Boston Red Sox set franchise records for home runs, strikeouts

The Boston Red Sox set a pair of single-season franchise records for home runs and strikeouts in their last game against the Texas Rangers.

The 2019 MLB season will be remembered for two things – home runs and strikeouts. The Boston Red Sox have set a single-season franchise record in both categories this year.

Christian Vazquez delivered a two-run blast to deep center field in the third inning of Wednesday’s win over the Texas Rangers. The 23rd homer of the season for the Red Sox catcher was the team’s 239th of the season, the most home runs collectively hit by the team in a single season in franchise history.

Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers would pile on with home runs of their own in the sixth and seventh innings respectively, bringing Boston’s total for the season to 241.

The Red Sox have three 30+ home run hitters in their lineup for the third time in franchise history. J.D. Martinez leads the pack with 35 while Devers and Xander Bogaerts both have 32. Mookie Betts is sitting on 29 but is currently sidelined by a sore foot. If he returns in time to add one more homer, it will be the first time in franchise history that four hitters have reached 30 in the same season.

While this is a historical achievement from a team perspective, we should note that home run totals have exploded across the majors this year. Boston ranks only 10th in the majors in home runs. The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins enter the day tied with an MLB record 299.

Home runs have been on the rise for the last several years. Aside from perhaps the peak of the PED-era, there’s never been a better time for the long ball. Of the top-10 seasons for home run totals in Red Sox history, seven of them have come since the turn of the century and three of them were in the last four years.

Strikeouts have also been rapidly rising in recent years. That’s the toll hitters take for swinging for the fences. Increased reliance on bullpens stacked with hard-throwing relievers has been another factor.

Red Sox hitters struck out 10 times against the Rangers last night. Chris Owings struck out looking in the fourth inning to set a new team record which rose to 1346 strikeouts by the end of the night.

Again, this is a product of these modern times. Boston is striking out more than ever but so is everyone else. The Red Sox have only the 20th-most strikeouts in the majors this season. The major league-leading Detroit Tigers have whiffed over 200 more times this season.

Six teams have already topped 1500 strikeouts this season and several more are in danger of joining them. We’re only a few years removed from that staggering total being a rare occurrence. Soon it may become the new normal.

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The top of the Red Sox lineup is loaded with hitters who tend to avoid strikeouts. Betts has always been one of the league’s least strikeout-prone hitters and currently ranks 23rd in the majors with a 14.3 K%. Devers (17.0 K%) and Bogaerts (17.8 K%) are also among the 50 lowest strikeout rates.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jackie Bradley Jr. (27.2 K%) and Andrew Benintendi (22.7 K%) find themselves among the 50 worst strikeout rates in the majors. Rookie Michael Chavis (33.2 K%) would have the highest strikeout rate in baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. The same goes for the seldom-used Owings (39.5 K%).

This lineup may be hitting more home runs and striking out more than any Red Sox team we’ve ever seen but we need to put this in perspective. The game has changed and these lofty totals must be analyzed through the lens of the modern landscape. This is why it can be dangerous to compare players and teams from different generations. Baseball isn’t played in a vacuum, there are variables to consider.

The Red Sox lineup ranks in the top third of the majors in mashing home runs and limiting strikeouts. They aren’t the most prolific collection of power bats the Red Sox have ever assembled but they aren’t a bunch of hapless strikeout machines either, despite what these two franchise records suggest.