Red Sox: Mookie Betts was perfectly positioned thanks to analytics

The Red Sox were once at the forefront of the analytics movement, but lagged behind in recent years. Yesterday was an indication that they are catching up.

The Boston Red Sox got back on track on Thursday afternoon, beating the Minnesota Twins 9-2. Some great defense from Mookie Betts was one of the highlights, but not in the way we have grown accustomed to. Instead, the greatness was in the preparation, rather than the physical execution. While we all love the incredible reads and jumps, the elite closing speed and routes, and the occasional dive to complete a play, sometimes it’s the work we don’t get to see that is most impressive.

Such was the case yesterday when Mookie Betts did this:

His waving of that little index card was a hat tip to the analytical department for a change in positioning they’d suggested the night before. Apparently they had noticed something about Joe Mauer’s batted ball profile that led them to conclude Mookie should shade him toward center. They were so spot on in their assessment that he barely had to shuffle his feet to make the catch.

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And it wasn’t just his defense that benefited from analytics yesterday.

Mookie Betts had a great day at the plate, as well. It was a welcome change from the struggles he’s had since returning from the DL. Well, apparently he was doing something different from what was working for him before the injury.

While Betts wouldn’t get into specifics, he did have this to say:

"“We went and looked at some video and kind of compared it to what I was doing before my injury. It made a lot of sense when we sat down and talked for a couple minutes.”"

That led to his 19th home run of the season, an opposite field shot that went 381 feet:

It came off the bat at 100 MPH with a 32 degree launch angle and was just the fourth opposite field home run of his career. Two of them have come during the 2018 season, which is a nice sign. He’s still very much a pull hitter for power, and likely always will be. But being able to go the other way with authority on occasion is a great way to keep pitchers from avoiding your power zone by simply punishing one area of the zone all the time.

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Regardless, it’s nice to see analytics paying off on both sides of the ball for Mookie Betts. Have any thoughts on yesterday’s catch or Mookie’s big day at the plate? Let us know in the comments!