Red Sox: Who will be the bat off the bench in 2017?
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox have a dynamic offense, but will they have a bat off the bench capable of getting that crucial late game hit? Will they find a Jonny Gomes for 2017?
The introduction of the designated hitter drastically alters one aspect of baseball – the pinch-hitter or cold bat off the bench. A special talent is needed to pinch-hit and some have made a career out of that one specific ability.
The National League certainly has a need since they had pitchers hit for a league average of just .135 in 2016. That appears to be the capabilities season after season. In comparison, American League pitchers managed to hit .100 in 2016.
In 2016, the American League hit .196 off the bench in 1428 plate appearances, according to Fangraphs, from which all the following data was extracted. The home run total was just 31 with 162 RBI.
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The National League, as one would expect, had significantly more plate appearances (3931) and collectively hit .218 with 102 home runs and 442 RBI. Tracing back through the years the National League generally has an edge in batting average over their league rivals.
In 2016, Red Sox pitchers occasionally had to bat and the results were embarrassing with just a lone hit in 33 plate appearances for a .033 average. The Yankees and Athletics were even more inept and managed no hits for the season. The entire American League pitchers came in with an anemic .098 average, but did manage a pair of home runs and six RBI in 373 plate appearances. The NL pitchers were a “Murder’s Row” compared to the AL.
One way to mitigate this is the use of a pinch-hitter. The Red Sox matched the league average of .196 that was ninth ranked in the league – somewhat surprising for a team that led the league in virtually every offensive category. Chris Young (.308) and Brock Holt (.300) were the most effective (minimum ten PA’s) with David Ortiz (.250) and Aaron Hill (.250) close behind. Forget Marco Hernandez (.000). The Red Sox bats did not exactly blow anyone away with run production – just three home runs and 10 RBI in 107 plate appearances.
Is this a problem?
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Going back through several seasons, it may just be consistent with their performance. The last time Boston led the league in average was 2010 when they hit .265. The previous season they had hit .203. One of the most successful players in recent years for Boston was Jonny Gomes with a .308 average and a very important six home runs and 12 RBI in his Boston PH career.
Ortiz never did well as a pinch hitter with a career slash of .186/.344/.392 and five home runs and 21 RBI. Ted Williams slashed .292/.442/.520 as a pinch hitter. Sometimes even the greatest bats have difficulty adjusting to being that bat off the bench, but Ortiz certainly surprises with his DH ability not converting to PH ability.
Baseball has had many noted pinch hitters and the records are listed here. Some great hitters made a latter career move to being a bat off the bench such as slugger Willie McCovey, who hit 16 home runs as a pinch-hitter on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Having a solid bat off the bench would be a plus for Boston in 2017. Young did the job last season and has a .263 career PH average, so he may be option number one. Someone else could step up such as Blake Swihart – a real plus being a switch hitter. Holt’s 2016 may be a statistical anomaly since his career average is just .208.
Next: Catching up with old friends: Brandon Moss
One thing is certain – a game will be won or lost with the bat off the bench – especially in inter-league play.
Source: Fangraphs