How Dragging A Couch Helped The Red Sox Drive In Runs

The Boston Red Sox are hoping a quiet shift behind the scenes leads to louder results at the plate.

After a brutal 3-6 West Coast swing last week and an inconsistent stretch following the trade of Rafael Devers, the coaching staff scrapped their traditional group hitting sessions in favor of one-on-one meetings with players. It is a change manager Alex Cora believes brings sharper focus.

“It brings accountability,” Cora said, as transcribed by Sean McAdam of MassLive. “Sometimes when you sit as a group, you can hide.”

That idea began to take shape during the team’s flight home from Anaheim and was reinforced once they returned to Fenway Park. Along with the new meeting format, Cora and hitting coach Pete Fatse physically reworked the video room, dragging in a couch from Cora’s office to help Red Sox players settle into a more collaborative space.

“We’ve kind of beefed up our video room and created more accessibility for guys,” Fatse told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.

While Boston still holds a full-squad meeting at the start of each series, hitting coaches now work individually with players throughout the week. The new setup seems to be paying off.

In the three full games following a shutout loss to Toronto, the Red Sox piled up 31 runs and picked up their first series win since the Devers trade. Fatse emphasized that the new structure helps players tailor their preparation and take ownership of their role.

“It’s more of a discussion as opposed to a presentation,” he said. That shift is already resonating with rookies like Roman Anthony and veterans like Rob Refsnyder, who said the individualized sessions help them stay locked in.

It is not a cure-all, but it is a change in approach the Red Sox hope will lead them to a stronger second half at the plate.