Xander Bogaerts is ready for the 2022 Major League Baseball season and has some goals he wants to accomplish.
The Boston Red Sox shortstop already is a World Series champion and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, but there are a few other accomplishments he’d like to add to his résumé.
Speaking to The Boston Globe’s Stan Grossfeld, Bogaerts revealed he’d like to steal 20 bases and hit at least 20 home runs — making him a 20/20 player.
“I don’t take big leads, but I am fast enough to steal,” he told Grossfeld. “It’s just that I don’t attempt it as much. When I steal, I don’t like stealing feet-first.”
Bogaerts had just five stolen bases in 2021, so he certainly will need to take bigger leads and showcase his speed in order to up last year’s total.
But it’s not just stolen bases, Bogaerts is hopeful to add a Gold Glove to his collection.
“I might trade two Silver Sluggers for a Gold Glove,” he told Grossfeld.
Bogaerts was nominated for a Gold Glove in 2015 but came up short to Alcides Esocar.
“I wanted to cry, and then I ended up winning the Silver Slugger,” Bogaerts said. “I didn’t even know what a Silver Slugger was.”
He’s certainly familiar with the award now.
Bogaerts has set high expectations for himself as he enters the new season. Plenty of eyes will be on him, considering he can opt out of his Red Sox contract at the end of this year, and many questions have been brought up ever since the Red Sox signed Trevor Story.
