At the beginning of the season, the Boston Red Sox were virtually unanimously picked to finish deep in the basement of the A.L. East.  Even at the All-Star break, with Boston the possessors of the best record in the American League, SI and various other prominent sources still predicted a massive collapse, with a Wild Card spot the best case scenario.  Oh, how wrong could you be?

At 98-64, the Sox are the best team in the majors and World Series favorites.  But how could everyone be so wrong?  After the disaster that was Bobby Valentine and a last place finish in the East, how on earth could this have happened?  There is no simple answer – there never is – but a number of factors have combined to turn around an extremely talented, but unsuccessful, ball club.  The leading reason, unquestionably, is not a player, or a statistical improvement, but an immeasurable quality: chemistry.  Under Valentine, the Sox were unhappy, dis-united, and constantly bickering.  The Boston clubhouse became a reality show, with baseball the sideline.  But under first-year manager John Farrell, the team has come together.  They are a true team, laughing together, growing beards together, and fighting their way through adversity together.  Farrell, of course, doesn’t deserve all of the credit for this, as many new players have brought with them a much better atmosphere to the clubhouse, but possibly the thing that united the Sox the most was the tragic Marathon bombing.  With Ortiz proclaiming that Boston was “Our F*%$^#! City!”, the Red Sox have come together under the banner of Boston Strong.  And the city has come together behind them.

Of course chemistry isn’t everything, and the on-field play of the Sox has improved dramatically, and in a season full of unlikely heroes, left fielder Daniel Nava has been just about the unlikeliest.  An undrafted player who didn’t even make his high school varsity team, Nava ended up a .303 hitter with many clutch hits under his belt, and an outstanding defensive outfielder.  Alongside of him, reliever Koji Uehara has had what is arguably a Cy Young caliber year as the closer, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli hves contributed countless clutch hits and a massive boost in clubhouse spirit, and the regulars, Ortiz, Pedroia, Ellsbury, and company, have had excellent seasons.  It has been one of those years where everything came together, the only bad break being the injury of ace Clay Buchholz in June, and even that barely slowed the Sox.  The hitting has been excellent, the especially after the all-star break the pitching has been even better.  John Lackey, a man who used to incur the collective cringe of New England every time he took the mound, has turned in an excellent season, despite virtually no run support.  Both Jon Lester and late season acquisition Jake Peavy have also had sparkling second halves.  Even the base running has been great, as a team the traditionally doesn’t run is among the major league leaders in both stolen bases and caught stealing percentage.

The doubters have been doubting all year, and surely in the coming days you will hear a great deal about how the Sox have no chance of winning a championship.  But all year they have been proving those doubters wrong, fighting back from all kinds of adversity, and coming out on top.  So you heard it here first.  Boston Red Sox, 2013 World Series Champions.