It’s time to pay attention to the Red Sox again

Today, the Red Sox are back at Fenway. Did you even notice they were gone?

Attending a game at the ol’ ballpark the past few years hasn’t exactly been the most compelling experience. And with the Celtics entering what could be a generational run alongside a dramatic changing of the guard in Foxborough, it’s fair to say the Sawx have become something of an afterthought in this once baseball-crazy town.

Attendance at Fenway last year was about 2.7 million — down significantly from early last decade when the team sold out almost every game and hosted upwards of 3 million people each season.

I’m not a sportswriter, but I am a lifelong Red Sox fan, and I think it’s time for everyone to start paying attention to what’s happening on Jersey Street. The Sox now have a bona fide ace, they’re spending money to be competitive ASAP, and they’re bringing young stars up from the minors who could become household names.

This is an optimistic take, even after a rocky start to the season that will see the Sox come home with a losing record. (Although their two recent wins are encouraging.) If you’re looking to get angry about sports, turn on talk radio. I’m a hopeless romantic — especially when it comes to baseball. (Yes, the Globe’s owners also own the Red Sox, but I liked the team before I got here.)

So if you rage-quit after they traded Mookie Betts, or you just lost interest over the past few lousy years, here’s my judgment-free primer on Fenway’s best storylines this year.

The trade of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in 2020 felt like a Bambino-level betrayal. This guy could hit, he could run, he could field. He was a leader, and he was hilarious.

The past few years haven’t helped, as we watched other homegrown stars such as shortstop Xander Bogaerts flee for higher paychecks. But this year, we’re seeing the fruits of that frugality as a crop of young stars begins to emerge. Second baseman Kristian Campbell, at 22 years old, is off to a blistering start in his rookie year. And there’s no threat of him taking off anytime soon; the team just locked him in with a lucrative long-term contract.

Other young contributors, including starting pitcher Brayan Bello and super utility man Ceddanne Rafaela, have also signed lengthy deals, which means — barring crazy trades — the guys you see this year are likely to be around for awhile. Get to know them.

Speaking of contracts, the Red Sox are spending money again. Maybe not at the levels we saw in the mid-2010s when the team spent hundreds of millions on players such as pitcher David Price. This offseason, the Sox committed $120 million over three years to former Houston Astros star Alex Bregman — a legitimate free-agent splash after years without one.

The team also locked up Garrett Crochet, a large man (6′6″, 245) who throws the ball very hard, to be their pitching ace into the next decade. Although they acquired him in an offseason trade, Crochet’s long-term contract, signed this week, shows a commitment to sustained excellence that we haven’t seen in a few years.

A note of caution: Big free agent acquisitions can mean big hurt feelings. Rafael Devers, one of the rare stars of the past decade who received a long-term deal, had to move from third base to designated hitter to make room for Bregman. He was not happy about it, and in the first several games of the year he struck out so many times that it seemed like he was doing it on purpose.

He is turning a corner, though. I have faith.

As exciting as Campbell and the other young players currently on the team can be, there’s even more to be excited about when you look down the Pike to the Red Sox’ top farm team in Worcester. Among the prospects there are Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, two sluggers considered to be among the most promising in the entire sport.

Although they both are starting the year in the minors, there’s a good chance we’ll see them this year, especially when teams can expand their rosters Sept. 1.

With all of the problems that Red Sox fans have endured in the past few seasons, having too many good players is not one I thought we’d encounter so soon. Today at Fenway, the sun will come out.

🧩 1 Across: Purr-fect pet | ☀️ 64º A nice spring day

Boston and New England

• Working mom: Many politicians kiss babies. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is carrying hers to events, meetings, and campaign stops.
• Maine shooting: A man shot and killed his mother while they were driving in Sabattus. He then fired at oncoming vehicles, killing a driver and wounding two others before killing himself.
• Pump the brakes? City officials urged Wu to create a comprehensive plan for bike lanes amid community tensions over street projects.

Trump administration

• Purged: Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist, accused several National Security Council staffers of disloyalty. Trump fired six of them. (NYT)
• Signalgate: A Pentagon watchdog will investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the app Signal to discuss US military strikes. (ABC News)
• Court fights: Lawyers for Rümeysa Öztürk, the Turkish PhD student detained by ICE, asked a judge to return her to Massachusetts. Another judge temporarily blocked $11 billion in cuts to state public health funding. (CBS)
• Hundreds of millions withheld: Brown and Princeton are the administration’s latest targets as it freezes grants to universities. (Brown Daily Herald)
• Oops: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he mistakenly fired some Health and Human Services employees and would reinstate them. (ABC) Other federal workers who have been fired and rehired liken it to “an abusive relationship.”
• Dr. in the house: Senate Republicans confirmed Mehmet Oz, the TV host and surgeon, to run Medicare and Medicaid. (USA Today)
• College unrest: Student newspapers are grappling with how to cover campus protests without making their peers targets for ICE. And a conservative watchlist of “leftist” professors has some fearing harassment.
• Profile in courage: The JFK Library will honor Mike Pence, who defied Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 election results.

The Nation and the World

• Going independent: New York Mayor Eric Adams will skip the June Democratic primary and run for reelection as an independent. (The City)
• Storms: Tornadoes killed at least seven people in the South and Midwest. (AP)
• Moot court: As its prime minister hosted Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Hungary withdrew from the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza. (Times of Israel)
• Ousted: South Korea’s highest court removed the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, from office. Yoon was impeached last year after declaring martial law. (Korea Herald)

We’re testing a new weekly section featuring opinion, arguments, and ideas from around the web. Tell us what you think at startingpoint@globe.com.

250 years later

• The American Revolution’s legacy is still up for debate, historian Ted Widmer writes in a Globe Ideas special issue.
• Leslie M. Harris argues that many colonists rebelled for the freedom of some, but not all. Ken Burns writes that the country’s birth isn’t just the familiar story we think we know. Read the other essays here.

Debating proxy voting

• Zeeshan Aleem argues that a bipartisan effort to let lawmakers who are new parents vote by proxy would align Congress with modern workplaces. (MSNBC)
• Carol M. Swain counters that proxy voting is too easily abused and that others manage to juggle parenthood and public service. (NY Post)

By Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff

🗓️ Things to do: Dance with the Easter Bunny, laugh with comedian Troy Hawke, or see Sarah Cwynar’s photo installation at the ICA. More events around Boston.

1 Another reason to stay single: Widowed, divorced, and never-married older adults had a lower dementia risk compared to their married counterparts, according to a recent study of 24,000 Americans over a span of 18 years. (Axios)

🗣️ Mincing words: It’s been an amazing four-month relationship, but she can’t bring herself to say ILY. Meredith Goldstein’s advice: Just say what you feel.

🦕 Forever fossils: Dinosaurs went extinct about 60 million years ago, but they’ve never been more profitable. It’s a dinosaur economy, and we’re just along for the ride. (Quartz)

🫛 Sleep tight: Boston’s first and only pod hotel — called MECO Hotel — has opened near TD Garden. Here’s how it compared to a similar experience in Tokyo.

＄ The moneyed class: There are more billionaires on the planet than ever before. Here’s who’s up, who’s down, who’s off the list, and why ultra-rich guys are running the US government. (Forbes)

🦞 Please don’t serve bunny: Some of the best Easter Sunday brunches in greater Boston are serving everything from lobster to rack of lamb to carrot pancakes. And all take reservations.

🕷️ Natasha’s nest: Take a look inside the $13 million penthouse that actor Scarlett Johansson and comedian Colin Jost just bought on Park Avenue, NYC. (Quartz)

Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by Teresa Hanafin and produced by Bill Geshwender and Diamond Naga Siu.

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Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com.