On the strength of MVP candidates, Cy Young contenders and a player threatening to capture the triple crown, the 2018 Boston Red Sox are making a run at a historic season and leaving very good and very bad teams in their dust.

With 86 wins already on the board only 121 games into the season, the Red Sox are poised to post their first 100-win campaign since they captured 104 victories in 1946.  They finished 104-50-2 in a season that predated division races, as they advanced directly into the World Series where they were beaten in seven by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The MLB record for wins in a season is 116, which has been accomplished twice: in 1906 during a 152-game season by the Chicago Cubs (116-36) and more recently in a 162-game season by the 2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46).  Both of those teams share the dubious honour of not winning the World Series title during their historic seasons, as the Cubs lost the Fall Classic to the Chicago White Sox and the Mariners were bounced in the ALCS by the New York Yankees.

The Red Sox will need a 31-10 clip for the remainder of the season to write their name at the top of the wins list.

Embedded ImageThere are many reasons for the team’s success, but the arm of Chris Sale has played a major role.

The 29-year-old is 12-4 in 146.0 innings and he leads the American League with the lowest ERA (1.97) and is also tops with 219 strikeouts.

"It looks effortless,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about Sale in July.  “He's throwing and you look up and it's 99 or 100. He looks great. He's healthy and he's in a good spot. He reminds me a lot of Randy (Johnson) right now."

Rick Porcello and David Price have also done a great job in the rotation for the Red Sox, complementing the top of the line performance they are getting from Sale.

While there are teams that can boast a better bullpen than the Red Sox, there are few if any that have a better closer than Craig Kimbrel.

In 50 games so far this season, Kimbrel has 36 saves with a 3-1 record and a 2.52 ERA with 76 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.04.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Red Sox have tough outs up and down their lineup, but two players stand out and should be considered among the favourites for the MVP award.

In his first season with Boston, J.D. Martinez is proving to be worth every penny of the five-year, $110 million deal he signed in the off-season.

“It’s his preparation and his discipline,” Cora said about Martinez on Sunday.  “There’s no doubt about it the way he prepares is the best way to do it.”

“He visualizes, he looks at video, he looks for certain things (and) tendencies. The tough part of it is going out there and performing and executing at every at-bat, and he does. It’s really impressive.”

Embedded ImageMartinez currently leads the majors with 37 homers and 104 RBIs and also has a .333 average, second in both the majors and the American League to his teammate and fellow MVP contender Mookie Betts.

Along with his ML leading .350 average, Betts has 27 homers and 63 RBIs, while providing strong defence in right field.  Betts also has a signature moment already on his ledger this season as he hit for the cycle against the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 10.

Another component of the incredible Red Sox season is how far ahead of the division trailing Baltimore Orioles they are at this point of the season.

The Orioles have already been mathematically eliminated from contention in the AL East and are currently 49.5 games behind the Red Sox heading into play on Wednesday.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders are the benchmark for futility in the MLB as they won just 20 of 154 games and finished 84 games out of first place