Mookie Betts, Chris Sale reminisce over 2018 Red Sox season

"There were a couple of points in the year where you look up, and you’re like, ‘Man, we’re the nastiest team in the league.’"

Mookie Betts and Chris Sale played a key role in Boston's World Series title in 2018. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

May 19, 2025

2 minutes to read

Both Mookie Betts and Chris Sale have found plenty of success with the Dodgers and Braves, respectively, since ending their tenures with the Red Sox.

But the star outfielder and starting pitcher still have fond memories from their time in Boston — especially during a 2018 season that ended with 108 wins and a World Series title.

“I just remember showing up to the park, and every day was like, ‘we’re gonna win,’” Betts said on “On Base with Mookie Betts” during a chat with Sale. “Every day we just came and beat the brakes off ‘em and went home. I remember a stretch when it was just like, every day we just came, and we beat the brakes off them, and we went home.

“ And [Alex] Cora had it to where we were just hanging out in the clubhouse… and we get to the playoffs, and we were just steamrolling them.”

The 2018 Red Sox were one of the best MLB teams assembled in recent memory, becoming the first Boston club to win 100 games in a single season since 1946. Boston jumped out to a 21-7 record in March and April, which set the tone for a season where the Red Sox were not challenged for the top spot in the AL East.

Betts led the way for the Red Sox that season, winning AL MVP honors after batting .346 with 47 doubles, 32 home runs, 80 RBI and 129 runs scored.

Free-agent pickup J.D. Martinez was a game-changer at the DH spot after batting .330 with 43 home runs and a league-leading 130 RBI, while other standouts in the lineup included Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Rafael Devers.

Sale (12-4, 2.11 ERA) anchored a Red Sox rotation that also featured David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, Rick Porcello, and Eduardo Rodriguez, while Craig Kimbrel led the way in Boston’s bullpen.

“There was really no panic at all,” Sale said. “And the playoffs are very pressured, I mean, it’s a tense environment. I think just the way [Cora] ran that team, there were a couple of points in the year where you look up, and you’re like, ‘Man, we’re the nastiest team in the league.’”

While the Red Sox have struggled to replicate the success of 2018, Betts has won another two World Series titles with the Dodgers in 2020 and 2024 — while Sale won the NL Cy Young Award in his first season with the Braves in 2024.