Red Sox: Michael Chavis’s hot streak is finally back

Red Sox infielder Michael Chavis’ hot streak is back which couldn’t help Boston any more as they are on a four game win streak.

When Michael Chavis came up to play his first major league game with the Boston Red Sox in Tampa Bay, there was speculation as to what he would be able to do, especially considering what position he was going to be playing and what player he was going to be replacing.

Chavis’ first hit was a rocket double that he ripped into deep center. Lucky hit? Doubtful. The pitch he hit was 99 miles per hour. This was no fluke.

Just how good is Chavis? His first major league home run came on his 14th career plate appearance. How far did that pitch go? Over 440 feet. If this was a folktale, the legend would say that the ball never came back down to earth. As soon as it went into the lights, no one saw it come down. This guy has power, defensive prowess, and it doesn’t hurt that he has a likable nature to him.

Chavis had four multi-hit games in his first nine major league games not counting his pinch hit debut. Through 12 games, Chavis was slashing .354/6/13/2 including 12 runs and 9 walks. If opposing pitchers were thinking on what type of off speed pitch to throw, Chavis was thinking just how he wanted to trot around the bases. That’s just how it was. Fastballs though, were a different story.

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I admit that it was fun watching someone getting more acclaim and face time than stars with more illustrious careers. Who knows, maybe the youngster could top them as well.

Chavis has spent time at 1st base, 2nd base, and 3rd base but has predominately spent time at 1st and 2nd base. Playing 2nd base and dominating at that position spelled the end of Red Sox fan favorite Dustin Pedroia. Pedey also noted that he’s not sure when he’s coming back.

Awfully convenient, although most would agree that it was sad that he didn’t get to go out on his terms. When star players sail off into the sunset they want to go when they are ready, not when someone has overshadowed them and or jumped over them because of injuries. No one will forget Pedroia’s candor, his passion, his grit, and desire to succeed and will his teams in the playoffs. No, he’s not gone forever but the days of him manning 2nd base are just about done.

Return of Chavis?

Does Chavis have anything to be apologetic about? If anything, it would be an ugly span from May 29th through June 10th when he registered just two extra-base hits and managed a .146/0/3/0 line and went 6-for-41 with a double and triple as the lone extra base hits. Chavis also managed two walks and three runs. The scary stat? 21 strike outs. 21 times sat down out of 41 at bats, bad enough for a 51% line.

That’s not a pleasant line, it’s downright scary. But, I will admit, most have to forgive the stat as he had a torrid start and has very quickly heated right back up again. Since June 11th, over the last five games, Chavis is slashing .333/2/4/0 with two walks, five runs scored, and only four strike outs in that span. His strikeout percentage dropped to 19%. Much better. During the ugly spell, Chavis struck out twice or more in eight of those 11 games started. That’s not going to cut it.

Thankfully, Chavis looks to have tweaked the issues and it looks like he shaping up to be the rookie all of Boston was hoping for. During his cold streak, the Sox were not able to even play .500 baseball registering a 5 – 7 record. Since his hot streak has returned, the Sox have cruised to a 4 – 1 record. Combining both of those streaks, the Sox are 9 – 8 good enough for a .529 winning percentage.

What news could surpass that of Chavis starting to turn it around? Well the boys from Bean Town are just five games out of 1st place for the AL East and are on a four-game win streak. Meanwhile, the kids in New York have slid and lost major ground losing each of their last three contests. Yikes. At this rate, Boston will be back in 1st before the end of June. Could it happen? Sure. Will it? We’ll just have to pleasantly wait and find out!