Following a bounce-back season that saw them qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2018 and come within two victories of an American League pennant, the Red Sox thought this offseason would be a chance to capitalize on the team's rebound.
Thanks to the lockout imposed by owners on December 2, however, that's proving tougher than anticipated.
Still, the Red Sox are happy with how things are going -- given the circumstances.
"It's been a positive offseason, especially given the fact that we're in the middle a lockout,'' said team president and CEO Sam Kennedy. "We've had really strong (season ticket) renewals. We've had new season-ticket buyers for next year and our sponsorship has been very strong with good renewals and new business coming in and it's 100 percent a credit to the 2021 club and the interest and excitement (generated). We've been pleasantly surprised.
"It feels like the baseball community, the fan base, the event-goers are ready to get back to normal in 2022. We hope that we're able to get past COVID and are very hopeful there will be a labor agreement on a timetable where we'll be playing baseball at Fenway on (March 31).''
Still, there's some frustration that the team can't better take advantage of the bounce they expected from a successful season.
"It's certainly an atypical offseason,'' said Kennedy. "(Ordinarily), we'd be ticking down the days until spring training. But we've been keeping our heads down and we're willing ourselves to stay optimistic and positive with our people internally, and externally with our fans and our sponsors.''
December is usually the start of ticket-selling season, with fans purchasing for Christmas. But the lockout has dampened that at least somewhat.
"We've seen a lot of interest in the 2022 team,'' Kennedy said. "I think there's sort of this anticipation building about what will happen as we continue to construct our roster for 2022.''
Kennedy said the Sox have already sold more than one million tickets for 2022 and that the club has more new season ticket packages this winter than it had in the previous three off-seasons - including the winter of 2018-2019, when the Sox were coming off their most recent World Series win.
Unable to so much as talk to players from their 40-man roster, the Sox have limited promotional opportunities. The annual Winter Weekend, usually a good sales driver, has been cancelled for the second straight year.
"That was disappointing,'' acknowledged Kennedy. "But we'll get beyond that and hopefully things will be OK and the excitement from October will carry over into early spring.''
After a horrendous 2020 season saw the Sox finish last -- and in front of now fans -- the franchise was in need of a turnaround, and Kennedy said the atmosphere at Fenway in last fall's playoffs signaled a rebirth for the club.
"We saw excitement and interest and passion for this team that we hadn't seen in some time,'' said Kennedy. "We had come off a brutal 2020 season, a difficult, challenging 2019 season and we of course had the uncertainty around our managerial situation and everything that went on. So it was exactly what the doctor ordered. I truly think it was the excitement in the team and also the therapeutic feeling you get coming back to Fenway after having restrictions. The atmosphere at Fenway, in October 2021 -- and this is probably a little recency bias -- felt more intense than in years past.
"In years past, there was probably more anxiety and nervousness, but in 2021, it was electric there. It started with the home run by Xander (Bogaerts in the wild card game against the Yankees) and just took off from there.''
The team announced Tuesday that it would begin putting Grapefruit League games on sale starting Friday -- despite the absence of a labor agreement. It was also reported Tuesday that owners and the MLBPA will meet Thursday for their first true negotiating session since the lockout began.
"We're planning on business as usual (when it comes to spring training),'' Kennedy said. "That's the only way to handle it. We're going to be ready if and when there's an agreement. We're planning for spring training and we'll adjust accordingly if necessary.''