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Big Papi’s Retirement Plan

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Just an idea…

https://youtu.be/WnKS58UtCLk


Sunday Odds ‘n Ends

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After a mammoth May for the Red Sox, June started with a disappointing 3-4 road trip to Toronto and Baltimore that exposed clearly the pitching weaknesses of this 2016 club. Still, Boston managed to cling to at least a share of the division lead heading into a short weekend series at home.

Here, now, are some odds and end from the week that was:

  1. Few Sox fans want it to be over for David Ortiz and the way he’s playing, it’s reasonable to question why he would retire after this year. On the other hand, there is still a lot of season left to play and you can’t blame Ortiz for wanting to go out on top. And on top, is certainly where he’s shaping up to be. Of Ortiz’ many achievements so far, consider this: Among players with at least 75 plate appearances this season, Big Papi owns a .309 batting average when batting with two strikes, the best such AVG among all major leaguers of any age. The next best mark is held by the Nationals’ Daniel Murphy at .289.
  2. In part because of Ortiz’ play, the Red Sox lead MLB with a .224 team AVG when batting with two strikes this season, one of just two teams batting over .200 in such situations (also the Marlins at .209). Boston’s two-strike hitting is their best in any season since at least 1988.
  3. Against the National League the Sox are 5-2 this season and will face the senior circuit again next week when they travel to San Francisco for two against the Giants. Boston has done well in Interleague play, owning an overall record of 202-148 (.577), second only to the Yankees (204-141, .591). The best overall record by any NL club in Interleague action is the Cardinals’ 157-131 (.527). But in Pittsburgh, manager Clint Hurdle has led the Pirates to a 59-41 mark (.584) against the American League since he joined the team in 2011. That’s the third best Interleague record in baseball during that time after the Yankees (.606) and Red Sox (.602).
  4. American League teams hold an edge over National League clubs in 2016 Interleague play, 48-43, with NL teams batting 849-for-3195 (.266), just ahead of AL teams, which have gone 830-for-3170 (.262). AL pitchers hold the edge over their NL counterparts, however, with ERAs of 4.25 vs 4.69, respectively.
  5. Jackie Bradley‘s 29-game hitting streak is the longest in baseball so far this season. When it ended on May 26, Xander Bogaerts then owned the longest active such streak in baseball. That streak ended this week, too, but left Bogaerts tied with the estimable Nomar Garciaparra and Johnny Pesky for the second longest hitting streak in history for Sox shortstop (only longer was Garciaparra’s 30 games in 1997). The Elias Sports Bureau says Bradley and Bogaerts represented just the second time in the last 75 seasons that two teammates had streaks of 26 or more games in the same season. The others were Shawn Green (28 games) and Shannon Stewart (26) for the 1999 Blue Jays. On Saturday, the day after Bogaerts’ streak ended, he went 3-for-4 and told WEEI after the game, “I felt great today, coming to the park. Relieved…the streak is amazing. It’s awesome and all, but it’s nerve-wracking.”
  6. With Betts’ and Bogaerts’ hitting streaks ended, the new longest active hitting streak in baseball are those of Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, both of whom collected their 12th straight game with a hit on Saturday. Since May 3, a Boston player has held at least a share of the longest active hitting streak in the majors.
  7. Mike Trout‘s résumé looks better every year. This past weekend he collected his 150th career home run making him just one of eight players in baseball history with that many HR and 500 runs scored in an age-24 season or younger. That’s a list that includes Hall of Famers Jimmie Fox, Mickey Mantle, Mel Ott, and Frank Robinson, as well as Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Ken Griffey, Jr.
  8. As remarkable as the 2016 Red Sox offense has been, there is certainly a clear problem with Boston’s pitching. So far this season, the Sox have lost seven games even after scoring six or more runs, the most such losses in the majors. This was certainly on display in two tough Sox losses (7-12 and 9-13) to their division rival, the Orioles, last week. Thursday’s loss was particularly ugly with a franchise-high seven home runs allowed by Red Sox pitchers for just the fourth time in club history. This season, between May 27 and June 2, Boston scored 30 runs in four losses.
  9. On Thursday, Jackie Bradley became the first Sox player to be named an AL Player of the Week since Dustin Pedroia almost five seasons ago. Better still, Bradley and his wife, Erin, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Emerson, on the same day.

     
    Bonus: A year after parlaying his late season success with the Red Sox, the Athletics’ Rich Hill continues to put the pieces together. After 12 big league seasons, the 36-year-old Boston native earned his very first AL Pitcher of the Month honors after going 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA in May. Could a return to Boston be in the cards as the Sox look for help down the stretch?


Bradley: New Dad and Player of the Month

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It’s been a string of big days this season for Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley, but this one has to be the jewel of them all.

On Thursday, Bradley and his wife, Erin, welcomed their first child, a daughter, along with news that he was named American League Player of the Month for May.

“He had a big day,” Manager (and undisputed Master of Understatement) John Farrell said.

Bradley, 26, is the first Red Sox to be named Player of the month since Dustin Pedroia in July 2011, a month after Adrian Gonzalez earned the same honor. Bradley joins a prestigious list of former Red Sox winners since the award was establishing in April 1974:


Sox Solid May

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The prodigious Red Sox offense was on full display in the month of May. Here’s a look at how Boston stacked up against the rest of Major League Baseball and the team’s own club records.

Against the Rest

As a team, Red Sox batters hit at 309-for-1012 for a .305 AVG. No other MLB team hit above .288 in May. The Sox led all of baseball for on-base percentage (.371) and slugging percentage (.525) for an MLB-best OPS of .896. May 2016 marked just the sixth time since 1913 that the Sox have owned a May team AVG of .300 or higher (also 1940, 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2006).

Those solid Red Sox averages came from 309 hits, which included 68 doubles and 46 home runs with 177 RBI, all four values were the most in May of any team. The Sox also collected 8 May triples and 98 walks, tied for the second most and third most in the American League, respectively.

In all, the Red Sox amassed 122 extra-base hits in May. No other team reached even 100 such hits.

That massive Sox offense resulted in 182 runs scored, the most in MLB and a full 26 more runs than their nearest competitor, the Mariners (156).

Individual Contributors

In more than 100 years of Red Sox history, no Boston player—not Jim Rice, not David Ortiz, not even Ted Williams—has ever had more hits in the month of May than Xander Bogaerts. His 49 hits last month surpassed by one the former record held by Wade Boggs in his 1986 season.

When it comes to runs scored, Mookie Betts‘ 30 for May 2016 is second only to The Great Williams. Before Betts this season, Teddy Ballgame held the top three Sox performances for runs scored in May, with 32 in May 1942 and then 29 in his 1949 and 1941 seasons.

Big Papi’s 12 May doubles tied him with Nomar Garciaparra in 2002 and Mike Lowell in 2006 for the third most in club history since 1913.

Travis Shaw‘s 32 May strikeouts were the fourth most in club history since 1913.

2016 in Sox History

Fans witnessed an historical Red Sox team this year. The club’s .525 SLG, its 531 total bases, its 177 RBI, its 182 runs scored, and it’s 122 extra-base hits were all club records since at least 1913.

The Red Sox missed club records by one last month in both hits and home runs. Their 309 May hits were second to the 310 collected in May 1981. Their 46 May home runs  were just shy of the club-record 47 HRs of the 1996 and 1977 seasons.

All About the Wins

Thanks in large part to the offense, the Red Sox were 18-10 in May. The 18 wins were the most in the American League. The Sox’ .643 win percentage in May tied them with the Cubs for the second best monthly mark in baseball after the Giant’s 21-8 (.724) record. The Red Sox’ all-time best May came in 1946 when they went 21-6 (.778).

The Sox were the first American League team to reach 30 games on May 29. The club’s all-time quickest route to 30 wins came May 20, 2002.

Boston’s pitching owned a 4.11 team ERA in May, 14th highest among baseball’s 30 teams. Red Sox starters’ ERA was 4.63 in May, which was actually worse than their April ERA of 4.49. The Sox bullpen, on the other hand, posted a far more respectable 2.93 ERA in May, down from 3.59 in April, for the fifth bet mark among MLB relief squads in May.


Sunday Odds ‘n Ends

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The tough loss in Toronto on Saturday afternoon may have dampened some spirits around Red Sox Nation, though at 4-2, the homestand week was overall a good one for our favorite ball club.

  1. Jackie Bradley‘s exciting hitting streak ended this week at 29 games, the longest hitting streak in baseball since 2011 when Dan Uggla hit in 33 straight. Bradley’s streak winds up tied with Johnny Damon‘s for the 4th longest in Red Sox history. According to Elias, Bradley was the first player with a hitting streak of at least 29 games while batting from the sixth or lower position in each game since the Yankees’ Joe Gordon in 1942 (also 29 games). During the streak, Bradley led all of baseball for AVG (.415), SLG (.783), OPS (1.271), and RBI (30).

  2. Now it’s Xander Bogaerts turn. On Saturday he extended his hitting streak to 21 games, the 2nd longest hit streak in the Majors this season after Bradley’s. With Bogaerts and Bradley the Red Sox are the first team in American League history to have two different players record a hitting streak of 20 or more games before June 1st. It’s happened five times before in the National League, most recently when Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval (remember him?) did it with the Giants in 2012.

  3. What seemed a very promising game on Saturday turned into arguably the worst Red Sox loss of the year. Sure, the umpiring was bad, again, but realistically, that cuts against both sides over the course of a season. No, this loss was best hung around the necks of Boston relievers who squandered a 7-3, an 8-4, and a 9-8 lead. Once again, the Red Sox offense was on full display with nine runs scored on 15 hits. No team should lose when hitting and scoring like that. In fact, the Sox hadn’t lost a game after that kind of production since a 16-9 pounding by the Cubs on July 2, 2014.
  4. It has been over eight years since the Red Sox have been swept in a three game set in Toronto. An ace stops a slide, so Sunday’s performance by David Price after three Sox losses will be telling. Price’s numbers against the Blue Jays are certainly favorable. His 17-2 career record facing Toronto is his second best mark against any American League team but the Royals (against whom he’s 3-0). At Rogers Center, Price is an impressive 11-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 15 career starts. Should Price fail, the Red Sox will be swept for the first time there since April 4-6, 2008.
  5. The Marlins Ichiro Suzuki is certainly proving himself good in a pinch. This season he’s amassed a .357 AVG over 19 pinch-hit plate appearances. Among those with at least 60 pinch-hit PA in a single season, the very best was the Rockies John Vander Wal, who went 28-for-72 (.389) in 1995. At this pace, Suzuki could wind up with the 5th best mark for a pinch-hitter in a single season ever. For the Red Sox the top pinch-hitter was Phil Gagliano, who went 22-for-68 (.324) in 1971. Since 1960, Gagliano is the only Boston pinch hitter to bat over .300 in 60 or more pinch hit appearances of one season.
  6. It was superb to see Blake Swihart hit two triples in the same game this week. That makes the Red Sox the first team with three players (also Bradley and Mookie Betts) to pull off this feat since the 1992 editions of the White Sox and Phillies. These’s a lot more about this rare accomplishment worth reviewing.
  7. Major League Baseball dates back to a game played between the Boston Red Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics on April 22, 1876 according to baseball’s official historian, John Thorn. Newspaper accounts agreed that defense and baserunning were the keys to Boston’s 6-5 victory on that day. The game is one of those profiled in the fun book, Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century.
  8. Homegrown pitchers, those drafted by their current club or originally signed as free agents by their current club, have started in 29 of 47 games (61.7%) for the Rangers this season, the highest such rate in baseball. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the bought-and-paid-for-Cubs, for whom no such talent has started in any of their games thus far. The Cubs are, in fact, the only team in baseball for which farm raised talent hasn’t appeared yet this season. Boston has had 12 games of 2016 started by homegrown pitchers: nine by Clay Buchholz and three by Henry Owens. Collectively, the two have gone 2-4 with a 5.77 ERA in those games.
  9. Clutch hitting is so much fun to witness. With Saturday’s game, the Red Sox lead all of baseball with 105 two-out RBI this season. The Cardinals are next with 99 such RBI. No other American League team has more than 89. Boston also continues to lead baseball with 51 first-inning runs and have a remarkable 125 runs scored in the first three innings of the game. No other baseball team has more than 92. Clearly, if the Sox can stay healthy, offense isn’t the problem but it’s undeniable that pitching could undermine how far this team can go this season.