Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts joined some elite company on Thursday night when he hit his 50th double of the season.
Though this season may be one the Red Sox would like to forget as soon as possible there have been moments of brilliance during the campaign. One of the few bright spots this year has been the emergence of Xander Bogaerts as a superstar in the MLB. Bogey has been a key player for Boston since his debut in 2013 and has grown exponentially each year since.
Xander was rewarded for his years of hard work and success with the Red Sox with a brand new 6-year/$120M contract extension that’s set to kick in this winter. The deal will make Boagerts the longest-tenured Boston shortstop since the legendary Nomar Garciaparra. During tonight’s game against the Blue Jays, he did something that not even Nomar could do, and Bogey became the second shortstop to ever do it.
Early in tonight’s clash with Toronto, Bogaerts would crack his 50th double of the season. He joins Rafael Devers as the only other member of the 2019 Red Sox with 50 or more doubles this year. Bogey and Raffy are also the only Red Sox teammates EVER to have 50 or more doubles each. More significantly, he becomes just the second shortstop in history to have a 30 HR/50 2B season, the other being Alex Rodriguez.
This is a massive mark for Bogaerts in his still very young career. Though he’s been with the big club since 2013, in which he won his first World Series, he’s still just 26-years-old. It’s ridiculous to think of how good Bogey already is and then you realize how much time he has to continue his evolution.
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Again, this has been an incredibly painful season to watch and yet we’ve had the left side of our infield blow this year up. As Bogaerts continues to get better with age he’s also growing into his role as the veteran infielder on the roster. No matter the situation, you will always see Devers and Bogaerts talking to one another as Bogey has become a mentor to Raffy in his young career.
Not only is Bogey a two-time World Series champion but he’s becoming a must-see player for the Red Sox. On a nightly basis, he tends to be a highlight reel at the plate and on the diamond. Boston made the right move by locking up Xander for the long-term as he’s now a major building block for their future success. Even if J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts head for greener pastures, the Sox will have a core player to grow the franchise around in Bogaerts.
We won’t be talking about many positives from 2019 but the evolution and growth of Xander Bogaerts into an absolute superstar will be one without a doubt. If he keeps up the pace within which his career has gone to this point he’ll go down as one of the best to ever wear a Red Sox uniform and his number will surely go up in the rafters.