Boston

Were 2018 Red Sox Best Team of the Decade?

"The 2018 Red Sox were so dominant you barely even noticed how dominant they were."

It might be hard to believe, but another decade in sports will close in just over a month.

We've seen many few epic games, teams and seasons in Major League Baseball over the last 10 years, including the Chicago Cubs ending a 108-year World Series drought with a championship in 2016.

Which team is the sport's best from this decade? There are plenty of worthy contenders for the top spot, including that heroic Cubs squad, but MLB.com's ranking has the 2018 Boston Red Sox at No. 1.

Here's Will Leitch's explanation for selecting the Red Sox as the team of the decade:

The 2018 Red Sox were so dominant you barely even noticed how dominant they were. They breezed through the American League East -- flying past a 100-win Yankees team like it was nothing -- and then floored it through the postseason, losing only three games in blasting past the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers on their way to a World Series championship. The Red Sox's 108 wins were the most since the Mariners won 116 games in 2001, but Boston finished it off with a title. This is probably the greatest Red Sox team of all time … and we shouldn't let what happened the next season make us lose sight of that.

The 2018 Red Sox were an absolute a juggernaut, especially offensively. Boston ranked No. 1 among all MLB teams in runs scored, hits, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Star outfielder Mookie Betts won American League MVP -- the Red Sox's first winner of that award since Dustin Pedroia in 2007. Let's not forget the Sox beat three 100-win teams in the postseason to capture the franchise's fourth World Series championship since 2000.

You might be asking where the 2013 Red Sox rank among the decade's best. Leitch listed them at No. 4, which is pretty fair. 

The Red Sox are off to a brilliant start this century with two championships in both the 2000s and 2010s. Therefore, any less success in the 2020s surely will be viewed as a disappointment.

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