2026 Red Sox W-L Contest Entries

Here are the entries for this year's W-L contest:

               W-L   TEAM ERA
Paul H.       95-67     3.57
Benjamin B.   95-67     3.66
Rich G.       93-69     3.57
Jacob L.      92-70     3.43
Brett H.      92-70     3.45
Allan W.      92-70     3.75
Jeff M.       91-71     3.70
Eddie N.      90-72     3.69
Dave I.       90-72     3.90
Warren S.     90-72     4.50
Michael G.    87-75     3.62

There has almost always been a decent amount of optimism when it comes to the predictions. I note, however, that the Red Sox have not won 90+ games since 2021 (when they went 92-70 and lost the ALCS (2-4) to Houston), having secured 78, 78, 81, and 89 victories in the subsequent seasons.

The ERA guesses are all pretty similar, within 45 points of each other (eight of the 11 entries are within 27 points (3.43-3.70). I was curious how Boston had ranked ERA-wise since the pandemic season. Huge improvement since 2023.

Red Sox ERA, 2021-25

         ERA    AL    MLB
2021    4.26     7     15
2022    4.53    14     25
2023    4.52    11     21
2024    4.04     9     17
2025    3.70     2*     4*
*: tied

Everyone Loves A Contest #32: 2026 Red Sox W-L Record

The 2026 Red Sox begin their regular season this Thursday in Cincinnati – so it's time for the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

Guess the Red Sox's 2026 regular season W-L record and you will win a copy of The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski's 2021 best-seller. (If you already own this book, you can choose a different book.)

Tiebreaker: Anthony Castrovince (mlb.com) ranks the Red Sox as the #4 best pitching staff in mlb. FanGraphs' projections have the Red Sox's starters leading both leagues in pitching WAR. So . . . what will the team's regular season ERA be?

Entries must be emailed to me before the first pitch on Thursday, March 26. Please include:

1. Red Sox 2026 regular season record
2. Red Sox team pitching ERA

Remember: Happiness is a warm puppy . . . and pictures of sad yankee fans.

2025 Red Sox W-L Record - Contest Entries

Here are the entries in the 2025 Red Sox W-L Record contest:

               W - L
Paul H.        95-67
Jeff M.        94-68
Ben B.         93-69
Ray P.         93-69
Matt B.        92-70
Nick R.        92-70
David F.       91-71
Warren S.      90-72
Rich G.        89-73
Jacob L.       89-73
Michael B.     89-73
Michael G.     89-73
Brett H.       88-74
Allan W.       87-75
John G.        84-78

We have everything covered from 88 to 95 wins (not counting my pick).

If no one wins this one, it better be because the Red Sox won 96+ games.

Everyone Loves A Contest #31: 2025 Red Sox W-L Record

The 2025 Red Sox season begins this Thursday afternoon in Texas – so it's time for the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

If you can correctly guess the Red Sox's 2025 regular season W-L record, you can win . . . something . . .  a waffle party? . . . no, a mess to ship . . . I'm really stumped . . . a mystery prize . . . yes, perfect . . . A mystery prize!

Entries must be emailed to me before the first pitch on Thursday.

No tiebreaker this time. Multiple winners are possible. Good luck!

Remember: Happiness is a warm puppy . . . and pictures of Sad Yankee Fans.

2024 W-L Contest Entries

Brayan Bello is the youngest Red Sox Opening Day starting pitcher (24-316) in almost 30 years (Aaron Sele, 1995).

Happy Opening Day to everyone, except the Dodgers and Padres!

The Boston Red Sox begin their 124th season in Seattle. The Red Sox finished both 2022 and 2023 with a record of 78-84. They have ended up in the AL East basement for three of the last four seasons. It would not be a shock if by October, it's four out of the last five.

Here are the 2024 W-L Contest entries:

               W-L    BELLO ERA

Paul H.       91- 71    3.38
Matt B.       90- 72    3.41
Jacob L.      90- 72    3.63
David I.      90- 72    3.90
Elliot S.     88- 74    3.88
Jeff M.       88- 74    4.28
Ray P.        82- 80    3.99
Benjamin B.   82- 80    4.05
Brett H.      81- 81    3.45
Laura K.      81- 81    3.50  
Kara K.       80- 82    4.23
Allan W.      78- 84    3.92
David  F.     77- 85    4.06
Jeff L.       74- 88    3.64
Rich G.       74- 88    4.22
Matt K.       72- 90    3.66
Aimee C.      72- 90    4.00
John G.       70- 92    3.50
Rob R.        69- 93    4.82
Bricks C.     62-100    3.00

Everyone Loves A Contest #30: 2024 Red Sox W-L Record

The 2024 Red Sox season begins on Thursday night in Seattle – so it's time for the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

The person who correctly guesses the Red Sox's 2024 regular season W-L record will win a signed copy of the upcoming paperback edition of Don't Let Us Win Tonight.

Contest entries must be emailed to me before the first pitch on Thursday night and include the following two predictions:

1. 2024 W-L Record
2. Tiebreaker: Brayan Bello's ERA

The winning W-L prediction must be exact, of course. The tiebreaker, if needed, will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Good luck . . . and as always, fuck the Yankees!

With Four Games Left, Revisiting The 2023 W-L Contest

The 2023 Red Sox are in Baltimore and will close out their season with four games against the Orioles.

With Boston at 76-82, here are the relevant entries from 2023 W-L contest.

              W-L
John G.      80-82
David F.     79-83

Entries For 2023 W-L Contest

It's Opening Day!

Here are the entries for the 2023 W-L contest. The picks:

1. 2023 W-L Record
2. Tiebreaker: Time of Boston's Quickest Nine-Inning Game
3. Tiebreakest: Masataka Yoshida's On-Base Percentage

             W-L     Time     OBP

Beans       100-62
Jacob L.     96-66    1:23    .393
Jeff M.      94-68    2:17    .421
Paul H.      91-71    2:26    .448
Elliot S.    88-74    2:02    .387
Rich G.      87-75    2:19    .368
Jere S.      87-75    2:03    .399
Michael G.   86-76    2:23    .434
Ben B.       86-76    2:12    .377
Allan W.     85-77    2:12    .350
Warren S.    85-77    2:33    .358
Brett H.     84-78    2:02    .325
Ray P.       83-79    2:01    .365
John G.      80-82    2:40    .380
David F.     79-83    2:37    .406

Note: I hope no one feels the choose-your-own-prize-(within-a-price-limit) idea is lame. I looked at some baseball books coming out this spring (including one by Joe Kelly; a sample I read was okay, but). Nothing really grabbed my attention.

Everyone Loves A Contest #29: 2023 Red Sox W-L Record

The 2023 Red Sox season begins at Fenway Park in two weeks – Thursday, March 30 – so it's time to  open up the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

The person who correctly guesses the Red Sox's 2023 regular season W-L record will win . . . a book of your choice. Baseball, history, cooking . . . whatever . . . up to a price of US$25 (or a little over, if necessary).

Contest entries must be emailed to me by the deadline (see below) and include the following three predictions:

1. 2023 W-L Record
2. Tiebreaker: Time of Boston's Quickest Nine-Inning Game
3. Tiebreakest: Masataka Yoshida's On-Base Percentage

The winning W-L prediction must be exact, of course. The tiebreaker(s), if needed, will be the closest guess, either over or under. (The game times likely will be within a tight range, so we'll have a second tiebreaker.)

Deadline: Wednesday, March 29, 11:59 PM ET.

Good luck . . . and don't forget: Yankees suck!

2022 Postseason Contest Entries

A modest number of entries for the 2022 Postseason Contest:

            WS Winner     PS Runs
Allan W      Dodgers        100
Paul H       Dodgers         87
David F      Dodgers         73
Rich G       Astros          68

Remember: YED is right around the corner . . .

Contest #28: 2022 Postseason

(Commercial-Free Bracket!)

It will be a busy winter for the Red Sox, who finished the 2022 season with a dismal 78-84 record. Xander Bogaerts can (and likely will) opt out of the 6/120 contract he signed in April 2019, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, and Matt Strahm are free agents, and Tommy Pham and the team have a mutual option for 2023 (his salary would be $12, so I trust the team will decline).

But before all that . . . the postseason begins tomorrow – with four games!

American League Wild Card Series

Rays (86-76) at Guardians (92-70)
Mariners (90-72) at Blue Jays (92-70)

National League Wild Card Series

Phillies (97-75) at Cardinals (93-69)
Padres (89-73) at Mets (101-61)

American League Division Series

Rays/Guardians winner vs Astros (106-56)
Mariners/Blue Jays winner vs Yankees (99-63)

National League Division Series

Phillies/Cardnals winner vs Atlanta (101-61)
Padres/Mets winner vs Dodgers (111-51)

ALWC and NLWC are best-of-3, with all games at the higher seed.
ALDS and NLDS are best-of-5, with the usual 2-2-1 format.

MLB.com ranks the top four offenses (Dodgers, Blue Jays, Atlanta, Cardinals) and pitching staffs (Astros, Dodgers, Atlanta, Guardians).

Postseason Contest!

Guess the winner of the 2022 World Series. Winner will receive a hardcover copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two predictions:

1. 2022 World Series Champions
2. That team's total postseason runs scored

Deadline: Noon (ET), Friday October 7.

Can Anyone Win This Year's W-L Contest?

The Red Sox have 15 games remaining in the 2022 season.

Boston is currently 72-75, so the team could end up with anywhere from 72 to 87 wins.

This poor performance means most of the entries in this year's W-L contest are merely wistful dreams of what might have been. But is there any chance someone will win?

Yes. Two entries are still in contention.

                W-L
Rich G.        85-77
Brett H.       82-80

Rich needs the Red Sox to finish 13-2, while Brett is hoping for a 10-5 record over the next two weeks.

The rest of the schedule (nb days off):

Sep 21       at CIN
Sep 22-25    at MFY
Sep 26-29    vs BAL
Sep 30-Oct 2 at TOR
Oct 3-5      vs TBR

2022 W-L Contest Entries

Every win total from 88 to 98* is covered, so I feel fairly confident we'll have a winner this season.

2022 Contest Entries

                W-L       JBJ

Laura K.       99-63     .252
Edwin N.       98-64     .284
Jere S.        97-65     .293
Warren S.      96-66     .200
Patrick K.     95-67     .236
Elliot S.      94-68     .270
Paul H.        94-68     .256
Michael G.     94-68     .244
Jeffrey M.     93-69     .235
John P.        92-70     .259
David I.       92-70     .212
Allan W.       92-70     .212
Rob R.         91-71     .242
Ray P.         91-71     .226
Matt K.        90-72     .253
John G.        90-72     .175
David F.       89-73     .224
Jacob L.       88-74     .242
Peter L.       88-74     .198
Rich G.        85-77     .224
Brett H.       82-80     .282

*: By eligible contestants.

Note: I typed in my own predictions on March 31. I saw David I.'s email four days later. But I don't have to worry about a tiebreaker for the tiebreaker because I have my own copy of Bouton.

Everyone Loves A Contest #27: 2022 Red Sox W-L Record

With the 2022 Red Sox season set to begin Thursday, April 7, against the MFY in New York, it's time for the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

The person who correctly guesses the Red Sox's 2022 regular season W-L record will win a hard cover copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original, an excellent biography of the iconoclastic and outspoken pitcher and author of Ball Four.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two predictions:

1. 2022 W-L Record
2. Tiebreaker: Jackie Bradley's batting average

(2020: Bradley bats a career-high .283 for the Red Sox.
2021: Bradley bats a career-worst .163 for the Brewers.
2022: Bradley bats . . .)

As always, the winning W-L prediction must be exact. The tiebreaker, if needed, will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Deadline: Wednesday, April 6, 11:59 PM ET.

Good luck . . . and don't forget: Yankees suck!

2021 Postseason Contest

Only a handful of entries for the Postseason Contest, but we'll see what happens.

Prize: Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original. 

                  WS Winner    Runs Scored

Michael G.         Rays             41
Paul H.            Rays             42
Allan W.           Rays             50
Benjamin B.        Giants           23
Rich G.            Giants           42
Jeff M.            Giants           48
Matt K.            Brewers          29
Jacob L.           Brewers          33
Joshua H.          Dodgers          58

2021 Postseason Contest

There was no winner in the W-L Contest this year, so we will have a postseason contest. The winner will receive a hard cover copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two predictions:

1. Winner of 2021 World Series
2. Tiebreaker: Total Runs Scored In World Series

Winner of tiebreaker (if necessary) will be the closest prediction, either higher or lower, to the actual number of runs scored.

Deadline: Wednesday, October 5, 8:00 PM (ET).

With 5 Games Remaining, Checking In On 2021 W-L Contest

With only five games remaining in the regular season, the Red Sox are 88-69. They currently hold the second spot in the Wild Card standings, but two teams are breathing down their necks: the Mariners (0.5 GB) and Blue Jays (1.0 GB).

Here are the still in-the-running entries for this year's Red Sox W-L Contest:

               W-L    Team ERA

Jacob L.      91-71     4.14
Jeffrey M.    90-72     4.52
Jere S.       90-72     4.44
Ezra R.       89-73     4.25
Matthew B.    88-74     3.82
Sean M.       88-74     4.10
Warren S.     88-74     4.75

The W-L winner has to be exact. The tiebreaker (if needed) will be the Red Sox's team ERA, which at this moment stands at 4.29.

The winner will receive a copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original.

2021 W-L Record - Contest Entries

Here are the entries for this year's Red Sox W-L Contest (average wins: 83.68)

               W-L    Team ERA

Laura K.     101-61     4.20
Gopal K.      96-66     4.12
Jacob L.      91-71     4.14
Jeffrey M.    90-72     4.52
Jere S.       90-72     4.44
Ezra R.       89-73     4.25
Matthew B.    88-74     3.82
Sean M.       88-74     4.10
Warren S.     88-74     4.75
Nick R.       86-76     5.22
Allan W.      85-77     4.95
Jeff L.       83-79     4.53
Paul H.       83-79     4.58
Rich G.       83-79     4.69
David I.      82-80     4.59
Mike B.       82-80     4.75
Matt K.       82-80     5.94
Ian R.        81-81     4.45
Peter L.      79-83     4.99
Michael G.    79-83     5.14
Jim G.        78-84     4.50
Ray P.        75-87     4.84
David F.      74-88     5.08
John G.       70-92     5.75
Patrick K.    69-93     4.20

The winner will receive a copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original.

Red Sox ERA: Recent Seasons (Rank Among 15 AL Teams)

2004   4.18 -   3rd
2007   3.87 -   1st
2013   3.79 -   6th
2014   4.01 -  10th
2015   4.31 -  14th
2016   4.00 -   3rd
2017   3.70 -   2nd
2018   3.75 -   3rd
2019   4.70 -   7th
2020   5.58 -  14th

All ERAs are not created equal.

2014: Boston's 4.01 ERA ranked 10th.
2016: Boston's 4.00 ERA ranked 3rd.

2007: Boston's 3.87 ERA ranked 1st.
2013: Boston's 3.79 ERA ranked 6th.

2013: Boston's 3.79 ERA ranked 6th.
2018: Boston's 4.70 ERA ranked 7th.

Contest Reminder

Opening Day is tomorrow!

Today is your chance to enter the 2021 W-L contest!

Everybody Loves A Contest #26: 2021 Red Sox W-L Record

The Boston Red Sox will kick off their 2021 season on April 1 – at Fenway Park against the Orioles – three weeks from today.

Therefore, it's time for the annual Red Sox W-L Contest!

The person who correctly guesses the Red Sox's 2021 regular season W-L record will win a hard cover copy of Mitchell Nathanson's Bouton: The Life of a Baseball Original.*

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two predictions:

1. 2021 W-L Record
2. Tiebreaker: Team ERA

As always, the winning W-L prediction must be exact. The tiebreaker, if needed, will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Deadline: Wednesday, March 31, 11:59 PM (ET).

Good luck . . . and don't forget: Yankees suck!

* I was leaning towards this book as the prize in 2020, but there was no winner. I didn't buy it for myself, either. I finally ordered two copies last night. I'll repeat what I said last year: you should read Nathanson's 2012 book A People's History of Baseball.