Just over a week into the season, we’ve already seen plenty of intriguing storylines and overbearing narratives throughout Major League Baseball. However, there’s been a notable absence of the whole “baseball is dying” talk. Perhaps it’s because it’s still early in the season. Or that the pace of play changes are doing their job. Or that there are simply too many other storylines to follow along with (Kris Bryant, Adrian Gonzalez’s incredible start, the Washington Nationals already being eliminated from a playoff spot) for that to be an issue at this point.
Or perhaps it’s something else. Maybe it’s a realization that (Warning: this hot take will melt your face off) there may not have been a point in baseball’s history where we’ve seen this many young and exciting players with truly elite upside making a daily impact in a way that makes us drop what we are doing and watch. It’s everything Mike Trout does. It’s Bryce Harper home runs. It’s defensive exploits from Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado. It’s Yordano Ventura headling a Kansas City rotation. The list goes on.
The latest to join the ranks of these young stars is that of Boston Red Sox centerfielder Mookie Betts. Though he accrued 213 plate appearances with the Sox last season, he’s broken into the league as a full-time asset for Boston this season. Although we’re only a week into the regular season, Mookie Betts has already filled a highlight tape for the remainder of the year. Of course, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it isn’t one that’s completely off base (that’s absolutely a pun).
Mookie Betts made his debut for the 2015 season at Fenway Park on Monday against the Washington Nationals. By the end of the second inning, he had robbed Bryce Harper of a home run. He had stolen two bases on one pitch, taking advantage of a vacant third base due to a shift in order to steal third. He added a home run of his own, over the Green Monster, in Boston’s win over the Nats. Read that paragraph again. That’s an absurd sequence.
This is coming off of a week in which he homered on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies and added a host of strong defensive plays in center. He already has 10 Out of Zone plays made on the season and three Defensive Runs Saved just over a week into the season. The range is evident, and he’s already been lauded for the all-important hustle factor.
Mookie’s batting line through a week isn’t the most impressive thing. For example, he’s only reaching base at a .282 clip right now (also a lowly .231 BABIP, though) and has posted a strikeout rate much higher than expected. But again, look at where we are in the year. Regardless, his overall numbers aren’t really the point here.
The point is the fact that Mookie Betts, in that decent-sized sample from last year, and a minuscule one this year, has become a player that is impossible to miss. When he’s at the plate, you pay attention. When a ball is hit anywhere near him, you pay attention. While opinions still vary as to what he might actually be, in terms of his ultimate upside, there’s no doubting that Mookie has already become must-see television when he’s out there for the Red Sox.
