Boston Red Sox: 3 bold predictions for the 2021 season

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BOSTON, MA – JULY 24: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox hits a double during the Opening Day game against the Baltimore Orioles on July 24, 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 DH J.D. Martinez finishes top-10 for AL MVP

While it’s no secret that the Red Sox offense took a step back in 2020, J.D. Martinez took a giant leap backwards. He flat out stunk. After earning himself not one, but two silver slugger awards in 2018 and finishing 4th in AL MVP voting, he had a similarly strong 2019 season.

2020, on the other hand, was a very different story for the 3-time All Star. Whether it was the new manager, the loss of the ability to use the video room during games to evaluate his swing, or just the shortened season not allowing him to find his groove, Martinez was not his usual self last year. After hitting over .300 in every season since 2016, his batting average fell to just .213 and his OPS fell 259 points from the prior season.

I believe Martinez will bounce back in a big way in 2021. One reason is that MLB is restoring the ability for players to use video to review their at-bats in game. Speaking to reporters last month about his use of video review Martinez remarked “Like I’ve said a million times, it’s part of my routine, and it’s something that kind of just got taken away from me. I’m excited that this year we’re going to have it back in a sense, some kind of video where we can look at our swings.”

It makes sense that taking away one of the key tools of the top swing scientist in the game would have a negative affect on his output. If you hired a carpenter to build you a house, but told him he couldn’t use a tape measure and would instead have to just operate on instinct, your odds of getting a livable house are pretty slim. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad carpenter, he just had his best tool to check himself and prevent mistakes taken away from him. Now that Martinez has his full tool belt again, he can get back to business as usual.

I expect Martinez to produce at the levels he did in his first two season with Boston that saw him finish 4th and 21st in AL MVP voting. If all goes well, another top-10 finish is in the cards.

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