Baseball is a humbling game. Steve Pearce has found that out the hard way throughout the first month of the new season.
The Red Sox first baseman was the unlikely hero in Boston's 2018 championship run, hitting .333 and blasting three home runs to earn World Series MVP honors. Six months later, he finds himself searching for answers as he begins the 2019 campaign 4-for-39 with 19 strikeouts.
“You go from the highest of the highs, to the lowest of the lows," Pearce said per MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
Pearce started the season on the injured list with a calf injury, but the 36-year-old isn't using that setback as an excuse. He's simply trying to do too much at the plate.
“Missing pitches, ball’s not going your way, you start to press a little bit, and trying to get four hits in one at-bat,” Pearce said. “I just need to dumb it down a little bit and see ball, hit ball, and hopefully it’ll start to work out.”
In a platoon with fellow first baseman Mitch Moreland, Pearce's primary role is to mash vs. left-handed pitching. That hasn't come to fruition this year as he's hitting just .125 with zero homers vs. southpaws.
Boston Red Sox
But with plenty of baseball left to be played, Pearce expects that to change as he continues to put in the work off the field.
"I’m grinding every day," Pearce said. "I’m working every day in the cage, so if baseball comes around like it’s supposed to, I’m going to come out with a vengeance."
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