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The 5 Boston Red Sox unsung heroes of 2018

By Tarringo Basile-vaughan

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: The Boston Red Sox celebrate their 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five to win the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: The Boston Red Sox celebrate their 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five to win the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox Xander Bogaerts (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

3.  Xander Bogaerts

Perhaps no player benefitted more from the firing of John Farrell than Xander Bogaerts.

The Boston Red Sox shortstop bounced back from a subpar season with renewed confidence under Alex Cora.

Serving as a perfect No. 5 hitter for the most part, Bogaerts displayed a little pop in his bat by launching 23 homers and reaching 100 RBI for the first time in his career.  Like Mitch Moreland he also had some clutch hits during the regular season and also during the team’s playoff run.

Though the team seems willing to trade the shortstop either before or during the 2019 MLB season, he has shown that he is a capable shortstop with perhaps his best baseball ahead of him.

light. Related Story. Xander Bogaerts breaks out into stardom at right time

He has certainly displayed the confidence and maturity in 2018 to grow into the type of player the Boston Red Sox or any team can rely on.  With his .288 batting average during the regular season, Xander Bogaerts has found his comfort level as a top of the order batter who can deliver in big moments.  Some of those big moments happened in 2018 and the Red Sox would’ve won a few less games if not for Bogaerts stepping up when the team needed him.

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