Red Sox 2017 Review: Top 10 moments of the year

Before the ball drops at midnight on New Years Eve we count down the top 10 moments for the Boston Red Sox franchise in 2017.

With the end of the year almost upon us, now is a great time to reflect on what happened in 2017. While the season didn’t pan out as we hoped, there were plenty of highlights for the Boston Red Sox this year.

Not every season can end in a parade. What fun would sports be if they were really that predictable anyway? The Red Sox fell short of their ultimate goal but along their path to the postseason they still managed to accomplish a great deal.

There is no World Series trophy to celebrate this year but some members of the Red Sox roster still brought home some hardware. Some new faces were added to inch the team closer to the championship they seek and others who will push them even closer in 2018.

Despite a disappointing ending, Boston remained in the mix of contenders throughout the season. A tight division race kept the games exciting down the stretch to keep fans engaged until the end. We may not be satisfied with the end result yet this is a far better outcome than most franchises can offer their fans.

A lot happened to this team in 2017, for better or worse. For now, let’s focus on the positive by reviewing the best moments from this year.

Re-sign Moreland

It’s not the flashy free agent move that Red Sox fans have been pining for but re-signing Mitch Moreland to a team-friendly 2-year, $13 million deal was a wise decision.

Moreland hit .246 with a .769 OPS and 22 home runs in his first season with the Red Sox. While those numbers may seem underwhelming for a first baseman, we should note that they would have looked far more appealing had he stayed healthy.

The veteran first baseman got off to a fast start, hitting .285/.382/.495 while ranking among the league-leaders in double. Then he fractured a toe after being hit by a pitch in the left foot in early June. Moreland attempted to play through the injury, resulting in a drastic dip in production.

While Moreland downplayed the severity of the injury, it clearly was affecting him at the plate. His batting average fell 20 points from when the injury occurred through the end of the month and he followed that up with a pathetic .145 average and .435 OPS in July.

His bat began to heat up again once the toe sufficiently healed, lending optimism that he can regain that early season form. If Moreland gets back to hitting the way he did prior to the injury while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base then he’ll prove to be a tremendous bargain.

Dumping Sandoval

After two and a half brutal season in Boston, the Red Sox mercifully released Pablo Sandoval in July.

One of the last mistakes of the previous front office regime was handing Sandoval a 5-year, $95 million deal. He rewarded their generosity by showing up to camp in 2015 out of shape and unprepared. He hit .245 with a .658 OPS and 10 home while rating was one of the least valuable players in baseball with a -0.9 WAR. It was the worst season of his career to that point, yet unfortunately, the decline was only beginning.

Sandoval missed almost the entire 2016 season due to injury, appearing in a mere three games where he tallied six plate appearances without a hit. The only memorable moment from any of those trips to the plate was when he busted his belt on a swing-and-miss, producing a viral video that would prove to be among the most embarrassing moments from his tenure with the Red Sox that was littered with low points.

While he returned to start the 2017 season, Sandoval was somehow even worse than he was in his first year in Boston. He spent a lengthy stint on the disabled list that seemed more about getting him out of the way. When faced with the scenario of being forced to active him when his rehab clock ran out, Boston instead released Sandoval.

Boston remains on the hook for the $49.8 million left on his contract at the time of his release. He’s still clogging up their payroll but at least he no longer takes up a spot on the 25-man roster. A replacement-level player would be an upgrade over Sandoval, therefore releasing him was addition by subtraction. Red Sox fans were thankful to finally be able to wash their hands of this massive failure.

Call up Devers

The trade for Nunez was paired with the major league debut of top prospect Rafael Devers to give the Red Sox lineup a second-half boost. While Nunez was initially acquired to fill the void at third base it was the rookie who would end up seeing the vast majority of playing time at the hot corner following his arrival. This allowed Nunez to use his versatility to fill in at any infield position, primarily seeing time at second base while Pedroia was sidelined.

Devers took the league by storm, blasting eight home runs in his first 20 games in the big leagues. He fell into a bit of a power drought after that as pitchers caught up to him, although that’s to be expected from a 20-year old with limited professional experience. It’s now up to Devers to make adjustments heading into his first full season but he’s flashed the potential to be a 30+ home run hitter later in his career.

His batting average stayed above the .300 mark until he was over one month into his career and finished at a respectable .284 for the season. With his power potential and the ability to hit for a solid average, Devers has a ceiling that can match any hitter on this Red Sox roster.

Among the highlights of his rookie campaign was a 4-for-4 performance against the Cleveland Indians that put him in elite company as one of only four players in franchise history to collect four hits in a game at age 20 or younger. He also hit a game-tying home run off New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman on a 102.8 mph pitch, setting an MLB record for the fastest pitch to be hit for a home run since Statcast began tracking this data in 2008. The next day be became the third player in franchise history to homer in consecutive games before the age of 21 and the third youngest to record a multi-homer game.

The future is bright for this blossoming young star and the first opportunity for fans to see him face major league pitching generated a tremendous amount of excitement.

Trio of All-Stars

The Red Sox sent three representatives to the 2017 MLB All-Star Game: Outfielder Mookie Betts, starting pitcher Chris Sale and closer Craig Kimbrel.

Betts made his second career appearance. While his overall numbers at the plate were a disappointment compared to his career-year in 2016, any signs of regression had yet to become much of a concern at the time the voting was done. Betts hit .272/.351/.490 with 16 home runs before the break while providing his usual stellar defensive play and base running.

With Aaron Judge taking the right field spot in the All-Star Game, Betts shifted over to center field where his defensive skills made him the most suitable of the AL’s starting outfielders to cover. He went 0-for-2 at the plate batting from the No. 9 spot in the lineup but still managed to make an impact with his defense.

Sale made his sixth consecutive All-Star selection. He earned the nod to start the Midsummer Classic, making him the first AL pitcher to do so since 1984. Sale’s dominant first half put him in the MVP conversation. He was 11-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 178 strikeouts at the break.

The lefty tossed two scoreless innings to begin the game, allowing three hits without a walk and striking out two.

This was the sixth All-Star appearance for Kimbrel and second in as many seasons with the Red Sox. He posted a 1.19 ERA and struck out 68 batters in the first half to re-establish himself as the top closer in the league.

Kimbrel walked two batters in the ninth inning of a tie game but escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts to send the All-Star Game to extra frames. Kimbrel earned the win when the AL squad scored a run in the top of the 10th inning.

A starting outfielder, the starting pitcher and a reliever who earned the win. Not a bad showing from the Red Sox at this year’s All-Star Game.

Gold Glove for Mookie

Mookie Betts took a step back at the plate this year but his defense did not disappoint. The star right fielder captured his second consecutive Gold Glove while continuing to build a case for being the top defensive player at any position.

Betts led all major league outfielders with 31 defensive runs saved, putting him seven ahead of the next best outfielder. No other American League right fielder cracked double-digits. His off-the-charts 20.5 UZR was the best by a player at any position.

The eight outfield assists that Betts recorded were only sixth in the majors at his position, although that is mostly due to opposing baserunners knowing better than to run on him. In case they needed a reminder, Betts put on a display at this year’s All-Star Game to nail Nolan Arenado on his way to second base.

Betts winning a Gold Glove was about as sure a bet as you would find this year. Even in a year where his offensive production dipped, the value Betts provides with his defense is one reason why he still boasted a 6.4 WAR that ranked 6th in the AL this year.

Reliever of the Year

Kimbrel earned the 2017 Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year award for his dominance as the league’s best closer.

The fire-breathing closer delivered one of the best seasons of his career, which is saying something for one of the rare relievers to be on a Hall of Fame path. Kimbrel converted 35 of 39 save opportunities while posting a 1.43 ERA. The minuscule ERA was no fluke as it nearly matched his 1.42 FIP, his best since his peak in 2012.

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Kimbrel struck out nearly half the batters he faced, posting a major league-leading 49.6 K%. That strikeout percentage trails only the MLB record 50.2 K% that Kimbrel posted in 2012.

His 0.96 WHIP was also best in the majors among pitchers with a minimum of 60 innings this season. His 16.43 K/9 led all major league pitchers and he was fourth with a 9.0 K/BB ratio.

Boston’s bullpen ranked second in the AL in ERA and third in batting average against. While there are a number of quality arms in the Red Sox stable of relievers, those rankings are heavily influenced by Kimbrel’s brilliance.

A number of players have the ability to generate a buzz at Fenway Park but few give the crowd an adrenaline rush like the one that comes with the signal that it’s Kimbrel time.

Sale K’s 300

One of the most exciting aspects of the 2017 season was watching Chris Sale’s pursuit of the single-season franchise record of 313 strikeouts set by Pedro Martinez in 1999.

Sale ultimately fell short of the record but he did manage to join Pedro as the only Red Sox pitcher to strikeout 300+ batters in a season. No other AL pitcher had reached that threshold since Martinez did it in ’99.

Strikeout No. 300 came on the final pitch Sale threw in his September 20 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Boston held a comfortable lead, so with Sale’s pitch count climbing, it was quite the controversial decision to send the team’s ace back out to the mound for the eighth inning. Knowing full well that the milestone was within reach, manager John Farrell handed Sale the ball for one more inning.

After inducing a pair of groundouts to begin the inning, Sale caught Ryan Flaherty looking with a slider for strike three. The punch out gave Sale 13 for the game and assured him of the rare achievement.

Sale would make only one more start in the regular season, ending up with 308 strikeouts. It’s not a record-breaking achievement but Sale’s quest to top Pedro turned every one of his trips to the mound into must-see TV.

Division Title

There seems to be a perception that the Red Sox declined this year with the absence of retired icon David Ortiz. While the offense generated fewer runs and there was a clear lack of pop in the lineup, these setbacks did little to change the outcome. Boston still matched their 2016 win total with 93 to secure their second consecutive AL East division title.

It came down to the final day of September against a Houston Astros team they were destined to meet in the postseason days later. Drew Pomeranz spun six innings of one-run ball while his offense piled up six runs of support. When the Astros mounted a seventh-inning rally, David Price entered from the bullpen to shut down their hopes by retiring all three batters he faced.

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Mookie Betts tacked on another run with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to keep the lead out of reach. That home run would be his team-leading 24th of the season.

With the division and their playoff seeding locked up, Boston was able to rest Chris Sale for the final game of the regular season. The Red Sox rolled out a B Squad lineup for the season finale, favoring rest over momentum.

Was that the reason why the Red Sox lost in the ALDS to this same Astros team? Of course not. It turns out this Houston team is really good! Yet dropping three out of four at Fenway to the team they would face in the playoffs couldn’t have been a confidence booster.

New manager

Consecutive division titles and a World Series ring four short years ago wasn’t enough to save the job of manager John Farrell.

Fans had been calling for the dismissal of Farrell for a few years now. That’s no surprise given that any season that doesn’t end with a parade sparks a torch-carrying mob of angry fans who want everyone associated with the team to be fired. They finally got their wish when Farrell was let go shortly after the Red Sox were eliminated in the postseason.

It didn’t take long after that for the Red Sox to target his replacement, naming Alex Cora as his successor. The former bench coach of the World Champion Houston Astros is a great choice to take over this team. He’s known for his ability to communicate with players and build a rapport, which is something Farrell failed to do with the young core of this team.

Cora is familiar with the pressures of the Boston market, having played for the Red Sox from 2005-2008.

While he has no Major League experience as a manager, Cora has managed in Puerto Rico during Winter League. 2017 was his first season on a Major League coaching staff. He lacks experience but is highly respected around baseball and was widely considered to be one of the next top managerial prospects long before Boston’s brass interviewed him for the position.

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The Red Sox have a talented roster that stagnated under the leadership of Farrell. Several veterans had down seasons and the emerging young stars struggled to take a leap forward. It was time for a change. While there is some uncertainty in how they will perform under the unproven Cora, the arrival of a new manager offers hope for a better season in 2018.