Alex Cora's 108-win Boston Red Sox did what 16-0 Patriots didn't: finish job to complete historic season

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Xander Bogaerts was only a 15-year-old teenager playing baseball and soccer in Aruba when the 2007 Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII.

He's well aware of what happened though.

"I know that. They lost against the Giants," Bogaerts said. "I think we were kind of that team. They would have been the favorites back then. But we weren't the favorites apparently for some reason. I don't know why because we won the most games in the big leagues this year. And it's so satisfying to come through."

The 2007 Patriots became the first NFL team to go undefeated during the regular season (16-0) since the 1972 Miami Dolphins (14-0). But they failed to finish the job. They lost in the Super Bowl, 17-14, to the New York Giants.

The 2018 Red Sox did finish the job after their own historic regular season. Boston beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 here Sunday at Dodger Stadium to win its fourth World Series title since 2004.

The Sox set their franchise regular-season win record (108). That would have mattered very little unless they won the 2018 World Series.

How about seeing a 108-win banner at Fenway Park after a first-round departure for a third straight year? Yeah, it would have looked out of place like the Patriots' 16-0 banner did at Gillette Stadium with five championship banners that show the times they did finish.

"We had 108 wins," Bogaerts said. "More than anyone else. It was amazing to come through in the end."

The 2001 Seattle Mariners set the major league record for wins in a season, going 116-46. But they lost to the Yankees in the ALCS. They didn't finish the job.

The 2007 Patriots and 2018 Red Sox are a fair comparison. Many think that Patriots team would have been the greatest NFL team ever had it won the Super Bowl. It still is talked about among the best NFL teams despite not winning a title.

The 2018 Red Sox, meanwhile, are being discussed among the top MLB teams ever. Just check out this Tweet from ESPN national baseball writer Buster Olney:

The 2018 Red Sox rank second all-time for total wins, regular season and postseason combined, with 119, and they're in the conversation for greatest team of all-time. Nominees for the great team of all-time? (I'd pick '98 NYY, 125-50 W-L)
-- Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 29, 2018

Boston went 11-3 during the postseason to finish with a remarkable 119 wins. It earned the title of greatest Red Sox team ever.

Bogaerts said the Red Sox felt "a little bit" of pressure to finish the job because they knew they were special -- but as Bogaerts added, "A lot of people didn't pick us."

So what made them relax enough to get the job done?

"I think not worrying about one guy having to do it every single day," he said. "Obviously we have our two horses, J.D. (Martinez) and Mookie (Betts)."

But everyone did their job as they say over there in Patriots Nation.

Red Sox hitters batted .420 with a .567 on-base percentage, .780 slugging percentage and 1.347 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position during the postseason. Forty-five of the 81 runs Boston scored came with two outs.

The Red Sox bullpen posted a 2.71 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .187 batting average against in 63 postseason innings.

The starting pitchers went 7-1 with a 3.80 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and .216 batting average against in 71 postseason innings.

Matt Barnes said the Red Sox expected to win, and they treated the postseason like they did the regular season.

"We were going day to day, doing what we had done all year long," Barnes said. "You've got to take it game-by-game in the postseason, pitch-by pitch. As dumb as that might sound, that's what you've got to do. We went out there and expected to win every single day. And if we lost, we moved on to the next day and take it from there. We just kind of went about our business as we did in the regular season."

Martinez doesn't feel the Red Sox faced pressure to finish the job.

"We had a great year from the beginning," Martinez said. "It's so hard to win a World Series. So many things have to go right. And to get to this point, it's a blessing. You've really just got to stay healthy, you've got to have clutch hits, you've got to have clutch performances. And everyone had to step up. And I think you saw that this whole postseason from top to bottom it was a complete effort. A complete team effort. We had 25 guys. We used 25 guys."

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