Sometimes, the numbers don't tell the whole story.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora argues that's been the case with Mookie Betts, who has had a down year by his lofty standards. Betts has a slash line of .266/.386/.469 with 13 home runs and 36 RBI at the season's midpoint, and while those certainly aren't bad numbers by any means, the 2018 American League MVP expects more from himself.
During his appearance Tuesday on WEEI's Ordway, Merloni & Fauria, Cora explained why Betts has been more valuable this season than the numbers suggest. He cites the Red Sox outfielder's performance in Saturday's loss to the Blue Jays, when he was hitless but reached base three times and tallied a stolen base.
“I think with Mookie — and we talk about it all the time, we talked about it last year, a reminder [that] it really doesn’t matter how you’re doing numbers-wise, you’re still dominating the game,” Cora said. “The other day he was a little bit down on that game, he was 0-for-2, and he walked three times and we lost the game on Saturday and he feels like he wasn’t contributing, and the next day I said, ‘Dude, hold on, come here. You got on base three times, you scored from second, you can steal bases, there’s ways you can dominate the game.’
“And not everybody can do that,” Cora added. “If you don’t hit, you’re not contributing — with Mookie, he gets on, he can run, he can play defense, so I try to remind him, dude, it doesn’t matter, you show up, you’re impacting the game.”
Betts has 59 walks on the season, which is on pace to shatter his career high of 81 set last year. He also has nine stolen bases while playing Gold Glove defense. So technically, Cora is correct in stating Betts' presence is felt regardless of what the box score says.
Boston Red Sox
But the fact remains, the Red Sox need their MVP to start hitting like an MVP. As Boston currently sits in third place in the American League East, it could be the difference between a playoff berth and a trip to the golf course come October.
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