Boston Red Sox: Mitch Moreland and the Belleville Basher
By Rick McNair
Boston Red Sox fans will not see a replacement for David Ortiz with the signing of Mitch Moreland. What they will see is a solid professional and a solid team player.
The acquisition of Mitch Moreland certainly lacked the emotional upheaval of the trade for Chris Sale. Moreland was somewhat under the radar as the more familiar names were mentioned for Boston’s potential replacement of David Ortiz as designated hitter. Moreland will never be confused with Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista or even Mike Napoli. Moreland does, however, remind me of a player in the Red Sox past – Brian Daubach or the “Belleville Basher.”
The original “Belleville Basher” was not Daubach, but tennis great Jimmy Connors, who acquired the nickname from the Boston Globe’s Bud Collins. Is there something about Belleville, Illinois that turns out personalities like Connors and Daubach?
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Daubach hit and threw left-handed and played first base, the outfield and would DH – similar to Moreland. Both Moreland and Daubach signed as free agents, although Daubach’s was considerably less since he had been released by the Marlins after only a few games.
Daubach had “The Look” and by that I mean he looked like an old school baseball player right out of a casting call for “Field of Dreams.” A perpetual five o’clock shadow and a uniform that would be a wreck before the game even started – mention “Dirt Dog” and I think The Basher and bash he did for four seasons.
From 1999 to 2002 Daubach hit 20+ home runs before becoming a free agent and moving to the other Sox for the 2003 season. That marked a quick slide and in a few years Daubach was baseball history with a career slash of .259/.341/.476 in 2303 plate appearances. Toss in 93 home runs and 333 RBI and that was it. But Daubach was a true fan favorite for his intensity, wit, and a style that just brought other teams to the brink. Ask the Tampa Bay Rays.
In 2000 one of the great baseball brawls I have witnessed spun out of control in Tampa with Daubach a key instigator, or victim, depending on who was detailing the issue. The Rays attempted to pluck the gritty Daubach a half-dozen times and succeeded twice. The final tally was eight Rays players tossed and the Red Sox Lou Merloni hurt by none other than Daubach in a scrum. Daubach also suffered a minor injury that required a return to Boston after a few games.
The performance highlight of the game was Pedro Martinez, who pitched a one hit shutout. Pedro also had plunked Rays Gerald Williams to leadoff the game and that certainly started the wheels of revenge to quicken. This also represented the beginnings of a Rays – Red Sox feud and one that certainly set a standard hard to match despite repeated attempts by both teams.
Moreland may or may not be a dirt dog. I have seen Moreland as most Red Sox fans have and realize he has a decent bat and an exceptional glove – Daubach was competent at first and incompetent in the outfield. You examine Moreland’s career statistics and the numbers are respectably close to Daubach – almost a mirror image.
Moreland in seven seasons has slashed .254/.315/.438 with 110 home runs and 354 RBI in 2762 plate appearances. Moreland (.240) certainly has an advantage against Daubach (.216) in hitting lefties, but the expectations are Moreland will be utilized far more often against right-handers to let Hanley Ramirez feast on the southpaws.
The expectations are certainly greater for Moreland since despite a .233 season in 2016 the home runs (22) and RBI (60) were still present. Add to that a career .341 average at Fenway Park and the Red Sox may have just acquired a DH/first baseman that may actually make DH by committee presentable.
The glove work can never be minimized and Moreland is quite adroit around first at least according to the eye witness accounts of Rangers fans I know. That is a key ingredient in this signing and certainly raises the important defensive addition of Doug Mientkiewicz in 2004 for comparison.
Moreland recently spoke about Boston and said all the right things and knows production of quality presents the potential for a significant payday after 2017. He’s hoping a return to 2015 numbers.
Sources: Baseball-Reference