Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts celebrates 1,000th game with big win
Xander Bogaerts celebrates 1,000th game with Red Sox win
Today was a game. That’s about as in-depth as my analysis can really get as it was an absolute dumpster fire. But at the end of the day, the Red Sox walked away with another win, though one that should’ve been far easier to attain. While many will focus on the win, the late-inning offensive surge, and the questionable pitching, one man needs some love. Today was Xander Bogaerts’ 1,000th career game with Boston and he gets to celebrate with another tally in the win column.
Today was a major milestone for Bogey as he’s not only Boston’s longest-tenured player on the roster, but he’s climbing up the historical ranks. He becomes the 30th player in Red Sox history to reach 1,000 games, but there’s a stat that’s even wilder. Xander is just the 10th player in franchise history to hit the 1K mark before turning 29 years old.
Just think about that for a minute. This is a franchise that has existed for 121 seasons and he’s just the 10th person to do it by this age. He now joins Bobby Doerr, Dwight Evans, Rico Petrocelli, Jim Rice, Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper, Everett Scott, Reggie Smith, and Carl Yastrzemski in that elite company. Wow, just wow.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise to those that follow the team as Bogey has been a mainstay and a foundational piece of this team since his promotion in 2013. It doesn’t feel like he’s been on the roster for that long but eight years flies by when you’re pretty damn good at your job. With all the success and failure, the faces that have come and gone, Xander has been the constant. And with at least four more years remaining on his current deal (pending an opt-out after 2022), he’ll be the constant for a long time coming.
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Bogey went 2-3 on the day and opened up his afternoon with a base hit. He also drew a walk and knocked in an RBI while adding a run of his own. All in all a pretty damn good day for a guy with 1,000 games under his belt. It was just another solid game in a season that’s been filled with them for the longstanding shortstop. After this afternoon’s win over the Tigers, he now leads the Majors in Hits (42) and is third in MLB in Doubles (10). His overall line is pretty stellar at .356/.402/.593/.995 with 6 homers and 18 RBI.
The biggest reason why Xander was able to hit this mark all comes down to one thing, consistency. He comes to work every day knowing what he needs to do and how he needs to go about it and he just gets it done. Is every game pretty? No. Does he but his ass every single time he has that Red Sox uniform on? Absolutely. There’s a reason why he’s considered the uncrowned Captain of this team and it’s more than deserved. Whether he’s speaking to the media, doing a photoshoot, or mentoring the younger guys on the roster, Bogey is your guy.
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Today was a massive day in the career of Xander Bogaerts as he reaches a milestone that not many do. For a franchise that’s had hundreds if not thousands come through the ranks over its 121 years, he’s the absolute cream of the crop. Boston is in the midst of a major bounce back after two down years and one of the biggest reasons they’re finding success is thanks to Bogey. With 1,000 games in the books let’s look towards the next 1,000.