The MLB offseason comes soon & the Boston Red Sox need to discuss who to replace retiring DH David Ortiz. Yet, Hanley Ramirez needs to stay at first base.
Before every member of Red Sox Nation decides to lose their cool all at once, nobody is saying that Boston’s greatest and legendary designated hitter can be replaced entirely. However, an attempt to provide a bat that could fill some of that void could be to move Hanley Ramirez to the role, while finding another person to play first base.
Despite how that plan was once the original strategy for the Red Sox when they realized that Ramirez was tragically mistaken for a left fielder, the strategy should now be stricken from their minds. One truth in life is that an object in motion will stay in motion, and right now Hanley looks more like the Han-Ram of old by playing first base.
After an almost laughable season in 2015, hitting just .249 in his first year after signing a huge free agent contract, Ramirez hit .286 with 30 home runs and 111 RBIs in 2016. He played through some injuries, but he didn’t sustain ones that kept him out of the lineup like in recent seasons. There was more jump in his step, and his smile was one more out of confidence and accomplishment than arrogance or inappropriate swagger.
Much of that had to do with his fielding, this season.
As an outfielder, it’s pretty tough to make errors. One may not catch every ball hit his way, but one doesn’t expect to fumble with easy-hit balls or run into foul walls to cost the team time, money, patience, and wins. Hanley did all of that, making four errors and posting a .969 fielding percentage; the MLB average was .984 at that position.
As an infielder, Ramirez didn’t make Red Sox fans reflect back on Hanley being like another Ramirez in the outfield. Nobody was saying that it was Hanley being Manny, after the change to first base. Han-Ram was a four-time All-Star short stop and he still had the hands for it, which was noticeable this season. Hanley made another four errors, but this time it was more expected. Even though he had never played the position before, Ramirez posted a .996 fielding percentage; the MLB average for first basemen was only .994 this season.
Ramirez was seventh in the majors in batting average, only behind Miguel Cabrera (.316) and Jose Abreu (.293) in the American League. He was also the most productive, hitting the most RBIs of any first basemen in the majors.
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After all of that, do the Red Sox really want to take him out of that comforting routine of switching his bat for a glove between innings? Even when he’s rediscovered his bat through the turnaround in his defense? There’s a reason why sports superstitions exist: one doesn’t mess with a hot streak. Right now, Ramirez is coming off one of the hottest seasons that he’s had in years. Messing with it now looks like the wrong decision, putting him on the bench and letting him get cold until it’s time to hit.
Besides, unless the name is Edwin Encarnacion, can any free agent top what Hanley’s doing at first base?