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 Bogaerts bat .320 and win a Silver Slugger award. That’s a fact that’s obviously not lost on his hitting coach.
“It’s always nice to see good swings and home runs, but that’s not all he does,” Davis told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato on Saturday. “It’s just coming right along with everything he’s doing. It’s coming along with his approach, his patience and his focus. And it’s just happening.”
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 proving 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.
“Ceiling? There is no ceiling,” Davis told Mastrodonato. “Ted Williams hit .400. Why not Bogaerts?
“He’s a great kid. Every pitch, every at-bat, he’s not thinking of all that. He’s just playing. That’s the beautiful thing to watch. He’s not about numbers or average. He’s just out there playing every day.”
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 via John Hefti/USA TODAY Sports Images
