Xander Bogaerts might be the next Ted Williams, if you ask Chili Davis.
The Boston Red Sox shortstop has been hotter than we’ve ever seen this season, and that’s coming off a 2015 campaign that saw BogaertsĀ bat .320 and win a Silver Slugger award. That’s a fact that’s obviously not lost on his hitting coach.
āItās always nice to see good swings and home runs, but thatās not all he does,ā Davis told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato on Saturday. āItās just coming right along with everything heās doing. Itās coming along with his approach, his patience and his focus. And itās just happening.ā
Bogaerts’ .358 average entering Sunday is second in Major League Baseball behind Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, and his 92 hits lead the league. He’s far and away the best hitting shortstop in baseball right now, and he’s provingĀ that by beating up on the Twins during the Red Sox’s current series in Minnesota. Bogaerts is batting .800 (8-for-10) in two games at Target Field with two home runs and seven RBIs.
And Davis thinks the 23-year-old will just keep going.
āCeiling? There is no ceiling,ā Davis told Mastrodonato. āTed Williams hit .400. Why not Bogaerts?
āHeās a great kid. Every pitch, every at-bat, heās not thinking of all that. Heās just playing. Thatās the beautiful thing to watch. Heās not about numbers or average. Heās just out there playing every day.ā
Bogaerts is putting up career-high numbers across the board so far; he already passed his 2015 home run total with his eighth on Saturday. And with the stats he has, it does make you wonder if anything can stop Bogaerts in 2016 and beyond.
Thumbnail photo viaĀ John Hefti/USA TODAY Sports Images