As Henry, Werner, and Lucchino enter their 10th season with the team, their vision of what the Sox could become has materialized in the form of two championships, a renovated Fenway Park, and annual expectations to be one of the best teams in baseball.
The Sox, who haven’t been to the World Series since winning it in 2007, are favored to return this year.
“This team has enormous potential,’’ said Werner, who pointed out that 16 of the players in camp are former All-Stars. “We’re tremendously excited to start and looking forward to actually playing the games.’’
Henry said the Sox accomplished all of their goals over the winter when they signed Crawford, traded for Adrian Gonzalez, and rebuilt their bullpen.
“You make plans every offseason,’’ he said. “It is impossible to predict what’s going to happen. But this offseason was tremendous.’’
Henry had reservations about giving Crawford a seven-year contract, the longest deal in his tenure as owner. But he was convinced that Crawford’s versatile skills merited a long-term commitment.
“He’s the right player for us,’’ said Henry. “We really rounded out our offense and defense. He brings so much speed and power. All these big deals are difficult decisions, but there is a lot of competition to sign them.’’
Said Lucchino, “John, Tom, all of us. We emphasize the commitment to winning to our players. We understand that’s the central purpose of this game.’’
That commitment has come at a high price. The Sox, Lucchino revealed, paid approximately $85.5 million to Major League Baseball’s revenue-sharing fund last year and an additional $1.3 million in competitive balance tax.
Only the Yankees, Lucchino said, paid more.
“We do know that we have an intense rivalry with those guys,’’ Lucchino said. “We’ve got to be aggressive with our finances and we’re willing to do that.’’
The Red Sox also have money set aside to fund any trades that become necessary during the season.
