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Red Sox: Three New Year’s Resolutions for Boston in 2021

By Brendan Mizgala

BOSTON, MA - JULY 13: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Boston Red Sox grips his helmet during an intrasquad game during a summer camp workout before the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball season on July 13, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JULY 13: Mitch Moreland #18 of the Boston Red Sox grips his helmet during an intrasquad game during a summer camp workout before the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball season on July 13, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 20: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox warms up on deck during the first inning against the New York Yankees on September 20, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Red Sox Resolution #2: Hit Better

You’re probably picking up on a familiar theme as we venture down this rabbit hole but stay with me, we’re going places. Much like in the previous slide this one sounds like a no-brainer but when you look at the numbers it gets pretty depressing. Like, staring out the window at a grey sky as rain falls down the glass and the saddest country song is on the radio levels of sad.

For 2020, the Red Sox finished 14th overall for their offensive efforts, which may not sound awful, but it is. Let’s just flip the calendar back, in 2019 they were seventh, and in 2018 fifth. That’s a massive decline, and I’m sorry, that freefall isn’t all because Mookie Betts wasn’t in the lineup. This is for the most part the exact same team from the last two years with a few pieces moved, so why the crash?

I’ll look at the same two categories that I did for the pitching, walks, and strikeouts. Boston ended the year with an 8.1 BB%, bad enough for 22nd in the league. The worst was a tie between the Tigers and Rockies at 7.1.

The best in the league you may ask, well, it was the Yankees at a solid 11.4. This tells us that the Red Sox batters simply had no plate discipline and were swinging away at every damn pitch. Which if you watched J.D. Martinez in 2020, you could attest to that.

As for striking out at the dish, the team finished 17th with an insane 23.7 K%. These dudes were literally striking out in just under 1/4th of their at-bats. Again, see Martinez, J.D. I think that was one of the most frustrating things for me as a fan this past season.

Watching guys who would never swing at some of these junk pitches just half-heartedly whiffing with baffled looks on their faces. Being more selective at the plate will be one of the biggest things that this team needs to accomplish in 2021.

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