] Triston Casas,
just returning,
and now here it is, the
middle of September,
you're trying to catch
up in the playoff race.
The Red Sox may be having some life
left to them in their wild card chase.
They announce that Trevor Story, who's
been on the IL, will be returning.
[commentator] Been talking to
Trevor Story earlier today.
Of course, trying to
rehab his way back.
Getting closer and closer. Watched him
taking some batting practice today.
I think, as bad as it was early,
that's how good it's been lately.
We're riding that momentum
of how it's feeling good, so…
Um, obviously, this whole
thing is around the playoff run
and being able to
play in October, so…
[Cora] He's been relentless, you
know, in the rehab, in the workouts,
in everything that he needed
to do to be back at this level,
and for us to get back in this
race, you know, we need everybody.
[funky, expectant
music continues]
[music fades out]
[car horns honking]
[telephone line rings, clicks]
- [man] Hey, Raquel.
- Hey, Ry. How are you?
- [Ryan] Good.
- Good.
I'm working on getting you that
backup for, um, the budget stuff.
I can give you the stuff for, like,
baseball uniforms and equipment.
Right? 'Cause…
- Stuff that goes up every year. Baseballs…
- [Ryan] Yeah.
[Raquel] We have to provide two cases
of baseball for every visiting team.
That's mandated by MLB, so
that's like another 35,000.
- [Ryan] I got you.
- I'm still working on it. Okay.
- Okay.
- I'll get that to you today.
- Thank you.
- [Ryan] Thanks.
[Raquel] I'm so behind in
these budgets. It sucks.
To actually do them during the season
is… We've never done that before.
We usually do it
when the season ends,
which we usually
hope is late October.
Um, so having to do 'em now during
the season is… is tough to do,
especially since we don't know,
like, what's gonna happen.
Like, you know how much money we
spend on baseballs? It's ridiculous.
Just during the regular
season… 490,000.
Um, but that doesn't
include Spring Training.
[director] 400… You
spend half a million…
Almost half a million dollars.
- [director] Just on baseballs.
- On baseballs.
And that doesn't even include
the minor leagues. It's crazy.
Like, we spend
19,000 on helmets.
Bats, we spend 150,000 probably.
[director] How much
do you spend on mud?
Not a lot. Five hundred bucks.
When we're in the playoffs,
it's just electric around here.
That's when I don't mind
doing another budget,
'cause we have to do a postseason
budget, which nobody minds doing, so…
But it is always electric around here
during the postseason. It's great.
[commentator chatters on TV]
[Raquel] We are four games
behind in the wild card.
We still have a long way to go.
So I'm not counting us out yet.
[reporter] All of a sudden, Boston's
playoff chase has some life again
for that third wild card
spot before they travel
to the Bronx to
play the Yankees.
Somehow, this team
is still in it.
[expectant music plays]
[brakes squeal]
[clattering]
Like, how important is this weekend?
Like, is this a big weekend?
[Crawford] It's really, really
important. It's really crucial.
I mean, every single game from
here on out is very crucial.
This series means more to us than it does
to them, I guess, to put it that way.
- The Red Sox-Yankees makes it fun.
- [Alex] Yeah.
[Crawford] A little more
fuel on the fire, but…
[Alex] That bulldog energy?
[Crawford] Yeah.
Try to channel my inner dog.
- Yeah? Inner dog?
- [Crawford] Dawg.
That's what everyone's
probably doing right now.
[electronic music plays]
[Andrew] We talked in Baltimore about
continuing to stay in the fight,
about the opportunity that
continues to be ahead of us, right?
We don't get these opportunities
to be in a race every single year.
It is special.
Um, so continue to just make
every pitch every time, right?
Dev, you got anything?
Every meeting, you say nothing.
- Fuck these guys. Let's go.
- [Andrew chuckles]
- All right, there it is. Let's go.
- Hey, that's something.
Big game, big series at Yankee
Stadium with the Red Sox.
They're at a crucial point in their
season. There's two weeks left.
Triston Casas and
Trevor Story are back.
It's fun to be right back with the
boys, fighting for a playoff spot.
That's what it's all
about, why I came.
You feel the hostility when
you're in Yankee Stadium,
and I'm sure they feel the same
way when they're at Fenway, so…
It's special, man. One of the
biggest rivalries in sports.
Fenway gets loud. Yankee
Stadium gets louder.
They've been actually better than
us, you know, the last two years.
This year, they're tremendous,
but it's always cool to play them.
Go out, believe in yourselves,
lead with confidence.
Win the series.
Have a happy flight.
[commentator] The Red Sox clinging
on to life in the wild card hunt.
Fifteen games to go in the
regular season for the Red Sox.
[Joe] Here's Jarren
Duran. Two of his last 22.
Here's the pitch, and he swings and
grounds it weakly to the right side.
[rousing electronic music plays]
- Torres flips. He's safe.
- [Yankees fans groan]
[Sam] This is a more
difficult place to play.
2003, I'm an employee of the team.
I'm sitting at Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Boone hits that home run
to walk us off, and it's like,
"Oh my God, like, we are
cursed. We actually are cursed."
[Joe] The pitch. He
swung on it, missed it.
Here he goes on the first pitch.
- And the throw is in time. He's out.
- [crowd cheers]
1949, you know, they gotta
win one game in New York.
They lose them both, you
know. 1948, one game playoff.
And then right up to '03, the
Aaron Boone-Wakefield thing.
Just crushing… crushing losses.
So it wasn't just
they didn't win.
They came close. They
took you to the edge.
[electronic music continues]
[Will] Aaron Judge,
he's not homered 16
consecutive games.
[Joe] 3-1 pitch is up and away, ball four.
This is the longest drought of his career.
[commentator] He's overdue.
- What up, AJ? How you feeling?
- Good. You?
[Casas] Feeling all right, all
things considered. I've been worse.
[Joe] Low and inside, ball four.
Up and in, ball four.
Walked the bases loaded.
Chisholm wears the number
13 here on Friday the 13th.
[Will chuckles] It's sort of feeling
like a Friday the 13th, isn't it?
[Joe] It is.
[Sean] It used to be,
"How are they gonna
blow this one?"
But those 2004 Red Sox changed
the mindset in New England.
[Will] With the bases loaded…
Fly ball to center.
[Will] …their season
is on the line.
[Joe] Swing and a high
fly, right-center field.
To the warning track goes Duran.
He's there, and he makes the catch
in front of the Yankee bullpen.
That had about five feet to go.
It would've been a grand slam.
[Cora] Come on, JD! Attaboy!
[Sean] All of a sudden, there
was a positive example to cite,
and they had
transformed themselves
into this franchise that
offered hope and belief.
[Andrew] Right there. Let's go.
Come on. Attaboy, Fitts. Attaboy.
Now we go! Now we go! Let's
go! Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!
[music abates]
- [Hendricks] All right. What do we got?
- [Martin] We got a tie game.
[Hendricks] Is it? Who
are we playing? [chuckles]
[Martin] You're such an idiot, dude.
His pitch count's getting up there.
Close game. Um…
- [Hendricks] Big series.
- Yeah, big series. It's like…
We're gonna go…
Any signs of struggle,
you know, we're gonna deploy.
You only notice us
when shit goes bad.
That's a true statement.
[Hendricks] Nobody comes
to us when we do well,
but they sure as shit will
be out there when we suck.
Last year, when we were in
Chicago, we got janitor's outfits
because we're the guys who come in
and clean up everybody else's shit.
I've been on a team where we came
from behind, and we got hot at the end
and ended up winning
the World Series.
So you're never out of it
until you're out of it.
[Will] Top of the sixth,
Jarren Duran to lead it off.
Chops it on the
right side, through!
- [Hendricks] Oh.
- Hey, there we go.
[funky, upbeat music plays]
[Joe] Two down,
here comes Yoshida.
[Cora] I'm telling
you, think homer.
Home run, boys. Home run.
Home run, baby!
[Will] Yoshida
strikes one to right.
[player 1] Masataka?
[Cora] Home run, baby! Home
run, baby! Home run, baby!
[Will] That ball is gone!
[Cora] Told you so!
- [player 1] Oh my Japanese king!
- [crowd cheering]
[player 2] Come on. Give it
to us, Masa. Give it to us.
[exclaims]
[Cora] Think homer, boys!
Think homer! Attaboy!
- [clapping]
- [funky music continues]
[Faust] The scoreless tie
is broken, 2-0, Red Sox.
[Cora] Attaboy!
[Faust] Ground ball
single for Casas.
[funky music continues]
[Faust] Hard-hit ball, deep
right field from Trevor Story.
- It's gone!
- [Yankees fans groan, boo]
[Red Sox bullpen clapping]
[Faust] Opposite field
shot for Trevor Story.
His first homer of the season. His
first extra base hit of the season,
and he doubles the Red Sox lead.
Now the Red Sox trying to climb
their way back into the wild card.
- [Cora] Uh… Boos.
- Do you want him ready for Soto, though?
Uh…
["Can't Take My
Eyes Off You" plays]
- Let's see what happens with Volpe, right?
- Yeah.
I love you, baby… ♪
[Will] As tired as I get of hearing
Frank Sinatra on loop in this ballpark,
I do not feel the same way about
Frankie Valli, as Volpe digs in.
Frankie Valli, "Can't
Take My Eyes Off Of You."
[tense music plays]
[Will] Big 3-2 pitch coming.
Outside, he walked
him. This can't happen.
[Casas] God fucking
damn it, man.
[Will] I still haven't seen Jersey
Boys. I need to change that.
- I've seen it five times.
- [Will] That right?
[Joe] Yeah. New York, Fort
Myers, Boston, Toronto.
Twice in Fort Myers, actually.
- [Will] And he walked him.
- [crowd cheers]
[Will] Low fastball, almost
a mortal sin by Kelly.
Two walks, and the Yankees
have two on with nobody out.
[tense music continues]
[line ringing]
[player] Watch!
[Andrew] Booser for Soto.
- [intriguing music plays]
- [crowd cheering]
[Will] Kelly, on the ropes.
Torres to left, a base hit!
Here comes Volpe around third,
and the Yankees are on the board.
Zack Kelly has given up the
first Yankee run of the game,
and I don't know that
they can stay with him.
[Faust] Red Sox make
a pitching change.
[commentator 1] That's a
big spot for Cam Booser.
[Cora] Come on, Boos.
Here we go. Let's go.
Attack, attack, attack.
Let's go. Vamos.
[tense, suspenseful music plays]
[Faust] Cam Booser comes
in to face Juan Soto
with two on and nobody
out in the seventh.
[Will] Tying run at
the plate in Soto.
What a menacing figure he is.
Still nobody out in the seventh.
Soto takes a ball.
1-0.
Booser delivers. Soto takes low.
Judge waiting on deck.
- [Andrew] Come on, Boos.
- [Will] Ahead 2-0.
Here it is. Soto takes a ball.
[crowd cheers]
[Will] 3-0.
[cheering continues]
[tense music continues]
[Cora] All right, ground ball
double play. Here we go. Vamos.
Get this fucking guy. Come on.
[Will] Postseason hopes
clinging, dangling by a thread.
The Red Sox on the
ropes here. 3-0 to Soto.
Booser is ready. The pitch.
He walked him on four pitches.
- Not even close.
- [Faust] Four-pitch walk to Soto.
And they're loaded
for Aaron Judge.
[tense music continues]
- [soundscape fades]
- [muffled cheering]
[cheering intensifies]
[Will] And what do you know? Here's
Aaron Judge with the bases loaded.
Listen to Yankee Stadium.
[cheering, whistling]
[Will] He throws.
And a breaking ball in
the dirt. Not even close.
Easy take for Judge, 1-0.
This is the worst
possible scenario
because Booser does not
know where it's going,
and he may just have to
groove one to find a strike.
If that's the case,
we're in huge trouble.
- [suspenseful music builds]
- [cheering continues]
[Andrew] Come on, Cam.
[soundscape fades out]
[Faust] Judge strikes
one, deep left field!
[cheering resumes]
[Faust] A grand slam, and
the Yankees have the lead!
- [soundscape fades out]
- [glum, foreboding music plays]
[raucous cheering fading in]
[music abates]
[Ian] That was the loudest I
heard any stadium all season.
It felt like, "Okay, the
Red Sox season's over."
[Sean] It's as if the
clock struck 12:00
on a lot of those
guys in the bullpen.
[Giolito] These guys get put in
impossible situations all the time, man.
Sometimes you get put in a
situation where it's like
the failure rate is probably greatly
outweighing the success rate.
[Cora] We gotta keep going. There's
nothing we can do. Keep going.
That's all. That's all we gotta
do. We gotta keep going. Fuck it.
[Booser] Reality is, this game's
tough, and you're gonna fail.
You gotta help your team
win. You gotta be consistent.
And you gotta be a guy that
your manager can trust.
I think it might be that simple.
[Faust] The Sox with
a heartbreaking loss
fall to four and a half games
out of the wild card spot.
We're just a little over two weeks
remaining on this improbable ride
on life support.
[Gordon] The Red Sox just
finished off a four-game series
against the New York Yankees.
They lost three out of four.
The playoff odds says they are almost
dead certain to not make the playoffs.
[Jones] I mean, it's
just completely pathetic.
Pathetic isn't even a strong enough word
to describe the state of the Red Sox.
[geese honking]
[people chattering indistinctly]
[man 1] The White Sox couldn't get
the job done last night. They won.
[men laugh]
- [man 2] That's great.
- [chatter]
How are ya, tiger?
[man 3] All right, everybody.
Where is everybody? All right.
Two hundred Wednesdays in a row…
- [man 4] Amazing.
- …outside.
All right? Groton Yalta.
- [men] Groton Yalta.
- There you go. There you go, boys.
Hello, everybody. This
is Dan Shaughnessy.
Welcome to my porch
for the 200th meeting of
the, uh, Yalta Groton.
You'll see on here.
It's a long, boring story
how that name came to be,
but we are here every Wednesday at
two o'clock for 200 consecutive weeks.
Will fans ever get over
Mookie Betts being traded?
- Never! No, never!
- They shouldn't.
- I'm gonna be like
- No. No, terrible.
It's usually six,
seven, eight guys.
If we have two, it's a quorum.
So in order to have the streak
continue, it's gotta be at least two.
I go to the concert. They give
me four hits of psilocybin.
- Oh my God.
- Okay? I had like five beers.
And then they pass
a joint around…
[Dan] Since we have
good attendance today,
I'm gonna take this moment to count
the books written on the porch.
How many books have
you written, Bob Ryan?
[Bob] Fourteen.
- [Dan] Dick Johnson?
- [Dick] 25!
[Dan chuckles] Okay.
So the game against the
Yankees at Shea Stadium, right?
- [Bill] Mm-hmm.
- That great game.
How many pitches did you throw
in that game? Do you remember?
- In that game?
- [Bill] All of 'em.
[all laugh]
[man 3] Good answer. Because
that was a great game.
[man 5] No. You're in the
presence of a man who
Freddie Lynn made the
great running catch.
- Bob Heise caught the ball and spiked it.
- [man 3] You caught the popup.
Roger Moret went out and shut
them out in the second game.
If we use Roger Moret in the
'75 World Series in Game 2,
I'm President of
the United States.
[all laughing]
We don't go into Afghanistan. Pat
Tillman is still fucking alive.
[man 6] Yeah, right?
You're right. Right.
[director] What is it that made you
guys care so much about baseball?
We're so old… we're
so old, we grew up,
you know, when… when… when
baseball was all there was.
You know? They hadn't
invented soccer yet, or
- [man 6] There was no NFL season.
- [man 7] There was no nothing, yeah.
[director] You coined the
phrase, "Curse of the Bambino."
It's the book. Yeah.
My book was the first time that those
words were put in that sequence.
[director] It's weird, but do you
think that book had anything to do
with John Henry buying the team?
[chuckles] They made it part
of their mission statement.
If you look at the press
guides, when they took the team,
it was one of the five goals, to
break "the curse of the Bambino," so…
And they succeeded in that
one, so it was pretty good.
And again, these guys
bought the team in '01, '02,
and they won four World
Series in this century.
So, uh, yeah, that
never goes away.
You know, things aren't swell right
now, but, hey, they had their run.
And, uh… But around here, it's,
"What have you done for me lately?"
Bob still holds up that
Red Sox fans are spoiled
and should not be bitching
about this season.
Why can't we bitch?
Well, number one, because
if anyone told you,
Spring Training, that they would ever,
A, once actually be 11 games over 500,
which they were,
and, B, would have some exciting,
interesting young players,
some reason to keep watching, uh,
and they weren't expected to win.
They're better than we thought.
My argument back to him is
they're a big market team
behaving like a
middle market team.
But I'm not hung up on that. Duran
was worth the show all by himself.
Abreu, I had no idea how
good Abreu really was.
I lo… You've gotta love
the potential for Rafaela.
- [Dan] Yeah.
- But it's hard to win… period.
But some would say that
they're not trying.
If you read The Boston Globe this
coming Sunday, you might, uh…
- [Dan] You got something for us?
- Yeah.
- [Dan] Oh good. Very good.
- Yeah.
[laughter fading out]
[stadium organ plays]
You know, there was still kind
of, like, a glimmer of hope
going into the final week of the
season that there might be able to, um…
that they might be able to make
a push and make it exciting
going into the last weekend and
maybe sneak into a wild card.
Um… Last night ended
up being a tough loss.
But it's like now really
an extreme long shot.
[Jared] When nobody
believed in the Red Sox,
genuinely nobody believed,
that's when they played
their best baseball.
[man] Everybody had very low
expectations for this season,
and halfway through the summer,
it's a full house in here, and
everybody's buying jerseys.
When everyone started
to talk postseason,
had expectations of getting to October,
that's when they went in the shitter.
[gloomy music plays]
[Will] The Red Sox find themselves
once again one game below .500,
76-77,
and the Red Sox looking to cling
to very faint playoff hopes.
[Duran] Where is everybody?
Is it wrong of me to go
in the clubhouse right now
and try and get everybody to
come out here for the team?
- [man 1] No.
- [Duran] Come on, man.
We're fighting for
a playoff spot.
Let's just hang out with the
boys for a little bit. Come on.
You wanna hang
out with the guys?
Nothing against
you, papi. I just…
We need everybody right now.
There's Kenley, sitting
in his fucking underwear.
That's not a winning culture.
Like, those are the guys
we fucking need out here.
You know what I mean?
Come on, Wily!
I think when it's all said and done,
people are gonna look at this year
as a year of growth
for individual players.
They know more about what they have now
than they did back in March and April.
[gloomy music continues]
Come on, Duran.
[Joe] Well, the Red Sox have the
lead, 1-0, and here's Jarren Duran.
- [clack]
- There's a looping line drive to left.
Larnach on the go, can't
get it. It's down for a hit.
- And Duran puts on the brakes.
- Oh.
[Cora] Come on, JD!
[fans cheering]
[man 2] Don't do
it! Don't do it!
[cheering, whistling]
[Joe] Brings up Triston Casas,
who's hitting a .240 with
nine homers, 22 RBIs.
[Will] The 1-2,
swing and a miss.
And he was so late, Casas,
on the fastball there.
[Faust] Triston Casas in a long slump,
three for 32 now after his strikeout.
[commentator] Casas injured
his rib in late April,
came back in mid-August, had
a hot start upon returning,
but he's been ice-cold lately.
First base has been kind of a
revolving door for the Red Sox,
trying to find that guy.
That was the one I wanted.
[chuckles] That was the one I wanted.
[gloomy music continues]
Being in a slump
is the worst thing
'cause I come to the
field every single day,
and I feel like
I'm doing nothing.
There's 45 minutes in
between each at bat,
and… and you want it so bad that…
that it feels like an eternity,
and, yeah, it's… it's tough.
It's typically something
that's going on mentally,
uh, that… you just need to
be able to try to flush.
[Joe] The pitch, swing, and a line
drive, base hit into right field.
Everything's been the other way.
- Triston, what's up, baby?
- What up? How you doing?
- Good. You?
- Doing all right.
You swinging that thing?
[clicks tongue] I mean, I'm swinging
it. I don't know if I'm hitting it, but…
[Dan] Casas, I would
entertain trading him.
In my view, he's another
guy you could sell high on
'cause the… the
potential's so great.
But, you know, you trade him, he
hits 46 home runs, it's not so great.
[man chuckles]
As much as I wanna throw
my stuff and I wanna yell
and say bad words
and break bats,
I need to be able to keep my cool…
[chuckles] …and keep good body language.
And I always remember my
dad and him telling me,
"That's not the best way to go
about it. It's not the bat's fault."
That's his… that's his favorite
line, "It's not the bat's fault."
He's like, "Hit your head
against the wall, not the bat."
You know? So… funny.
[Joe] All right, here
we go with Casas.
And he swings it,
drives one high,
back to the wall, and
gone into the bullpen.
- A three-run homer for Triston Casas.
- [fans cheering]
And how about that?
The Red Sox lead 3-0.
His tenth home run.
He's got 25 RBIs.
Ah-ha-ha!
Let's go, five! Let's go!
[Joe] Well, Triston
Casas getting high-fived
after the three-run homer.
- Whoo!
- [player 1] Nice job, Triston.
[Cora] Attaboy! Attaboy!
[player 2] Swing that shit!
[mellow music plays]
[in Spanish] Outta here.
[Will in English] Swing and a high drive,
deep to left field, toward the pole.
- It's back, and it is gone!
- [fans cheering]
[Will] Second three-run
homer of the day for Casas.
[clack]
[Joe] He hits this one high and
deep, back toward the triangle.
- Long run for Buxton, and…
- [Story yells]
- [crowd cheers]
- …it's gone! Into the bullpen!
Three home runs in
three at bats for Casas.
Can you believe it?
- [Story] Holy shit!
- [Joe] Wow!
If you look back, there's
a lot of good stories,
a lot of good things, as far as,
like, growth and development.
You see the… the light at
the end of the tunnel now,
and I truly believe this is the
last struggle of the organization.
Uh, I think next year,
we're gonna be playing for
something bigger than a wild card.
[player] Oh, let's go.
Where is everybody?
[commentator] Red Sox need
a win tonight to stay alive
on the playoff side of things.
Keep playing well, man. Keep playing hard.
Okay? Let's fucking go. Let's fucking go.
Tek was down 0-3 in the playoffs,
and they won the World Series.
[players murmur]
[Cora] And he was 0-12 too.
- [players chuckle]
- [Cora] The Red Sox were down 0-3.
[low, suspenseful music plays]
[Will] They need to win this
game to avoid being eliminated
from the playoffs.
High fly into right field. Look out.
O'Neill is back at the track at the wall.
- It's gone.
- [crowd cheers]
[Will] A two-run homer
and the Red Sox officially
eliminated in 2024.
Fuck. Goddamn it.
[Will] Sox brought it
to the end of September,
but they come up short,
and they will miss the playoffs
for the fourth time in five years.
[melancholy music plays]
We're watching the…
One of our friends on the Tigers, they
just clinched going to the playoffs.
We're watching his live.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.
Definitely super happy for him.
Am I a little bit like, "Damn"?
Yes. Yeah, it's gotta be us.
- [Casas] Yeah.
- It sucks.
It sucks to watch other
teams celebrate, I think.
I was fortunate enough, with
the Braves, to be a part of it,
so now that I know what it's
like, what it feels like,
and, dude, it's like… I got
FOMO right now for sure.
I mean, you can't just come
this far to come this far.
I mean, we've been so far away from
our families, like, for so long.
- Right? From home, like, from everything…
- [Grissom] Yeah.
Three more weeks of ball, like, at
the most meaningful time of the year,
like, playing with your homies,
like, going for the chip, right?
[Grissom] The weather out
there too, playoff weather.
For the title of "Best
Team in the League."
- Oh yeah.
- Like…
- Not everyone can be.
- Everyone's watching.
Like I said, we're gonna be at
home, watching those guys play.
- Right. Right.
- [Grissom] Kind of sucks.
It doesn't matter to me whether the game
means anything or not. It's baseball.
Oh, it's definitely a
bad year, unfortunately.
At the beginning of the year,
if they could've picked
up a couple more starters,
they would have a chance
to end up second anyway.
But when they didn't do that, I said,
"That's it. They're going nowhere."
Not a great season, but we'd love
to get some momentum, obviously,
coming back for next year.
And just hope we're playing
October baseball again.
They'll be fine.
They'll get better.
And hopefully, next year,
we'll be in the playoffs.
They played strong till the All-Star break
and, uh, you know, kept going as a team.
But, you know, we'll
get 'em next year.
[somber music playing]
[music fades out]
[Jeremiah] I'm just looking
for the Green Monster.
Okay, yeah. You can go up this
way, or you can go up that way.
- Okay.
- Also, are you Jeremiah Poope?
- I am.
- I, like, used to…
Well, I went on a tour with you,
and, like, we're friends on Facebook.
- Are we really?
- I like your stuff.
[Jeremiah] My gosh.
Thank you so much.
- You're amazing.
- [Jeremiah] Thank you.
[muttering under breath]
Right here.
- Wow.
- [man] Hey, Poope!
[woman] Jeremiah Poope!
- Oh, hey there.
- We were on your tour yesterday.
[Jeremiah] I remember you.
Thank you again for coming.
I hope you had fun.
I keep getting recognized, but
couldn't get anybody to go to the game.
Wah, wah. Story of
my life. Oh well.
[Will] You always like to head
into the offseason on an up note.
This is basically the
battle for third place.
The winner of this game today
will finish at exactly .500,
and the loser will finish in fourth
place and two games under .500.
[mellow guitar music plays]
[Will] 2-1 to Lowe,
little dribbler.
Priester, oh, fought with it,
went long, and nobody got it.
And now Lowe's gonna
be on with a base hit.
- [Lowe] Attaboy. Swing it.
- [Casas] Fuck yeah.
[Lowe] I needed a knock to
go above .240 for the year.
No way I'm hitting .239.
[Casas laughing]
Oh shit.
I think I'm… I think I'm right
there. I think I'm like .230 some…
I don't know. I haven't looked
yet. I don't want to either.
[chuckles]
I know the… I know the
OPS started today at 800.
I know I got two more turns.
It was a long season. I thought
we did some great things.
We had our bumps in the road,
but all in all, I thought
we had a really good season.
You know, we had some
young guys that had to, um…
kinda learn their bumps in the
big leagues, which was good.
But they came out stronger,
and I'm just excited what they're gonna
be able to do in the years to come.
[Joe] There's a drive by Grissom
toward the wall at left-center field.
And this one's gonna
hit off the green.
And the throw coming to
the plate is way off line.
Diving in with a run is Duran,
flying around the bases.
[Duran] I've only been a part
of October baseball one time,
but as much as I hate to say it, it
feels normal to be home at this time.
[reporter] What is it
just to finish 81-81?
In the room, you know,
a lot of disappointment.
You know, like, I still believe we had
a chance to make it to the playoffs,
and we didn't play well towards the end,
and that's the reason we're going home.
[Will] Ground ball and a diving play,
throw to the plate and not in time.
- [crowd cheers]
- [Will] Grissom gets in there.
[Craig] I'm exhausted. Uh…
You know, it's been kind of an
up-and-down season in a lot of ways.
Uh, to finish at .500
kind of feels appropriate.
- [Joe] Oh.
- [Will] Oh, thrown away.
And the Red Sox butcher that.
Lowe coming around.
But also disappointing, given there were
certainly moments during this season
when our expectations were fully
set on making the postseason,
on being, uh… you know, ready
for a deep postseason run.
[Joe] Final inning
of the 2024 season.
Two balls, two strikes, two out.
Here it is.
Swing and another
foul out of play.
[Will] Could you share
what you're feeling, Joe?
[poignant music plays]
Nostalgic. Sort of
numb. You know, it's…
I guess I've never been in this
position. I've never retired before.
But Roger Clemens said he
unretired three times. [chuckles]
- [Will chuckles]
- So watch out.
[both chuckle]
[Joe] Slaten is ready.
The payoff pitch. Swing, and
a line drive center field.
Rafaela going over to his right.
- He stabs it, and the ball game is over.
- [crowd cheers]
[Joe] The season is over.
All good things… [chuckles]
…must come to an end.
- [somber music plays]
- [fans cheering, whistling]
[Grissom] I got the chills right
now, and it didn't even mean nothing.
I wish I had baseball tomorrow.
- Ugh.
- [cheering continues]
[Joe] I would like to close,
as we've done every season,
reading from the great words of the
former commissioner of baseball,
A. Bartlett Giamatti.
- [soundscape fades]
- [soft, stirring music plays]
"It breaks your heart. It is
designed to break your heart."
"The game begins in the spring,
when everything else begins again…
and it blossoms in the summer,
filling the afternoons
and evenings,
and then as soon as
the chill rains come…
it stops,
and it leaves you to
face the fall alone."
"You count on it, rely on it,
to buffer the passage of time,
to keep the memory of
sunshine and high skies alive,
and just when you need it most,
it stops,
and summer is gone."
[stirring music continues]
[voice breaking] Wow. Beautiful
words by a beautiful man.
[Jen] It becomes
part of your life.
When the season's
done and it's over,
it's this very, uh,
weird… uh, finality.
[music abates]
[Sam] We play every day. This
is not a… a normal sport.
Win, lose, there's
a game the next day.
And then when it stops,
it's… it's
depressing. [chuckles]
It's like your body goes through
this rhythm, and it's like,
"Oh shit. The season's
over. Like, what now?"
And you think about, "Oh God. It's
gonna be a long, dark winter here."
You have to take a couple
of days, pick yourself up,
and then… and then look
forward to the next year.
[clang echoes]
[Andrew] There's a saying, "It's
the biggest offseason of my life."
Well, every offseason is the
biggest offseason in your life
because you're entering a
different chapter of your career.
[pensive music plays]
You are a minor leaguer trying to
work your way to the big leagues.
You have a guy who's trying
to fight for a roster spot.
You have a guy who's seeking free agency,
so he's going into his free-agent year.
Then when you sign the contract, now
you have to produce consistently.
Every off-season is huge.
[Duran] This year,
we were so close,
and we were not supposed
to be close at all.
[director] Are you
hopeful for next year?
I have no doubt that we're
gonna be something special.
[rousing, expectant music plays]
[Casas] I'm a work in progress
still as a human being.
Being comfortable in your own skin,
not caring what people say about you,
it's very important.
You never know when it's gonna
be your last hit, last home run.
Coming back from an
injury and stuff,
I'm taking every single at bat like
my life's on the line. Do or die.
In this game, you know, baseball,
we play 160 games in a row.
We have to decompress and
disengage from the game.
It's all about balance, right?
But we do miss Dada when
he's gone, don't we?
[Audrie squeals]
- [Stephanie] Yes.
- [O'Neill] Daddy misses his girls too.
[Bello in Spanish] For me, baseball
is the best sport in the world.
Even though there are many
bad moments, that's normal.
The biggest adjustment I
made this year was mental.
To hang in there without dwelling
on the bad things that happened,
but think about what
I did well that day.
[Booser in English] I've really
fallen in love with the journey
and the grind of the game.
Minor Leagues, Major Leagues,
I still have a uniform
and an opportunity to play the game
that I love more than anything.
I'm just thankful for the
opportunity to have been here.
[music continues]
[Cora] You can talk
about our defense,
you can talk about our offense,
you can talk about the bullpen,
but you cannot
question the effort.
These kids, this group,
they never stopped playing.
Everybody has put
this organization
in a spot that is gonna
be very successful…
[music halts]
…starting next year.
["Sweet Caroline" by
Neil Diamond plays]
- [music continues over speakers]
- Hands ♪
[fans singing along]
Touching hands ♪
Reaching out ♪
Touching me ♪
Touching you ♪
Sweet Caroline ♪
[crowd] Bah! Bah! Bah! ♪
- [music halts]
- Stop it. It's an embarrassment.
People wanna come to
sing "Sweet Caroline."
- [Dan] Should be erased…
- Not me. I sit down.
- [Dan] …from the soundtrack of life.
- I stay seated.
I deplore it. I think it's
a civic embarrassment.
It is. Embarrassment that we…
that the people of America
have to look at these
idiots at Fenway,
you know, singing a song that has nothing
to do with baseball or anything else.
They're down 8-1.
- [Bob] I love that. Thank you.
- "So good, so good."
[Bob] That's usually my
number one complaint.
At least be a little bit… You
know, don't be so tone-deaf.
[Bob] Only play it
if you're ahead.
Yeah, that'd be better, way better,
but nothing would be the best.
[fans] So good!
So good! So good!
[music continues over stadium
speakers] I've been inclined ♪
[fans] Bah! Bah! Bah! ♪
[song and fans] To believe
they never would, oh… ♪
- [soundscape fades out]
- [upbeat instrumental music plays]
[music fades out]
[earth skitters]
- [baby giggles]
- [gulls calling]
[waves crashing]
[clicking]
- [commentator] Number 23.
- [crowd cheers]
[strings stab]
[cheering fades]