The Red Sox All-Stars, by the numbers
The Red Sox All-Star selections in 2017 represent a cross-section of the team. With an outfielder, a starting pitcher, and a closer, Boston is sending a well-rounded unit to help the American League in their attempt to win their fifth straight Midsummer Classic.
Each player has produced some notable stats through the first half the season. Here’s a quick look at a few of the most impressive numbers from each Red Sox All-Star:
Mookie Betts
After finishing as the runner-up in the 2016 AL MVP voting, Betts has continued to be one of baseball’s most exciting players. Whether at the plate or in the field, he’s wowed fans with his all-around abilities. Stats don’t necessarily tell the full story with the 24-year-old, but here are a few that come pretty close:
2: Betts has earned AL Player of the Week honors twice thus far, making him the only player to receive the honor more than once during the first half of the season.
8: Racking up a whopping eight RBIs against the Blue Jays on July 2, Betts tied the record for most RBIs by a lead-off batter.
11: The 24-year-old hit the 11th lead-off home run of his career, which surpasses former Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury for most in team history.
20: Betts leads all right fielders in defensive runs saved with 20, which is actually double second-placed Jayson Heyward’s total.
29: Through 86 games, he has fired off a league-best 29 doubles.
129: The outfielder’s stretch of 129 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout came to an end on April 19, but the streak is still the longest in the majors since 2004.
Mookie making a CRAZY catch?
You Betts. pic.twitter.com/5mDWado4Qm
— MLB (@MLB) June 3, 2017
Craig Kimbrel
After having a subpar debut season in Boston in 2016 by his own world-class standards, Kimbrel has returned to the form that made him one of the game’s elite closers from 2011-2014. His microscopic 1.19 ERA even doesn’t do justice to his dominance. The 29-year-old is actually on a record pace in the category of strikeouts-to-baserunners. And even if his WHIP were to double, it would still be below that of the league’s leader in saves. Here are a few more numbers from Kimbrel’s season:.000: In their 28 plate appearances, players batting in the second and ninth position of opposing lineups are hitless against the right-hander thus far. 0.78: Kimbrel’s fielding independent pitching (FIP) in the first half of the season stands at 0.78, which would tie his own MLB record if it holds for the remainder of 2017.1: The six-time All-Star allowed just one hit during the entire month of May.4: With runners on-base, Kimbrel has allowed just four hits against 43 batters.30:
He currently holds the record for most consecutive saves at Fenway Park with 30.
Step 1: Kimbrel enters game
Step 2: Win
Step 3: Dance
Step 4: Repeat#WINDANCEREPEAT pic.twitter.com/Bqj8Ow3EdM— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 4, 2017
Chris Sale
In his first season in Boston, Sale has been faced with seemingly insurmountable expectations. And halfway through 2017, he’s surpassed even some of the most optimistic prognostications.The six-time All-Star has been consistently dominant on the mound this season. He joined an elite group of Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Curt Schilling as the only pitchers to notch at least 100 strikeouts in their first 10 starts of a season. Here are a few other impressive Sale stats:2.75:
Sale’s ERA thus far is the best its been in the past three years.
8: The pitcher fanned over 10 batters in eight consecutive starts, tying his own single-season record that he shares with Martinez.
11: Despite a lack of run support early in the season, the leftie has amassed an impressive 11 wins.
12: Sale eclipsed Martinez for most first-half starts in a season with double-digit strikeouts in team history.
12.55: The 28-year-old is averaging a league-best 12.55 strikeouts per nine innings.
178: Sale’s 178 strikeouts before the All-Star break are the most by any pitcher since Martinez in 1999.
