Garrett Whitlock had one of the best seasons of any reliever in baseball last year. A 2.25 ERA, 91 strikeouts in 72 innings, and a 7-3 record-those are elite numbers, the kind that put you in conversations about bullpen anchors and late-inning trust. But in Boston, none of that guarantees immunity from criticism, especially when October rolls around.
After the Red Sox were bounced from the AL Wild Card Series by the Yankees, Whitlock had a run-in that perfectly captured the city’s no-nonsense, high-expectation energy. While grabbing coffee near his home, a fan recognized him and offered a backhanded compliment that stuck: “Great year, but man, couldn’t do it when it counted.”
That moment reflects something deeper than just a fan’s frustration-it’s the reality of playing in Boston. The bar is high.
The spotlight is relentless. And the postseason is where legacies are made-or questioned.
Whitlock’s lone playoff appearance in 2025 came in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. With the series tied 1-1 and the game knotted at 3-3, he took the mound in the seventh and looked sharp, delivering a scoreless frame. But when Alex Cora sent him back out for the eighth, things unraveled fast.
He got two quick outs. Then came the walks.
Then the singles. Before he could record the final out, the Yankees had taken the lead.
The Red Sox never recovered, dropping Game 2 and then getting blanked in Game 3. Just like that, a promising start turned into a historic collapse-Boston became the first team in MLB history to lose a wild card series after winning the opener.
To be clear, Whitlock wasn’t the only one who struggled. The offense went cold, the defense faltered, and the baserunning miscues piled up. But for a guy who had been lights-out all season, the timing of his roughest outing couldn’t have been worse.
That’s the challenge of being a high-leverage arm in a city like Boston. You can dominate for six months, but October is the lens through which everything is viewed. And when the final image is a tough loss, that’s what sticks.
Whitlock’s 2025 campaign deserves recognition-it was outstanding. But in Boston, the postseason is the proving ground. And fair or not, one rocky inning can overshadow a season’s worth of excellence.