Red Sox: What if Boston signed Max Scherzer instead of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval?
Pablo Sandoval in Boston
The nightmare has lasted 2+ seasons so far. The Panda hasn’t quite put up the numbers that Sox management expected. This was after all the guy who was a cornerstone, no pun there, in aiding the San Francisco Giants win three World Series Championships (2010, 2012, and 2014). How could a guy fall off this fast you ask? After reportedly taking less money to come play in Boston, he hasn’t seemed to respect the Red Sox faithful.
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Remember, the Sox will be paying him $95 million over the life of the contract. With 2017 not even halfway done, we still have two more seasons left before this mega contract is up. Panda put up above average numbers in 2011 and has not been able to replicate the numbers since. What’s the issue? Sandoval’s batting average and on base percentage had begun to decline starting in 2011.
His numbers have slowly suffered since that season. It certainly didn’t help admitting that he became complacent after signing a new deal with the Red Sox. It’s certainly an interesting situation feeling that way after being “offended” by your former club. The fans certainly felt offended when the Panda couldn’t do his job properly or at all in 2016.
Panda’s Stats
In 2015, Panda had a .245/10/47 slash. It’s a dip from the 2014 numbers where he had a .270/16/73 line. It looked like he just didn’t care. In 2016, everyone remembers what happened. After going 0-for-6 with 4 strike outs he was benched and then put on the season ending disabled list. Just not a pretty situation.
2017 offered a chance for him to earn his contract. After showing up to Spring Training early and in great shape, it’s possible, the Panda was headed in the right direction.
Sandoval didn’t deserve a 113% increase in his contract. Let’s not talk about 2016. That was a disaster. Spring training for 2017 looked like a completely different person with Panda putting up power house numbers. He led the team with 5 home runs and 20 RBI’s and found himself with a .338 batting average good for third best among players with 50+ at-bats. 2017 looked to be a good season.
The Panda so far has 3 homers, 10 RBI’s and a .213 batting average over 17 games in 2017. He has just one double on the year and has struck out in 13 of 61 appearances.