Red Sox: The Top-5 ‘Monster Mash’ homers of the regular season

Red Sox perform the ‘Monster Mash’ with homers

The Boston Red Sox are no strangers to sending baseballs out of the ballpark with relative ease. In fact, they finished in the Top-10 for homers in all of MLB in 2021. With an offense this potent it’s no surprise that they weren’t hitting dinky-do shots like some other clubs and were sending these baseballs to the moon.

If you know anything about this club you know that on any given night they could hand a handful of guys mash and put on a show. Unfortunately, there were times in 2021 where it felt like they were more about the homer than anything and if the balls weren’t flying then they weren’t going to have an easy night.

Now that the season is behind us and all of Red Sox Nation is gearing up for the offseason and free agency, let’s look back at some of the longest homers hit by Boston sluggers this season. With Halloween being tomorrow, I think it’s ideal that we call these the ‘Monster Mash’ homers as they were some of the farthest hit by the club.

All homer stats and videos are provided by Statcast and Baseball Savant.

#5: Red Sox D.H. J.D. Martinez

Julio Daniel Martinez has been a powerhouse for the Red Sox since joining the team ahead of the 2018 season. Hell, his bat was one of the biggest reasons why we were able to raise another banner that year. While his past few seasons have been up and down he still has plenty of pop left in that bat of his.

2021 saw the Boston D.H. put up a .286/.349/.518 slash with 28 homers, 99 RBI, and an MLB leading 42 doubles. Not a bad campaign if ya ask me. But remember, we’re here to talk about the longball and J.D. came in fifth in the distance content this season with a 444ft blast off of Zac Lowther in Baltimore back in September.

This blast came during the final stretch of the season where the Red Sox were fighting for their postseason lives. As we all know that Baltimore series didn’t quite go as we all would’ve hoped but thankfully the Washington Nationals were next and Boston would use that final series to launch one hell of an October run.

Martinez’s 28 homers this year landed him third overall for the Red Sox, sitting behind two other names you’ll be seeing on this list. He has the ability to opt out of his current deal one final time this winter to take a shot at free agency.

Considering his age and production the last few years, I’m not sure if it’d be wise for him to walk ahead of 2022, but as a Scott Boras client, I don’t put anything out of reach.

#4: Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts

“Oh Captain, My Captain!” I lost track of how many times I shouted and or tweeted that out during games this season but the sentiment never went away. He may not have that “C,” on his chest but Xander Bogaerts is absolutely the leader of this team. This Red Sox roster goes as he goes. And in 2021, Bogey made sure to go yard plenty of times.

He notched 23 dingers this season along with a pretty healthy .295/.370/.493 line with 79 RBI. Since getting called up in 2013, Xander has evolved into a mentor and star player for this team. Look no further than how he coaches Rafael Devers on a nightly basis, as well as, any other young infielder in the lineup. Alex Cora trusts X so much that when it’s needed, he’ll call the shortstop to help him put his young twins to bed.

Bogey finished with the fourth-longest Red Sox bomb of 2021 and it came at the greatest place on God’s green Earth, Fenway Park. It also came early in the season as he launched a Dylan Bundy middle-middle heater to Lansdowne Street to give Boston a 7-0 lead. He would become known for that this year as some of his biggest moonshots were missiles well over the Green Monster.

Much like J.D., Xander finds himself in a curious contract situation. He can opt-out after next season but has made it known to Chaim Bloom that he’s willing to change positions in order to stay in Boston and retire with the Red Sox. If that doesn’t scream team leader, I don’t know what does. Hopefully, the two sides can come to an agreement well before the sand falls through the hourglass.

#3: Red Sox LF Alex Verdugo

Alex Verdugo has become one of my absolute favorite players to watch on this Red Sox roster. Night in and night out he gives this team and the fans everything that he has in his gas tank without a second thought. Are there times where I want to ask him what in the world he was thinking with some of his decisions, of course, but he’s young and that will come with age.

There’s no question at all that Dugie has some serious power in his bat and he’s never one to shy away from showing it off. While he’s shown to have great instincts on when it’s time to play small ball and get the job done, I don’t think he’ll ever miss a chance to hit a ball to Maine. Similar to Bogey, Verdugo’s longest homer of the season was a 446ft blast, but this one came off of a much-disliked rival.

It was a beautiful June afternoon when Dugie decided it was time to launch a middle-high 91mph Domingo German fastball out of Yankee Stadium. Oh yeah, he did it in the first inning too, pretty cool if ya ask me. Alex would hit 13 homers this season in total which was a new career-high for the dynamic outfielder. He’d also become a focal part of the Red Sox offense thanks to his .289/.351/.426 slash and 63 RBI.

The Alex Verdugo Fan Club is alive and well in Boston and if he continues on the trajectory that he’s currently on, he’s going to be a star for this team and city. He embraced Red Sox Nation from day one and that love has been more than reciprocated.

#2: Red Sox RF Hunter Renfroe

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the six-year veteran is on this list. Hunter Renfroe is known for two things: his cannon of an arm and the dynamite he has in his bat. He can gun you down at home just as easily as he can hit a ball 400 feet. Though his decision-making with that arm of his is highly questionable at times, I’d still rather have him in our dugout than the one across the way.

In his first season with the Red Sox, Renfroe totaled 31 homers, the second-best of his career. He also put together his best full season at the dish with a .259/.315/.315 line, nearly all career highs.

The big man from Mississippi would also pair those 31 home runs with 33 doubles and 96 RBI. The reason he’s on this list is that in a different trip to Yankee Stadium he decided to take Aroldis Chapman DEEP.

At this point, the game was more than done. New York was up 5-1 in the ninth with one out when Renfroe went to the plate. Chapman would toss a 96mph fastball low and inside to the right-fielder and let’s just say Hunter doesn’t miss those very often. Though 5-2 is the closest the score would get on this night, the blast from Renfroe is one I’m sure Aroldis would love to forget.

Renfroe was a major steal for Chaim Bloom as he’s the definition of a low investment-high reward player. He didn’t cost Boston much in the way of salary but more than earned every penny heading his way. Now that he has a season at Fenway Park under his belt, I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.