Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Brock Holt's Value To The 2018 Champion Red Sox Cannot Be Overstated

(Getty Images)
Most Red Sox fans will likely recall his ALDS Game Three 'cycle' as the the top contribution of Brock Holt to the 2018 World Series Champions. And, the fact that it came against The Bronx Embalmers, of course, made it even more delicious. But, as great as that moment was, it's important to remember the total contributions that Holt made throughout the 2018 season. He played in 109 games for Boston, and ranked fourth on the team in OBP (.362), fifth in OPS (.774), fifth in BA (.277) and fifth in OPS+ (109). Then, of course, there's his versatility. In 2018, Holt played 56 games at 2B, 23 games at SS, 11 in RF, 6 in LF, 5 at 3B and 2 at DH. He also served 15 times as a pinch-hitter. And then there are the career postseason numbers with the Red Sox—a .297 batting average and a .976 OPS over 12 total games. Given the number of superstars on the roster, he can tend to get a little lost in the shuffle. But a presence like his is almost always necessary on a championship team—and always valuable.