The date was October 28, 2018, and the Boston Red Sox had just capped off the greatest season in franchise history by steamrolling their way to a World Series title, their fourth since Fenway Sports Group took over as owners in 2002. With a core of reigning MVP Mookie Betts, budding stars Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers, and the anchors of Chris Sale, David Price, and Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation, the Red Sox were set up for a potential dynastic run. Yet, just 18 months later, that same team was a shell of itself.

We sit here in April 2026, now 2,721 days removed from that World Series clinching night, amidst the longest World Series drought since FSG took over, and the the team is a far cry from that one that won 108 regular season games, both in the personnel on the field and in the way the team operates.

With the Red Sox sitting at 4-8, their first homestand of the season saw disappointing baseball, marred by the same issues the team has seen in each of their last seven seasons: sloppy defense, too many strikeouts, and an inability to cash in on opportunities. And with that sloppy play came fans who rained chants of ‘Sell The Team’ throughout the six games.

After a disappointing 2019 season that saw the Red Sox miss the playoffs, John Henry and company made the decision to fire future Hall of Fame executive and architect of the 2018 Red Sox, Dave Dombrowski, citing a need to become more sustainable, building not through free agency, but drafting and developing.

The Sox hired Chaim Bloom from the Tampa Bay Rays, who, at the time, were the gold standard for sustainable development. Bloom’s first task? Trade former MVP Mookie Betts after he and the team were unable to agree on a contract extension. And on Feb. 20, 2020 he did just that, trading Betts along with Price, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for an underwhelming package which was hampered by the Sox desire to rid themselves of Price’s $96 million contract. The Sox received prospects shortstop Jeter Downs, outfielder Alex Verdugo, and catcher Connor Wong, and Wong is the only one still in the organization.

Looking back now, it’s easy to point to the dismissal of Dombrowski and subsequent trade of Betts as the end of the Red Sox as we once knew them. 

In the years following the Betts trade, the perception of the team had fallen so much so that, when the team decided to move on from Bloom after the 2023 season, over ten candidates for the open position told Boston 'thanks but no thanks.' The position gained the perception of having a three-year shelf life to deliver or be fired, becoming too volatile for prospective candidates. Boston eventually settled on then Chicago Cubs Assistant General Manager/Vice President Craig Breslow. 

The mistakes continued for the Red Sox, whether it be Chairman Tom Werner's famed "Full throttle" comments after Breslow's introductory press conference, or Kennedy's speech at Red Sox Winter Weekend, where he dubbed fans that didn't believe the ownership group was as committed to winning as they once were as "wrong" and "liars." Perhaps no misstep looms larger on the 2026 Red Sox than a series of communication mistakes during the team's pursuit and eventual signing of free agent Alex Bregman in the offseason leading up to the 2025 season.

This saga led to the breakdown in the relationship between the team and Devers, who was traded to San Francisco in what was effectively a salary dump last June.

This all brings us to today, where it's evident that this ownership group no longer cares about the team the way it once did, seeing the Red Sox as merely a piece in their growing portfolio. Fans still come to Fenway, but the Fenway Sports Group is clearly trying to sell them on the "Fenway Experience," instead of a winning baseball team. Meanwhile, principal owner John Henry hasn't spoken to the media since Feb. 2020.

Since 2018, when Boston spent $233+ million on their Opening Day roster, only the 2019 Red Sox ($236 million) have had a higher payroll. The team has seen stars like Betts, Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and Bregman come and go. Meanwhile, ownership continues to charge top-of-the-league prices for both tickets and concessions, and then has the gall to insult those fans, calling them liars, for merely using their own eyes to see what's in front of them. 

When Kennedy met with the media in Fort Myers this spring, he spoke about the ownership mindset heading into the season: "This is a privilege, and we all really appreciate it, and we don't want to waste the opportunity," Kennedy said. Citing the late Larry Luchino, "Don't waste an opportunity to win in Boston," he continued.

After seeing star after star walk out the door, under the guise of "sustainability," fans are fed up, as ownership does exactly what Luchino warned against.

What many viewed as a disappointing offseason was only reinforced by the team's worst start since 2019, and frustration boiled over. With Henry in attendance, chants of 'sell the team' echoed across Fenway Park, and they are right. If Fenway Sports Group is not interested in building a team that warrants charging the prices they do to go to Fenway, then they need to list the team for sale and find a market that is more suitable to their goals of maximizing profit. This fanbase simply deserves better. 

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