Why Chad Tracy’s Red Sox are outperforming Alex Cora’s team despite similar numbers

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This season has been very chaotic for the Boston Red Sox, as they started off as one of the worst teams in the MLB, and then slowly started to climb their way back into the standings, both statistically and record-wise, after a new regime change.

The Sox went from Alex Cora and his crew, who’ve been in charge since 2018, to Chad Tracy and Co., who were all minor league affiliate managers and coaches for Boston.

The difference? Pretty much nothing, except Tracy is on track to have a much better record this season than Cora would have.

Statistical difference

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Statistically, the two Red Sox teams, the “Cora Sox” and the “Tracy Sox”, are almost the same. The Cora Sox slashed .233/.313/.354/.667 with a 22.5% K-rate and a 8.8% walk rate. The Tracy Sox are slashing .237/.318/.354/.672 with a 22.2% K-rate, and a 9% walk rate.

However, the record difference is vast. Under Cora, the Sox were 9-17, and so far under Tracy, Boston is 8-5.

The tiebreaker

So how come Tracy is doing better with statistically the same team? He’s for much more aggressive baserunning, and the defense of the Sox has stepped up.

Since April 26th, Tracy’s first game, the Sox have stolen 16 bases in 13 games. Before that? 16 stolen bases, in 27 games. The Tracy Sox being more aggressive on the basepath puts more runners in scoring position, finally fixing the Sox’ biggest problem this season: leaving runners on.

On top of that, their defense has truly been elite. They’re the top team in Outs Above Average (OAA), and Field Running Value (FRV), while being near the top in other defensive stats. Their pitching arms have finally warmed up, and even the younger ones are proving they’re MLB-ready.

The Tracy Sox’ future

This season, the Sox are 17-22. They’re 8.5 games behind first in the AL East, so winning the division might be out of the picture. However, what’s definitely in the picture is another Wild Card appearance, as they are only 1.5 games behind the final slot.

If the Sox’ offense can continue to ramp up, the defense holds strong, and the pitching starts to really come alive, then turning this year from a potential 100-loss season into back-to-back playoff appearances may really be possible.

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