All Game Sevens are exciting events, not just those in the World Series. We just saw a Game Seven in the ALCS and it did not in any way reduce excitement for last night’s game – although the cumulative effect may have taken a year-or-two off of Astros’ fans lifespans. Of note for Red Sox fans, which I presume most of you reading this are, is that the Red Sox have been involved in many of the Game Sevens in baseball history.

According to data on The Baseball Gauge the Red Sox have played in 9 of the 55 deciding* Game Sevens that have happened since 1903, which is third most:

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the franchises with many Game Sevens in their history have (a) been in existence for a long time, and (b) typically put competitive, playoff-caliber teams on the field. Last night’s finale of the 2017 World Series was the third Game Seven for the Houston Astros franchise and the Los Angeles version of the Dodgers franchise.

The Red Sox haven’t just ambled through their Game Sevens; they have been a part of some standout series enders.

The Red Sox haven’t just ambled through their Game Sevens; they have been a part of some standout series enders. Three of the their Game Sevens (2003 ALCS, 1946 WS, and 1975 WS) are among the top 11 Game Sevens as defined by total win probability added (WPA), everyone’s favourite stat-de-jour, which provides a sense of the frequency and magnitude of the back-and-forth swings in a game. Now, it is understandable if Red Sox fans don’t hold any of those three games in high esteem, as each ended in a crushing loss. I still cringe every time I see that damn Aaron Boone home run soaring into the New York night.

The Red Sox being on the wrong end of exciting series finales continues to their fourth (2008 ALCS) and fifth (1986 WS) most back-and-forth Game Sevens, which rank 22nd and 25th all time by the total WPA measure. This trend is driven mostly by the fact that Red Sox teams were on the wrong end of the majority of their Game Sevens, posting a 3-6 record. As it turns out, when the Red Sox won, the games were pretty one-sided. Just as they have three games in the top 11 by total WPA, they have three in the bottom 13 (2004 ALCS, 1986 ALCS, and 1967 WS), which include two of their three wins. While this is an interesting little note, I am certain players, coaches, staff, and fans would rather their team win an easy one than lose a back-and-forth exciting one. I doubt the Astros are any less happy today after winning fairly easily last night.

Last night’s Game Seven gave me the occasion to look into the Red Sox history in such contests. As we have seen, or perhaps already knew, it is not great. The Red Sox are really more of a Game Six franchise. They are 11-3 in Game Sixes since 1903. Carlton Fisk’s heroics in 1975 and Curt Schilling’s bloody sock in 2004 came in Game Sixes. But, yes of course, Bill Buckner’s error in 1986 came in a Game Six. Interestingly, only three of those 11 Game Six wins was a series clincher, so the Red Sox have shown they know how to force a Game Seven, but don’t have a solid grasp on how to win a Game Seven. Here’s hoping they have a chance to improve on their Game Seven record in 2018.

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* the 1903, 1912, 1919 and 1921 World Series each had eight games.

Photo by Thomas B. Shea – USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s win over the Pirates brings the Red Sox’s record in their Opening Day games to a perfectly even 58-58-1 (since 1901). And yes, you read that correctly, the Red Sox have a tie on Opening Day. In 1910, when baseball was not really the same as the baseball we watch and love today, ties were a thing that happened. The Red Sox went on to earn four more ties that season. Odd stuff. Opening the 2017 season in Fenway Park was great; nice for the fellas to be home to start the year. This has not typically been the case. The Red Sox have been on the road for 76 of their 117 Opening Day games – essentially two out of every three years – and it has been tough sledding: they are 34-41-1 when game one is played on the road. Starting at home, as they did yesterday, has been a much nicer way to begin the season, and indeed it was yesterday.

Those are the easy wins, which are certainly enjoyable for Red Sox fans. But there are also the back-and-forth, high-tension games that finish the Red Sox’s way, which are enjoyable in a different way and great wins for the team.

Yesterday’s win was great, but what was the best Red Sox Opening Day win? Well, it depends on how you want to measure it. By run differential, the Red Sox have had two ten-run wins on Opening Day. The first, in 1919, was a 10-0 shutout of the Yankees, then the second came in 1973, when the Sox again put it on those rival Yanks, winning 15-5. Those are the easy wins, which are certainly enjoyable for Red Sox fans. But there are also the back-and-forth, tight, high-tension games that finish the Red Sox’s way, which are enjoyable in a different way and great wins for the team. To find these sorts of games the average leverage index (aLi) can be used. By this measure, the 1969 win over the Orioles, the 1941 and 1930 wins over the Washington Senators, and the 2008 win over the Athletics (in Tokyo! More on this game below) involved the most tension. Because they were taut affairs, but ended in a Red Sox win (read: relief) they can be considered among the best wins. As a point of reference, yesterday’s win ranks as the 16^th most tense Red Sox Opening Day win by aLi.

But as their overall Opening Day record shows, there have been just as many losses as wins over the years, and the losses can make all that nice stuff I said about Opening Day seem not so nice. For example, the Red Sox took a 10-1 drubbing in 1960 at the hands of the Senators. There have also been some ugly game-ones recently: a 9-2 loss to the Yanks in 2005, which was thankfully on the road and didn’t muck up the 2004 World Series ring ceremony. Ring Day ended with a glorious 8-1 win over those same Yankees. Another recent rough start to the season was the 7-1 loss to the Royals in 2007, which Red Sox fans can just file away as a prime example that seasons with Opening Day beatings can still end on a very positive note. As for the really tense games that didn’t end the way the Red Sox would prefer, the top three (by aLi) involved the Baltimore Orioles: 2014, 1966 and 1989.

What about the individual heroes and goats of Opening Day? I said I would come back to that (ridiculous) journey at the start of the 2008 season to play a series in Tokyo. The reason that game requires another mention is that, by Win Probability Added (WPA), it had two of the top three Opening Day performances by a Red Sox batter (since 1913). Manny Ramirez, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI that day, took top spot, and two spots below Manny is Brandon Moss, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in that game. Manny and Moss really carried the offense that day. Maybe that ‘08 trip helped facilitate Manny’s return to baseball in Japan. Interestingly the second and fourth best performances also came in one game, as Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia stood out in the 9-7 win over the Yankees in 2010.

On the pitching side of things, WPA is not really the best measure to use for this sort of exploration, as GameScore does a better job. By GameScore, Lefty Grove’s 87 in 1940’s 1-0 win over the Senators was the best Opening Day performance by a Red Sox pitcher. Pedro Martinez’s domination of the Mariners in 2000 (82 GSc) is not too far down the list in fourth, with Dennis Eckersley’s 1981 start (81 GSc) right behind it. Eck getting a job with Oakland really hurts the NESN broadcast. Thank goodness for park sounds.

While Pedro had three of the 15 best Opening Day starts, he also had the worst. In 2002 he got lit up by the Blue Jays for eight runs on nine hits in just three innings pitched (13 GSc). Another Red Sox pitching legend shows up on the wrong end of an opening day outing, as Roger Clemens had a rough 4.2 innings against the Tigers in 1994, allowing – just like Pedro’s rough day – eight runs on nine hits. Even the greatest ones have bad days, folks. As for the batters who had ugly opening days, first baseman Tony Horton was really costly in that high-leverage loss to the Orioles in 1966 I mentioned previously. Horton cost the team almost half-a-win with his 0-for-6 that included two ground ball double-plays. More recently, by going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in an opening day loss to the Rangers in 2011, Carl Crawford offered the earliest possible sign that his tenure in Boston was not going to go well. I was so excited for the Carl Crawford signing. It still hurts me how poorly it went.

Alas, there has been good and there has been bad on Opening Day. Yesterday, certainly goes down on the good side of the ledger, as the Red Sox won, Andrew Benintendi looked like a star, and reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello was sharp. Hopefully it is a sign of the season to come. But really, it is just the first step in the journey and ultimately, despite all the hoopla that comes with Opening Day, the game counts the same in the standings as each of the games that come after it. Nevertheless, due to the excitement of opening day, the start of a new season, and having baseball back in our lives, those first games can end up standing out in memory. Yesterday was another Opening Day in the books. It really is so great to have baseball back.

Photo by Greg M. Cooper – USA TODAY Sports