With the dust finally settling in the aftermath of the Boston Red Sox disappointing defeat in the American League Championship Series at the hands of the Houston Astros, it’s time we take a look back on a wildly exciting season for the Sox. Coming into the season, this team wasn’t really expected to be a playoff team, let alone one of the final four teams playing baseball in 2021. Despite the disappointing finish, this was still an extremely good season of baseball for Boston.
Boasting a roster that doesn’t look markedly different from the one in 2020 that labored to a last place finish in the American League East, it’s no surprise that expectations were somewhat tempered heading into the season. Core players such as Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers were still around, but the same was true in the season before as well.
They were going to need their stars to step up to even have a shot, and boy did they ever. Whether it was players performing as expected (Bogaerts & Devers), a bounce back season (J.D. Martinez), or the emergence of a star (Nathan Eovaldi), this roster got production from their key players that they desperately needed.
It didn’t end there, as the Sox got superb seasons up and down the roster. As a result, it’s no surprise this team made it as far as they did. But things certainly weren’t expected to go this way heading into the season. Let’s take a look at three players who massively exceeded their expectations heading into the season, and helped contribute to the upstart 2021 Boston Red Sox team.
Boston Red Sox player who exceeded expectations No. 3: Hunter Renfroe
If it weren’t for a horrid postseason showing from Renfroe, he probably moves up a spot on this list. Renfroe was OK against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, but only managed to go 1/16 in the ALCS against the Astros, putting a damper on a career year for the veteran outfielder.
Even with the sour ending to the season, Renfroe put together a breakout season with the Red Sox. After putting together an ugly 2020 season in which he only batted .156, Renfroe figured to find himself in a platoon role in the outfield for Boston. Instead, he quickly made the spacious right field of Fenway Park his own, and cemented himself as part of one the most deadly lineups in the game.
Renfroe finished the season hitting .259, which was the highest of his career, while also smacking 31 home runs and driving in 96 runs. During the second half of the season when the lineup struggled for long stretches, it felt like Renfroe could always be counted on to step up and deliver when his team needed him the most.
Renfroe also had a career year in the outfield for the Sox as well. He’s not the most conventional fielder by any stretch of the imagination, and certainly made his fair share of confusing mistakes in right field this season, but he has an absolute cannon of arm which was on full display all season long. Renfroe’s 16 assists from the outfield were tied for the major league lead.
Considering Renfroe made just over $3 million this season, and he’s under team control through arbitration for next season, he has to be considered one of the best free agent signings from last offseason. Renfroe came in with the expectation of a platoon player, and turned into one of the best right fielders in the game. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Boston Red Sox player who exceeded expectations No. 3: Kike Hernandez
I’m not afraid to admit recency bias has played a part in the crafting of this list. If we made it once the regular season ended, Kike Hernandez probably wouldn’t find himself in the number two spot. But after his riveting postseason performance, Hernandez has put himself on the map as one of the best playoff performers of this season, and has set himself up for a great 2022 season.
Incase you missed it, Hernandez turned himself into the hottest hitter in baseball for a short stretch of the postseason. He played a large part in putting away the Rays in the ALDS, and his hot hitting helped the Sox take a quick 2-1 advantage over Houston. It’s no surprise that once he cooled off, so did the rest of Boston’s lineup.
Hernandez’s postseason heroics were the cherry on top of a breakout season for the longtime utility player. Heading into free agency last offseason, Hernandez wanted more playing time than he had been getting with the Los Angeles Dodgers. When the Red Sox signed him, many figured he would be the main piece replacing Dustin Pedroia at second base.
Instead, Hernandez emerged as Boston’s starting center fielder, as well as their leadoff hitter for the majority of the season. He finished the season batting .250 with 20 home runs and 60 runs batted in. Pretty good for a guy who wasn’t considered good enough to be an everyday player heading into the season.
Hernandez was a steady presence in the lineup card for Boston all season long. It’s telling how awful Boston’s outfield looked when he was forced to miss time during the team’s widespread COVID outbreak, with Alex Verdugo looking like he’d never seen a baseball before during his time in center field.
Much like his fellow outfield partner Renfroe, Hernandez didn’t have particularly lofty expectations heading into the season. Now he figures to be a key piece of Boston’s next title contender. Two of the best moves made this past offseason by general manager Chaim Bloom were in free agency, but his best move came in the most unlikely place possible; the Rule 5 draft.
Boston Red Sox player who exceeded expectations No. 1: Garrett Whitlock
There’s really no comparison for what Garrett Whitlock pulled off this past season. Snagged away from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 draft, Whitlock started the season off as a relatively unknown player fighting to make the major league roster. He ended the season as not only the best reliever out of Boston’s bullpen, but one of the best relievers in all of baseball.
For those unfamiliar with the Rule 5 draft, here’s a quick explanation of it. Each team has the opportunity to take a player who isn’t on a team’s 40 man roster. The catch is that if the player you take doesn’t end up on the major league roster, he reverts back to his old club.
The Rule 5 draft is really unheard of because teams don’t often take players, and when they do, they rarely make that much of an impact. When Whitlock was selected by the Sox, nobody really batted an eye. Little did we know at the time that Boston had just picked up their most valuable bullpen arm for the upcoming season.
Whitlock was phenomenal all season long for Boston, regardless of the role they used him in. He finished with an 8-4 record, but more importantly, he had a 1.96 ERA by the season’s end. It’s not as if he was rarely used considering he pitched 73.1 innings, making it clear he was one of the most effective relievers in the majors this season.
Whitlock’s presence became all the more important once Matt Barnes’ production fell off a cliff midway through the season. Whitlock found himself in more high leverage situations than before, and was completely unfazed by the increased difficulty of his outings.
You can make a case that he saved Boston’s season in Game 4 of the ALDS. Whitlock was called on in the eighth inning of a tie game, and he inherited a runner on second with no one out. He proceeded to strand that baserunner while getting the next six batters out, giving the lineup just enough time to scrape out a victory and cancel their flight back to Tampa Bay.
This all goes without saying that Whitlock hadn’t even pitched an inning in the majors before this season. He didn’t even have expectations coming into the season. Realistically, if he stuck around in the bullpen at all, it would have been a win. But Whitlock developed into a true weapon for the Red Sox, and there’s no telling how good he can become over the next couple of seasons.