Red Sox: What if Boston never signed Mitch Moreland?
Moreland joins Sox and gets nickname
Moreland wasn’t hitting home runs straight out of the gate which wasn’t a big issue because less than 10 games into the season, Mitch was recognized for something else, hitting doubles. Mitchy-Two-Bags was born. Moreland hit eight doubles in a seven-game span and finished up the month of April with 12 two-baggers. Two days after the streak ended, Moreland smacked his first bomb on the season.
May brought even more success for Moreland who saw his doubles number disappear slightly but saw his home run and RBI totals increase. After two months of baseball, Moreland had 16 doubles 6 homers, 28 RBI’s and 27 runs scored. Mitchy was getting it done on all levels. Consistency was key and it paid off as he managed 24 hits in each of his first two months.
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Moreland walked 26 times over his first two months, making up just under half of his 2017 total. Still, he was making sure that anyone thinking that slow starts automatically translated to bad seasons was wrong. Players get hot and cold and this was no different. June saw success get even better in the home run department before a complete vacation in July when all numbers plummeted.
The month of August was by far his best slashing .342/6/18 with 7 doubles and 15 runs scored. If the season ended today, his batting average of .246 would be his best since he hit .278 with the Rangers back in 2015. He would also match his 22 home runs from last season and his 79 RBI’s would also be his best mark since 2015. Moreland’s 57 walks and 73 runs scored would both be career bests for him.
Who could forget his second career pitching performance against the Orioles on August 25? It was the second best job done that night by a Red Sox pitcher striking out one and allowing two hits. Before turning pro, Moreland was a closer at Mississippi State. Who’d a thunk it?
Does Mitchy-Two-Bags make an encore appearance next season for Boston? Time will tell but with the postseason just a few days away, now would be a great time to show the current club that you want to stay in Boston.