We're not there yet, because he has done this before. But Alex Verdugo is showing signs that he's finally ready to make, if not "The Leap," then at least "A Leap."
Annually one of the most perplexing players on the Red Sox since arriving for Mookie Betts in 2020, Verdugo is off to the kind of start that makes it possible to envision him spearheading an offense out of the leadoff spot.
Three games into the season, it's not just that Verdugo is hitting .357, but how he's doing it. He led off the 2023 campaign with a triple to left-center against the Orioles, he homered to deep right as part of Saturday's comeback, and he added two more hits and a walk in Sunday's finale.
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SIGN UP HERE At his best, he sprays the ball all over the field, and his five hits reflect this early approach: two to left, two to right, one to center.
Could Verdugo, at age 26, finally be getting it?
"Alex, he stays inside the ball, and when he stays inside the ball, he can do what he did today," manager Alex Cora told reporters after Sunday's 9-5 victory. "He knows his swing. I do believe that it's a different mindset as far as the approach. The way he started the season, driving that ball to left-center, it's always a good sign."
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Verdugo's talent has never been in question. His best-case scenario has frequently been described as the player the Red Sox thought Andrew Benintendi was going to be -- a left-handed-hitting outfielder with 20-homer power who could utilize the field from foul pole to foul pole while hitting for a high average.
The reality has proven closer to what Benintendi turned into -- an average outfielder in virtually every way, and without the game-changing athleticism to compensate.
But maybe Verdugo is figuring it out. He's certainly playing with a chip on his shoulder on behalf of the entire team.
Tomase: Miracle win proves there's no quit in these Red Sox
"Everybody wanted to count us out, say we're going to be last in our division," Verdugo told reporters. "But we don't feel that way. We like our team. We feel like the more we play, the more we start having wins like yesterday, the walk-off with (Adam) Duvall, these are things that fire up the clubhouse, that get the boys going, get them together, get the chemistry going right. Take off a little bit of pressure, if you will.
"For us, there's not going to be one set guy that's going to hold this whole team up and keep going. It's going to be every single one of us."
And that certainly includes Verdugo. Over the first weekend, the Red Sox showed an ability to be a punishing offense, led by a monster start from Duvall (2 HRs, 8 RBIs), but also contributions from Kiké Hernández (2 HRs), Rafael Devers (.467 average), Justin Turner (.417), and Masataka Yoshida (.400 on base percentage).
They'll obviously need to sort out their pitching, but help is on the way in the form of young right-handers Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello. In the meantime, their early schedule (Orioles, Pirates, Tigers) is tailor-made for an offense to declare that it's clobbering time.
They're doing it with Verdugo batting leadoff against righties and lower in the order against lefties, all with considerable style and swagger. He accessorized Saturday's two-run homer with some dance steps out of the box that might've rubbed fans the wrong way -- the Red Sox trailed 7-1 when he hit it -- but he has never made any apologies for playing with enthusiasm.
"It feels really good," Verdugo said of the 2-1 start. "I feel like we knew who we were as a team, we know who we are hitting-wise. A lot of people wanted to count us out, but we've got guys that fight every pitch and have at-bats, see pitches, work counts. Just keeping the line moving. I think that's the biggest thing we're kind of seeing."
