The 2019 Boston Red Sox are one swing away from entering the record books, but there’s a caveat: the right player must do the swinging.
Seven Red Sox players have hit 15 or more home runs this season, matching a team record for the most to hit that number in one campaign, according to Red Sox media relations coordinator Kyle Montemagno. The 1977, 2003 and 2016 Red Sox had seven players hit 15-plus homers, and the 2019 squad moved alongside them Tuesday night when Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his 15th of the season, joining company with Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis, Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez.
So that brings us to the right player.
Mitch Moreland and Andrew Benintendi are the most likely candidates to do the record-setting honors, as they have 14 and 12 home runs this season, respectively.
Benintendi has an outside chance to make history Wednesday night at Fenway Park when Boston hosts the Philadelphia Phillies. Moreland wasn’t named in the starting lineup, so he’ll have to wait for his chance to reach 15 home runs.
