ican League with 168 home runs, 43 fewer
than the league average, a drop due in considerable
part to the retirement of David
Ortiz. “Losing David was like losing a member
of the family,’’ new pitching coach Dana
LeVangie said. “We all had to learn how to
live without David.’’
Dombrowski made an offseason
priority the acquisition of a middle-of-theorder
bat, a quest that proved challenging
in a slowly unfolding free agent market. But
Dombrowski made it clear that he expected
increased production from players already
on the roster.
“I look for some of our people to do
better this year from an offensive perspective,’’
Dombrowski told ESPNBoston. “I
think it’s important, no matter who we add,
that some of the people internally have to
bounce back and have the years we think
they can have. And I think they will.’’
Dombrowski’s confidence is not misplaced.
Xander Bogaerts, for example, fell
off drastically at the plate after being struck
in the right hand by a fastball thrown by
Tampa Bay’s Jake Faria last July 6. Cortisone
shots did not have the desired effect,
and for two months, Bogaerts’ hand hurt
every time he swung a bat. He finished the
season with 10 home runs after hitting 21
in 2016, and his OPS declined to .746 from
.802. Bogaerts is healthy again, and expects
to return to the form that enabled him to
win two Silver Sluggers at his position.
“I know the best is yet to come,” he said
2018 SPRING TRAINING EDITION
this winter. “I don’t think — I know.”
Similar confidence was expressed by
Hanley Ramirez, who also expects an uptick
in performance after undergoing surgery on
his left shoulder and maintenance work on
his right. Ramirez did not come close last
season to duplicating the 30 home runs and
111 RBI he put up in 2016, numbers he believes
will be within reach again now that
he is healthy.
Go down the roster, and similar
projections abound. Benintendi produced
20 home runs, 26 doubles and a .776 OPS
as a rookie last season. Devers, a late-
season callup, became the first player ever
to hit 8 home runs in his first 20 games before
reaching the age of 21. He’ll be starting
his first full season in the big leagues. And
Jackie Bradley, Jr., whose OPS dropped over
100 percentage points while his home runs
dropped from 26 to 17, was dealing with
thumb and knee injuries last season.
“I think it's really simple: it all boils
down to consistency,’’ Bradley said in an
interview this winter. “Consistency and
forming, creating and keeping good habits,
throughout the season. Those keys right
there are what's going to make you a successful
player.’’
Mitch Moreland, who hit 22 home runs
________________________________________________
inning, 3-run home run in Game 3 of the 2017 ALDS
Photo by Billie Weiss.
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