The Boston Red Sox are winning games again, thanks in part to the play in the field and at the plate of center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.
The defense of Jackie Bradley Jr. has never really been questioned during his time spent in the big leagues. A propensity for the incredible, whether via leaping catches or laser throws, has kept Bradley as a mainstay on the Boston Red Sox roster.
Hitting, on the other hand, has been a roller-coaster-ride of a career so far for Bradley.
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He’s had months in which he’s hit barely above .100, making the famed Mendoza line look like a far away dream. Bradley has coupled that with 10-game spurts of power, hitting big home runs as needed.
There have been infuriating weeks in which Bradley is the strikeout king of the northeast. And we can’t forget a hitting streak back in 2016 that reached 29 games.
Roughly to the halfway mark in 2019, Bradley has appeared as all of the above versions.
Strikeouts mounted early as did the unlucky fortune of hitting the ball hard but right at where the defense was positioned. Bradley hit only .127 in the month of April, collecting only two base hits while striking out 25 times.
Despite grumblings from the keyboard coaches of the world, Bradley stayed in the lineup. His presence in the outfield rightfully warranted such, with the hope that baseballs would begin falling.
May didn’t start out much better. After an 0-3 performance on May 19 against the Houston Astros, Bradley had only collected 5 hits in 37 at-bats, driven in 0 runs, and had struck out 13 times.
Things were looking dire but in a pattern similar to prior seasons, Bradley began to turn things around at the plate.
A productive member of the offense
The final 11 games of May saw Bradley hit safely in eight of them, collecting 14 hits. He had five games of at least two hits in this span and struck out only nine times.
June may have started out with three straight games without a hit, but he’s righted the ship yet again. He’s hit safely in eight of his last ten games, going 12-39 (.308).
Since that May 19 game, Bradley has raised his batting average 66 points (.154 to .210) and hit all seven of his home runs. He also has 17 RBI, bringing his season total to 24.
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During the month of June, Bradley is hitting .254 with 3 HR and 10 RBI. He’s also posted a .362 OBP and a .854 OPS.
Finding his stroke is important and, even despite his struggles at times, Bradley has not let it affect his play in the field. He continues to be a defensive wizard, flying into walls when the occasion calls for it.
So much energy is often focused on how a player is performing at the plate that we forget the importance a player can bring in the field. Outside of the early years of his career, Bradley always seems to find a way to get back to a respectable season at the plate.
Locking down the bottom of the order is one thing. Producing at a clip, whether it’s getting on base or launching baseballs over the wall, is how Bradley best aids the Boston Red Sox at the plate. Just like Christian Vazquez and Brock Holt, Bradley getting on base helps set the table as the lineup turns over.
Those three are starting to do their job. Winners of 7 of their last 8, Boston is being aided by the return of Bradley’s consistency. Once Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi fully get back to their 2018 selves, this Boston Red Sox team will again be a force to be reckoned with.