As the Red Sox wind down this sadly disappointing campaign, one statistic stands out. It is only published once a week. The abbreviation is SPos- average with runners in scoring positon.
A glance at the Sox stats would suggest that the youngsters (with the exception of Brock Holt) are largely responsible for the team’s hitting woes. As of Sunday, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogearts, Carlos Vazquez and Will Middlebrooks were batting a combined .243, a figure which would be much lower if not for Holt’s .289. On the other hand, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz (his power figures notwithstanding), Daniel Nava and Mike Napoli stand at .265. I have not included Yoenis Cespedes, since most of his activity was in Oakland. The figure is not good, but certainly not in the range of Bogearts and Middlebrooks.
However, when you consider the SPos, most veterans are just as guilty. Ortiz leads at .306, and it goes right down from there. Pedroia- .261, Nava- .241, Napoli- .184, David Ross- .229. I am not privy to league averages in this category, but there is probably no other team in the majors whose veteran hitters have left so many men in scoring position.
This kind of futility is obviously contagious. When a Nava or Napoli fails in the clutch, the burden lies on a Bogearts, who the Sox hurt by temporarily moving him to third, or a Middlebrooks, who has shown only flashes in three seasons. On a team like the Sox, the last thing a young player needs is undue pressure to drive runners in.
This kind of problem is not easy to solve. Futility has seemed to breed more futility. Fans seeing Sox runners on base expect the worst, and, probably, so do the players. But as the team decides which youngsters to trade and which to keep this coming winter, they should remember that the vets share lots of responsibility for failures in the clutch.
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