Undergoing a pretty disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox currently sit 11 games back (that is not a misprint) of the first-place New York Yankees and 7 back of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off of a very successful season that culminated in the BoSox winning the 2018 World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers, their struggles this year has been difficult to pinpoint and understand.
For Mookie Betts, his lower-than-average performance has definitely been a big-time contributor to this team failing to live up to reasonable expectations, as this team definitely went as Betts did last season. Needing to get back to his usual dominant form, Betts needs to overcome his cloudy injury history, use the All-Star break as a good period of time to refresh and get back to his mashing ways.
Up to this point, the Red Sox have relied on infielder Michael Chavis and outfielder/designated hitter J.D. Martinez to carry the load, but those two cannot be the only two regular offensive contributors, especially with the division they play in. In their most recent series against the Yankees, they traveled over to London for a two-gamer and dropped both, scoring a total of 21 runs but still falling in both.
Their pitching was their biggest downfall in that series, as the Yankees put up 17 and 12 runs, respectively, in the two-game bout. Up to this point, their 44-40 record has not looked all that good, and their level of play has suggested that this team is more suited to be putting up under .500 numbers.
This team’s comeback rests almost solely on Mookie Betts finding himself again, and there are a few ways that he can do that. Through his placement in the batter order, as well as continuing to take his walks, he should begin to receive better pitches that he can turn around and begin to improve his batting average.
Batting Order
In all but one game in the month of June, where Betts got a much-needed day of rest, Betts was the team’s leadoff hitter, regardless of if he played in the field or was the DH for that game. To begin the season, Betts alternated with left fielder Andrew Benintendi for leadoff duties, but Betts has taken over the role as the season has moved along.
Better suited to be in a run-producers role, Betts is a safe bet to always be at the top of the order. While the bottom of the Red Sox lineup could use some injections of power and clutch hitting, Betts needs to remain at or near the top of the batting order for the time being.
Mookie Betts has batted no lower than second the entire season so far for manager Alex Cora, so even the skipper understands the importance of putting Betts in there every day and at the top of the batting lineup.
Keep earning those walks
In a season, Betts has a career high of 81 walks earned, which occurred last season in 137 games. So far in 2019 and through 82 games, Betts already has 62 free passes.
Just having passed the halfway mark of the season, and Betts is well on his way to earning over 100 walks in a season, a testament to his dedication to continuously improving his plate approach. Being able to set the table for Martinez and Rafael Devers and Benintendi by getting on base is key for this team to score early and to score often, which they have had some issues with as the season has gone on.
For Betts, not much truly needs to change to improve. His walk percentage is much higher than in every other season (around 19%), and while his offensive numbers are not all that terrible (.261, 13 HRs, 37 RBIs, .835 OPS) they definitely are much lower than what he is expected to produce.
While the Red Sox are struggling and their postseason hopes are leaning towards life support, Betts is their big wild card that can help turn this team around in a flash. Not needing to learn rocket science overnight, the improvements that Mookie Betts needs to make rely on his strengths and what he has already done well this season, so the team – and Betts – should be able to right the ship in time for the trade deadline and the charge for the postseason.
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