Red Sox player profile: Mookie Betts is heating up at the right time
By Adam Buskey
With the regular season winding down, Red Sox All-Star Mookie Betts has been red hot just in time to lead Boston into the postseason.
As the 2017 postseason is upon us, the Boston Red Sox still stand on top of the American League East with three weeks left to go in the regular season. Right fielder Mookie Betts looks to keep it that way.
In an 11 to 1 victory over the Oakland Athletics, the Red Sox offense was working on all cylinders backed by Betts’ red hot bat. He contributed three hits in five at-bats, with six RBI, followed by not one, but two big flies over the Green Monster.
Let’s face it, this is not the same Mookie Betts we saw last year, driving in over 100 RBI’s with 30 plus home runs. However, he is for sure a super star and a promising athlete who we have seen mature over the last few years here in Boston. After his stellar performance last night, Betts even made some history.
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Betts became the first player in Red Sox history to post back-to-back 20-homer/20-steal seasons. It awes me to hear people say that Betts is having an off year at the plate. As of last night, Betts posts a .261 batting average with 19 home runs, 81 RBI’s, and 24 stolen bases. How does this seem like a bad year?
It’s no question when it comes to concerning the Red Sox lack of offense this year. According to Baseball Reference, as a team, the Red Sox post a .259 batting average over 4,988 at bats, only 16 triples as a whole, and 148 home runs while driving in 637 RBI’s. Certainly, a fall from last years team as they posted a .282 batting average with 208 total home runs. Let’s not hit the panic button, Red Sox nation. This team is still a threat and will make some noise entering the postseason with this man heating up at the perfect time.
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The motto for sure is YA BETTS BELIEVE, as this could be a crucial turn around towards the end of the season that would help generate momentum for his ball club. Remember the big walk-off hit he had back in August against the Cardinals? I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Betts come through in the clutch over the next few weeks to potentially lead this team past some of the toughest competition in the AL come playoff time.