With its unique dimensions and a passionate fan base, Fenway Park should be the best home field advantage in baseball. But from 2022-23, a whopping 18 teams had more success at their home ballparks than the Red Sox did at Fenway. Seventeen teams hit more home runs at home.
To be sure, this nightmare on Jersey Street coincided with a series of failed roster moves and endless roster churn. Whatever the reason, an 82-80 record at Fenway Park over two seasons isn’t acceptable.
After a 7-3 trip to the West Coast, the Red Sox host the Baltimore Orioles in the home opener on Tuesday afternoon. For manager Alex Cora, making Fenway far less friendly to the opposition is imperative.
“The last few years, we’ve been bad,” he said. “For us to accomplish our first goal, making it to the playoffs, we have to do better.”
Cora changed the team’s usual routines in spring training, shifting more fielding drills from the practice field to JetBlue Park, where the dimensions aren’t exactly Fenway, but are fairly close. The Sox also took more batting practice in the stadium to get the hitters more comfortable.
“We had a good road trip, but going back home, there’s an emphasis to get off to a good start there, too,” first baseman Triston Casas said. “The Orioles are a good team but we have to play solid at home. It has to be better.”
The second part of the equation for the Sox will be winning back their fans.
It was stunning at times last season to see large groups of opposing fans at Fenway, especially on summer weekends. Fans of the Mets, Blue Jays, and Dodgers all but took over.
With the payroll dropping — which many fans interpret as disinterest from ownership — the Sox may have some sparse crowds early in the season. Giveaways and theme nights won’t fill those empty seats. Winning will.
Tuesday is the start of a 10-game homestand against the Orioles, Angels, and Guardians. A 7-3 or even 6-4 record would go far in making a point.
Rafael Devers believes in the idea of wiping the slate clean. New year, new team, new results.
“We haven’t played at home yet,” he said. “Last year was last year. That’s in the past. We have the best fans in baseball; we need to enjoy playing there and we haven’t the last few years.”
Devers has been a productive hitter at Fenway in his career. He believes it takes time for young players to get accustomed to the surroundings.
“Our park is different, but it’s still our park,” he said. “I think we’ll be better.”
Triston Casas was thoughtful on the issue of home field advantage.
“Being under .500 isn’t acceptable,” he said. “That’s the place we play a majority of our games. You can’t play .500 baseball at home, especially with the quirky dimensions and weather conditions that can be inclement. We need to use those things to our advantage.
“Having that practice time at JetBlue will really help us a lot, I believe. We should be running the bases super efficiently at Fenway and the hitters should alter our approach to take advantage of the dimensions.”
Casas, a lefthanded hitter with power, has a career .887 OPS at Fenway compared to .781 on the road.
“I love hitting at Fenway,” he said. “It plays into my type of swing. It allows me to let the ball get deep and go to the opposite field with the confidence that I’ll be able to get away with things by hitting the ball to the base of the wall.
“Most of my pull-side stuff in the air typically has backspin, so I don’t worry about the bullpen being there. It’s better when it’s nice and warm, but even when it’s cold, we have to show we can win there.”
Cora has been talking to his players about playing better at home since the early days of spring training. Tuesday is the first chance to put that into action.
“We haven’t made Fenway uncomfortable to the opposition in a long while,” Cora said. “[Fenway] is awesome. I love it. ‘Sweet Caroline’ in the eighth [inning] and all that stuff.
“But when we’re down seven, ‘Sweet Caroline’ doesn’t sound all that great to be honest with you.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.