Three Ex-Red Sox-Related Takeaways From 2023 MLB Season

Several familiar Red Sox faces were plenty impactful throughout the 2023 Major League Baseball season, making notable differences in their respective teams outside of Boston.

In the MLB playoffs, before the start of the championship series, 17 former Red Sox players took the field in October. There were even a few Boston alumni at the helm in Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Rocco Baldelli of the Minnesota Twins.

With that in mind, here are three takeaways from the regular season, all involving ex-Red Sox talents:

Mookie Betts didn’t hit his peak in 2018
Since bursting onto the scene in Boston, Mookie Betts hasn’t slowed down.

In 2016, Betts was arguably robbed of an American League MVP Award, finishing second in voting to Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout. That was just Betts’ second full season at the big league level.

Two years after that, Betts was named AL MVP while also winning a Silver Slugger Award, a Gold Glove, an AL batting champion nod and the 2018 World Series with Boston. No other player in MLB history has racked up said hardware in a single season.

But again, somehow, that still wasn’t the best of Betts.

Just this season, Betts batted .307 with a career-high 39 home runs and 107 RBIs, positioned for a chance at MLB history yet again. In August, Betts hit .455 to fuel an already convincing case. If Betts wins a second league MVP award, the 31-year-old would become just the second player to ever win MVP in both the AL and NL.

Not too shabby, right?

Kyle Schwarber had the weirdest season maybe ever by an MLB player
With the Philadelphia Phillies, Kyle Schwarber was both elite and sluggish at the same time.

Schwarber clobbered 47 home runs, but also led all MLB players with 215 strikeouts, explaining the 30-year-old’s .197 batting average. Mind you, a below-.200 hitter in Philadelphia’s leadoff spot. Not in a cleanup role, but as the first batter the Phillies batted on a night-to-night basis.

One that A) can’t hit for average and B) isn’t a threat on the base path.

Yet… Schwarber still racked up 277 total bases, which ranked 16th among all players in the NL. It doesn’t stop there. Schwarber also drew more walks (126) than hits (115) recorded throughout the year, adding fuel to the weirdness.

Nathan Eovaldi still has plenty of ace-caliber juice left in the tank
The most recent of all three former Red Sox in Nathan Eovaldi still remains an absolute gamer.

Put aside the fact that Eovaldi is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in two starts in the playoffs thus far; the proof is in the pudding.

After expected Rangers ace Jacob deGrom went down with season-ending Tommy John surgery in June, Texas needed a pitching staff leader. That’s where Eovaldi came in, going 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 25 starts during the regular season.

Eovaldi, 33, was also named an AL All-Star for the second time in his 12-year career, giving the Rangers exactly what they paid for after signing the right-hander to a two-year, $34 million deal in the offseason.