Red Sox veteran blames Fenway Park struggles on seeing a lot of people we dont know

Home doesn’t feel like home anymore for the Red Sox.Boston newcomer Isaiah Kiner-Falefa made an eye-raising remark after Tuesday’s 4-2 home loss to the Orioles, referencing the “different” feel for the team at Fenway Park compared to road venues.The last-place Red Sox are an MLB-worst 9-20 at home compared to 16-14 on the road.“I just feel like on the road we’re a very close-knit team,” Kiner-Falefa said after losing the series opener.“We’ve come home and there’s just a lot of people and it’s different, it’s a different vibe at home and we got to figure out a way to make it small like it is on the road.

Just feel like at home we see a lot of people we don’t know, just don’t know that are around this area and when we’re on the road its a close-knit group and we’re becoming a really close team and, yeah, we got to find a way to bring that back home.”While Kiner-Falefa did not specify whom those people are, the comments highlight how MLB teams have more staffers around for home games compared to road games, as expected.While some appreciate having more folks and more data available — especially since there should be more analytics folks around — there are those who surely can find it overbearing.It’s not often, though, that the difference in staff size is cited for a team’s struggles.The old adage in baseball is that good teams should shoot for .500 on the road and dominate at home, a formula that can result in 90-plus-win seasons.The Red Sox usually are strong at home due to their familiarity with the odd dimensions and the ability to build a team suited for 81 games in the park, but this year’s team is allergic to winning at home.Boston is a mind-boggling 1-7-1 in home series, having only won a three-game set against Milwaukee from April 6-8.The Red Sox noticeably are significantly worse at home offensively, averaging 3.17 runs per game compared to 4.70 on the road.Their pitchers have actually fared better at home, allowin...