At this point, it's fair to say Xander Bogaerts is on track to have a Boston Red Sox career at least equal to that of Carl Yastrzemski.
We're not joking. The numbers back it up.
Boston Sports Info on Sunday shared a graphic comparing the first 4,290 major league at bats from Yastrzemski, a Red Sox and baseball legend, and Bogaerts, the team's franchise shortstop. Bogaerts tops Yastrzemski in five of the seven categories, though they all are very close.
Take a look:
Remarkable stuff.
For much of his career, the one knock on Bogaerts was that he merely was an average-to-slightly above average defender. However, he now is well above average, as he again proved Saturday night.
Bogaerts currently is hitting .357 with seven homers and 20 RBIs over 32 games. His 45 hits lead the majors.
Whether Bogaerts maintains his current career trajectory remains to be seen. So, too, does whether he plays his entire career in Boston, as Yastrzemski did. For now, Red Sox fans should just enjoy watching a player perform at the absolute peak of their powers.
