Red Sox

Chaim Bloom sure got Masataka Yoshida right, and other Red Sox thoughts

Masataka Yoshida's stellar season may give "Macho Man" a potential new title: batting champ?

By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe

July 18, 2023

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Playing nine innings while impatiently waiting for the next Immaculate Grid to drop . . .

1. I imagine — I hope — we all know by now that there are far better ways than batting average to measure a hitter’s impact. But for those of us who fondly remember George Brett’s chase for .400 in 1980, or Wade Boggs’s four straight batting titles in which he hit .357 or better, or Ted Williams’s entire career, or any other feats of batting average that were anything but average, leading the league in hitting still matters. And so suddenly there’s a new rooting interest developing within this Red Sox season. How does Masataka Yoshida, potential batting champ sound?

2. With his three-hit, six-RBI game Sunday, the first-year outfielder has raised his batting average to .317. Among qualified American League batters, Yoshida is second only to the Rays’ Yandy Diaz, who is at .323. Now, “qualified” is doing some work there — the Rangers’ Corey Seager is well ahead of both of them at .355, but doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title yet. If hypothetical hitless at-bats were added to his total until Seager qualified, he’d still be leading the league. (Related to nothing, the Rangers are suddenly getting their millions’ worth out of Seager and Marcus Semien, huh?)

3. But if Seager cools off or suffers another injury that leaves him short of the qualifying number, the 30-year-old Yoshida has a legitimate chance to win the batting title in his first season stateside after an accomplished career with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He has been on a rampage at the plate lately. In his last eight games, he’s 15 for 36 (.417) with two doubles, a triple, and two homers. And since he went hitless in four straight games from April 11-18, dropping his average to .167, he’s hit .345 with 10 home runs and 92 hits in 68 games. You sure got this one right, Chaim Bloom.

4. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that the Red Sox should try to thread the needle again at the trade deadline, moving on from a couple of veterans while bringing in multiple reinforcements. I, uh, would like to amend that. I’d still be fine with dealing Adam Duvall, who should appeal to a true contender. But Bloom needs to prioritize buying and adding to a flawed but determined ball club, rather than shedding pieces. These Red Sox, who were six games over .500 at 50-44 and tied with the wobbling Yankees entering Monday, deserve to be rewarded for their resilience.

5. Besides, it’s obvious what they need more than anything else — a steady veteran starting pitcher, if not two — and there will be appealing options available that won’t cost Bloom’s most favored prospect darlings. Two I like: Cubs strike-throwing machine Kyle Hendricks, who got knocked around by the Sox over the weekend but has a 3.57 ERA this season. He went 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA in five starts from June 10-July 4. And: Cardinals lefthander Jordan Montgomery, who has a 1.48 ERA in his last seven starts and would carry a somewhat steeper price than Hendricks.

6. It’s a heck of a fun daydream, but I’m having a tough time convincing myself that Shohei Ohtani would genuinely consider the Red Sox in free agency. Even with the addition of Yoshida and the development of Brayan Bello, the franchise still needs quite a bit more to go right before they are genuine World Series contenders again. Adding Ohtani would expedite their timeline in an unprecedented way, but having spent the first six seasons of his career desperately trying, with Mike Trout, to prop up the Angels, the chance to play for a ready-made contender such as the Dodgers has to have the most appeal.

7. Three other Ohtani musings: 1. I’d love to see Dave Dombrowski acquire him as a Phillies rental, just to discover how much he would be willing to give up. He’d probably trade an entire farm team; 2. Ohtani must be an exceptional defensive player too, right? He excels at everything else on the baseball field; 3. It’s really a bummer that the Angels never could put together a decent supporting cast for Ohtani and Trout. What a colossal failure.

8. I’ve heard from a few fans who are frustrated that the dynamic Jarren Duran isn’t in the lineup when the Red Sox are facing a lefthanded starter. I’m fine with it. Duran has made huge strides not just in competence but in confidence this season, and the Red Sox want to make sure those are sustained. Alex Cora obviously believes that lefties still would flummox Duran, and using him this way isn’t holding him back. It’s putting him in the best position to succeed.

9. If you didn’t get the Immaculate Grid reference in the first line, I compel you to go to baseball-reference.com now, or Google “immaculate grid,” and submerge yourself in a game that is essentially a baseball junkie’s visual version of Wordle. The “grid” is 3 squares by 3 squares, with team logos and statistical accomplishments listed horizontally and vertically. Your job is to find a player who fits the criteria of each square. So, say that you have the Angels logo across and the Red Sox logo down. That means you must come up with someone who played for both teams, the more obscure the better. Rick Burleson is a good answer. Butch Hobson is a better one. And Jim Dorsey? Well, that’s just genius.