Who would win: the 2018 Boston Red Sox or the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers?
For Steve Pearce, the answer is easy.
“I will take the 2018 Red Sox, hands down, any day of the week and I will put them against any team that has ever stepped on the field,” the former Red Sox first baseman/outfielder recently told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the “Bradfo Sho” podcast. “We were a fun team. We had the chemistry and the talent and we gelled. When we were on we were a very tough team to beat. I will take us any day of the week.”
(Click here to listen to Pearce’s full interview with Bradford.)
Pearce, who earned World Series MVP honors in 2018 when Boston defeated Los Angeles in five games to secure Major League Baseball’s ultimate prize, might be a little biased. Still, it’s a fun toss-up as the Dodgers, led by former Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts, battle the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s Fall Classic.
The 2018 Red Sox won 108 regular-season games and went 11-3 in the postseason, defeating the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series before knocking off the Dodgers to secure their fourth title since 2004.
The 2020 Dodgers posted MLB’s best record (43-17) in a regular season shortened to 60 games due to COVID-19 and are absolutely stacked with high-end talent. They took down the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves en route to the World Series.
Solid head-to-head matchup, right? Well, Pearce believes Boston has an edge over Los Angeles — and everyone else, for that matter.
“Ever,” Pearce told Bradford when pressed on the 2018 Red Sox’s standing in MLB history. “The best team ever.”
