There's frequently a Boston Red Sox player near the top of the extra-base hits list each season. Fenway Park's funky dimensions and Monster wall in left field certainly help Boston rack up big hits, but even in away parks, when the Sox hit, they tend to hit big.
Despite their middle-of-the-road record and placement in the American League East, the Red Sox rank among the best of teams when it comes to slugging the ball. Unfortunately for Boston, two of its AL East rivals rank ahead of it in slugging percentage and they show no signs of slowing down.
The Red Sox have done a fine job setting themselves apart from the bottom two AL East teams in these rankings. The Rays and Blue Jays have not rivaled Boston, Baltimore and New York's production at the plate.
Certain Sox players have disproportionately contributed to their high slugging percentage, and here we'll give them a round of applause.
MLB Standings Ordered by Slugging Percentage: Don't sleep on the Red Sox
Team | Slugging percentage, as of June 7 |
|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles | .445 |
New York Yankees | .440 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | .435 |
Houston Astros | .416 |
Boston Red Sox | .415 |
Kansas City Royals | .412 |
Philadelphia Phillies | .408 |
Milwaukee Brewers | .408 |
Atlanta Braves | .405 |
Minnesota Twins | .396 |
Cleveland Guardians | .395 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | .391 |
New York Mets | .391 |
San Diego Padres | .390 |
Los Angeles Angels | .386 |
San Francisco Giants | .384 |
Texas Rangers | .384 |
Colorado Rockies | .379 |
Detroit Tigers | .379 |
Oakland Athletics | .377 |
Cincinnati Reds | .376 |
St. Louis Cardinals | .372 |
Chicago Cubs | .372 |
Toronto Blue Jays | .370 |
Seattle Mariners | .363 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | .358 |
Tampa Bay Rays | .358 |
Washington Nationals | .352 |
Miami Marlins | .351 |
Chicago White Sox | .336 |
Rafael Devers leads his squad in slugging percentage with a .569 metric. The third baseman has been on a tear at the plate — he's batting .308/.379/.769 with three homers in his last seven games. He has 13 long balls and 12 doubles so far.
Devers has even taken to triples in 2024. He's run out two triples in his 52 games on the season, which is as many as he's had in 2021, '22 and '23, combined. Maybe Jarren Duran's utter dominance in that category has rubbed off on him — Duran owns the major league lead in triples with nine to his name. He also leads the Sox in doubles (17), closely followed by Wilyer Abreu (14), Devers and Rob Refsnyder (11).
The AL East dominates the top of the list when it comes to slugging numbers. The Orioles have been mashing all season and their 95 homers help lift them to the top. The Yankees are encroaching on them, though, as they have 93 bombs already.
Baltimore ranks eighth in doubles, and New York doesn't compete in this category, likely because speed isn't in their heavy hitters' skillset. The Dodgers and Braves are tied for the league lead in two baggers with 121 each.
The top of the slugging percentage leaderboard is relatively far removed from the rest. The third-place Dodgers are slugging .435, and the fourth-place Astros are down at .416, just above the Sox. Homers are likely the determining factor here, as the top four slugging teams also have the most home runs, in the same order.
The Sox have 10 fewer bombs than the fourth-place Astros and 25 fewer than the O's. Hitting more homers is always beneficial, but if Boston hopes to compete for a playoff spot in the hot-slugging AL East, it needs to catch up with the Yankees and Orioles on the scoreboard.