It’s happening again. Brock Holt is becoming one of the key components to the Red Sox lineup for the second straight season. It seems that whenever John Farrell calls his number, Holt finds a way to do something – get a big hit, make a play in the field at whatever position he finds himself at on any given night, whatever it takes.
Sometimes athletes just have a knack for being consistent and clutch and don’t let certain situations bother them. Holt seems to be one of those guys. He’s played in 10 of the 17 possible games so far, and has done so at second base, third base, shortstop, center field and after last night, even left field. While he’s never missed more than two games in a row, he’s hasn’t played more than three games at any given position on the field. You can’t argue with results though.
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In 33 at-bats, Brock is hitting a whopping .424. While he doesn’t qualify for league leaders list due to the amount of at-bats, that is still an impressive number in the AL. He already has 8 RBI, more than a third of his total of 29 last season. He also has an OBP of .441, he’s slugging .576 and has an OPS of 1.017. While he’s played in stretches of games where he hasn’t contributed, like the four prior to last night, he’s also been crucial to at least 2 victories so far – a four-hit/three RBI performance versus the Yankees on April 11 and of course last night’s huge game-winning homerun.
John Farrell praised Holt after the Sox beat Baltimore Friday night according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. “He’s a damned good baseball player.” It doesn’t get much more fundamental than that. The guy can play the game of baseball. He’s confident, calm and ready and willing to help out the team in any way he can. That wins you favor all around – from your manager, from fans and media and, of course, from teammates. Silverman quotes David Ortiz: “He’s unbelievable, isn’t he? Pretty damn good player, man. So happy for him, man.”
Farrell has been forced to pick his spots with the ultimate utility player in Holt, but because of his versatility, there have been numerous opportunities to utilize “Mr. Consistent”. Hopefully that continues. Some fans are already clamoring for Holt to be in the lineup every day, but his true value is that he can move around the field in a fill-in role any time John Farrell needs him. There isn’t a manager in the league that wouldn’t want that kind of player at their disposal. While he may not play tonight with Wei-Yin Chen on the mound, you can count on Brock Holt not missing a step the next time he gets a chance to be on the field.
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