Red Sox Offense Continues to Dominate

The Red Sox offense continues to be the hottest in the American League.

It did not matter that one of the best teams in baseball had come into Fenway for a two game series that was expected to be though. It did not matter that the Sox’s latest blockbuster acquisition had just been shelled for 5 runs in just 3 innings, or that the team had recently lost its all star closer and subsequently lost his replacement to injuries. Amid all of this chaos that would cause uncertainty on most teams, the Red Sox has one of the best offensive performances in recent memory.

Newly acquired starter Drew Pomeranz was supposed to be the saving grace for the Red Sox rotation, but he started off his Red Sox tenure with a lackluster 3+ innings against the Giants. However, his play was completely overshadowed by the 11 run offensive onslaught that the Red Sox bats showcased to the Fenway Crowd. Slugger Hanley Ramirez, who has had significant slumps at times this year, completely exploded with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs.

Jul 3, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez (13) hits an RBI double during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

It is uncommon enough to see hat tricks by the best hockey players in the NHL, and almost unheard of for a baseball player to have a hat trick of home runs. Many other Boston sluggers followed the same path as Hanley with strong nights, such Mookie Betts (3-5 with and RBI Double), Travis Shaw (11th Home Run of the Season), and Sandy Leon (2-4 with a 3B and a HR).

While Red Sox fans expected significant contributions from Betts and Shaw heading into the season, almost no one was able to foreshadow the offensive dominance that Sandy Leon has showcased thus far. After injuries to catchers Christian Vazquez and Ryan Hanigan, Boston turned to Leon as a last-ditch option to fill their hole behind the plate. Not only has Leon done the job well, but he has completely shattered expectations. He leads all MLB batters with at least 70 plate appearances with a .417 batting average, with the next highest average being Jose Altuve’s .358. He also leads this category of players in SLG (.694) and is 2nd in OBP (.455). Although Leon’s 74 plate appearances are a small sample size, his mind-blowing numbers still warrant lots of praise.

The night after pouring 11 runs on the Giants, Leon and the Red Sox refused to take their feet off of the gas and scored another 13 runs on the lowly Minnesota Twins. When Mookie Betts hit Twins starter Tyler Duffey’s first pitch out of the park for a solo shot, you could already tell that the Red Sox were going to dominate this game. David Ortiz and Jackie Bradley Jr. added home runs of their own later in the night, and Dustin Perdoia had a signature performance by going 5-5 at the plate. The Sox dropped Friday night’s game to the Twins 2-1, but even the best offenses have their off nights. The offense should rebound from this defeat and will be just fine.

The back-to-back double digit scoring games against the Giants and the Twins have just a small part of the Red Sox’s amazing offensive performance this year. Boston’s offense paces the league in runs scored, RBIs, batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and wOBA (a statistic that weights different batting outcomes in a better way than OPS) – essentially every offensive category. Much of this offensive prowess has been due to the development of young Red Sox stars Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr., as well as David Ortiz’s motivation during his final MLB season.

Bogaerts had a breakout year in 2015, batting .320 with 81 RBI and being one of the lone bright spots on a Red Sox team that was last place in the AL East. He won his first Silver Slugger Award at shortstop that year, so expectations were sky high for him coming into this season. Bogaerts has certainly followed up is impressive 2015 campaign with an all-star 2016 season. While his 2016 batting average (.324) has stayed near his impressive 2015 average and is the highest average among major league shortstops, the big improvement in Bogaerts’ game this year has been his power.

Jul 12, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; American League infielder Xander Bogaerts (2) of the Boston Red Sox at bat in the second inning in the 2016 MLB All Star Game at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Last season, Bogaerts only hit 7 balls out of the park, but he already has 11 HR this year with a little less than half of the season remaining. In addition, his wOBA is up from a .338 to a .368. When looking at batted ball statistics, Bogaerts’ hard contact percentage has gone up slightly from 27.4% to 30.2%. While his soft contact percentage has remained almost steady from 2015 (21.0%) to 2016 (21.5%), his medium contact percentage has dropped from 51.5% to 48.3%. These statistics show that some of Bogaerts’ medium contact balls are now becoming hard contact balls, which could help explain his increase in home runs. So, even though he is hitting soft balls at around the same rate, his medium/hard contact hits are shifting more towards being hard hits, meaning that when he gets a good piece of the ball, he is hitting deeper.

Mookie Betts is another Red Sox player who has continued his breakout in 2016. He has raised his average fro a .291 to a .307 and his wOBA from a .351 to a .371. In addition, he has already eclipsed his 2015 home run total (18) with 20 home runs on the season.

Jul 9, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts (50) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Betts does not get on base as much as Bogaerts (they have .345 and .381 OBPs, respectively), but he seems to hit for more power with a 35.4% hard contact percentage, up from his 2015 31.7% hard contact percentage. Betts has also displayed his great defensive ability in the outfield and has been the MLB’s #1 baserunner based on UBR (Ultimate Base Running). Bogaerts has the third best UBR in the league, so the combination of Betts and Bogaerts on the basepaths is a scary thought for opposing defenses.

Jackie Bradley Jr. is the other member of the team’s “Killer B’s”, and his breakout is perhaps the most surprising. He was previously thought of as a defensive wizard who struggled at the plate, but he caught fire on offense at the end of last year and has continued to hit very well in 2016, too. His slash line has gone up from .249/.335/.498 in 2015 to .294/.373/.543 in 2016, and he has continued to wow fans with his stellar play in the outfield.

Finally, David Ortiz has come out to play with a vengeance during his last MLB season. While many were expecting him to slow down, 2016 has arguably been his best season ever. He is 5th in the MLB with a .326 average, 5th with a .418 OBP, and 1st with a .665 SLG, and 1st with a .443 wOBA.