Jacoby Ellsbury’s Power Surge, Adrian Gonzalez’s Historic Pace Stand Out Among Key Red Sox Stats From First Half

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Jul 12, 2011

Jacoby Ellsbury's Power Surge, Adrian Gonzalez's Historic Pace Stand Out Among Key Red Sox Stats From First Half Stats could help one team discover some unknown jewel while misleading another team to take a gamble on a multi-million dollar player.

One stat is undeniable, though. The Red Sox are currently 55-35, which is the best record in the American League. There are plenty of other numbers that support the Red Sox' success, individually and as a team. If one takes the stats for what they are — just stats — they can be pretty fun to analyze.

Check out some of the interesting numbers from the first half of the 2011 Boston Red Sox season.

55-29: The Red Sox' record since starting the season 0-6, good for best in the majors. No team has ever reached first place as quickly as the Red Sox did after such an abysmal start.

39: The number of times the Red Sox have tallied 11 or more hits, tops in baseball and nine more than the next teams (there are three teams with 30). Five of those have come against the Yankees (in nine games, mind you). The Sox offense doesn't capitalize on weak pitching — they capitalize on any pitching.

.766: Red Sox catchers' OPS, second among all American League clubs after Detroit (.781). "Get Pudge!" … "Trade the fahm for Mauer." …  "It would be wicked cool if Dougie Mirabelli came back to catch Wake!" … Enough already.

Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are producing well for their position and spot in the batting order, so no more trade rumors, OK?

128: Number of hits Adrian Gonzalez has so far this season, the most ever for a Sox player before the All-Star break (since 1933). Gonzo passed Wade Boggs (1987) and Nomar Garciaparra (2003), who each had 125 hits.

Additionally, Nomar had 60 RBIs at the break in '03, while Boggs had 55 RBIs in '87 –- compared to Gonzalez's 77 this year.

300: Career number home run that David Ortiz hit as a member of the Boston Red Sox on May 21 against the Chicago Cubs. Papi joins an exclusive list that features Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. Clearly, Ortiz has established himself as one of the greatest Red Sox hitters ever.

72: Times Kevin Youkilis has been hit by a pitch in his career after being plunked on May 21 against the Chicago Cubs, passing Mo Vaughn on the Sox all-time list.

32: Number of left-handed starters the Red Sox have faced in 2011, the most in the majors. The Sox have put up a .656 winning percentage (21-11) in those games. Remember those preseason worries that the Sox lineup had too many lefties and would struggle against the dominant southpaws of the AL East?

Well, plenty of Sox players have exceeded their previous three-year totals against lefties this season: Dustin Pedroia (.284 batting average '08-'10; .394 this season), Ortiz (.218; .340) and Gonzalez (.258; .303).

11: Number of home runs Jacoby Ellsbury has this season, a career high. The center fielder is projected to hit 20 homers this season. Entering 2011, Ellsbury had 20 in his career.

489: Number of hits Boston starters have allowed this season, tied with San Francisco for fewest in the majors. Sure, the Red Sox have already used nine starters, and sure, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka have combined for a 6.34 ERA, but at least the staff has held opponents to a .239 batting average.

15 of 17: Number of starts that Josh Beckett has allowed three runs or less (five have been scoreless). The righty only had 12 such starts last season. Beckett for Comeback Player of the Year? Is the sky blue?

4: Number of consecutive seasons Jon Lester has had a double-digit victory campaign, including his 10 wins so far in 2011. This is the longest such streak by a Sox left-hander since Bruce Hurst's six straight from 1983 to 1988. Lester's streak started in his first full season for the Sox.

48-0: Boston's record when leading after 8 innings. It's Jonathan Papelbon closing out the games, but Theo Epstein's group of bullpen misfits (Matt Albers, Alfredo Aceves, Franklin Morales/Rich Hill duo) should be commended for their work, so far.

.161: Daniel Bard's opponent's batting average, which is the best mark by a qualifying Sox pitcher at the break since 1946. Yet, Aaron Crow, Brandon League, and Jose Valverde made the All-Star team. Daniel Bard was snubbed, ladies and gentlemen.

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