As the Red Sox' season comes to a close, the club is getting an extended look at some of its young talent. One player they must be thrilled with what they're getting is outfielder Ryan Kalish.
If the club is excited about Kalish's play as of late, they aren't the only ones. Red Sox color commentator Jerry Remy has dubbed Kalish the "Top Dawg of the Week" this past week.
Kalish hit a stellar .353 this week, but his knack for clutch hitting may have put him over the top. He stroked his second-career grand slam to open the week on Monday and closed out the week with a pinch-hit RBI-single that plated two runs in Sunday's finale in Oakland, a 5-3 win for the Red Sox.
The young outfielder's week would have been even more impressive had it not been for former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp. On Friday night, Crisp scaled the wall and robbed Kalish of a would-be home run, which would have been the fourth of the year for him.
A week after Jerry Remy and the fans agreed on who they thought should win the honors, it was back to a split vote. While the RemDawg liked Kalish, the fans voted for catcher Victor Martinez. While you'd be hard-pressed to argue the selection of Kalish, choosing Martinez is certainly justified. All he did this week was hit .348 with a home run and six RBIs.
Martinez got almost 35 percent of the vote.
Here are this season's Top Dawgs.
Week of Aug. 2
Jerry: Adrian Beltre
Fans: Kevin Youkilis
Week of Aug. 9
Jerry: Jon Lester
Fans: Mike Lowell
Week of Aug. 16
Jerry: Jed Lowrie
Fans: Adrian Beltre
Week of Aug. 23
Jerry: Victor Martinez
Fans: Clay Buchholz
Week of Aug. 30
Jerry: Daniel Bard
Fans: Daniel Bard
Week of Sept. 6
Jerry: Ryan Kalish
Fans: Victor Martinez
Every Monday or Tuesday (depending on when the Red Sox series starts), NESN.com will release which Red Sox players are the Top Dawg contenders. The following Sunday, Jerry Remy will pick a Top Dawg of the Week.
But Jerry also wants to hear from you, Red Sox Nation, and find out who you think is the week’s Top Dawg for the Red Sox. Fans can vote for their Top Dawg of the Week. At the end of the week, we’ll see if Jerry's Top Dawg matches up with Red Sox Nation's Top Dawg.
