Bradley’s year just beginning
Healthy again, CF rides hot streak
Jackie Bradley Jr. knew exactly when it was. “May 31,” he said. That’s the date when he ditched for good the bulky rightknee brace that he needed ever since returning from the disabled list on April 21. The start to Bradley’s 2017 season, you’ll recall, ended on an abrupt and painful note in just the fourth game of the season when he tripped and sprained his right knee running the bases. This happened in Detroit. So, last night, as the Red Sox and Tigers resumed their season series in Game No. 60 for the Sox, there was Bradley launching a gargantuan, game-winning tworun home run that landed way up in the right field bleachers in the eighth-inning, a shot that sent the Sox home 5-3 winners.
Close followers can connect the dots about Bradley’s resurgence in the last nine games since he’s been braceless. He’s got two home runs, nine RBI and a .300 batting average. Bradley’s getting his power stroke back. He’s hit six home runs with 20 RBI over his last 21 games, just as his knee is feeling back to normal. Coincidence? Not at all. “Felt pretty good, I’ve been able to take that brace off and getting a lot stronger and I’m healthier,” said Bradley about his recent run. “It’s one of those things where I’m getting my timing back. Like I said, just trying to swing at strikes in the zone and swing at good pitches.” In some ways, Bradley has been hiding in plain sight over these last three weeks. His defense has remained stellar, yet his offense has been slow to arrive ever since he returned on April 21.
For those first 31 games with the brace, his struggles at the plate — he hit .208 in that stretch with a .311 on-base percentage and .415 slugging percentage — led to a few non-starts where the idea that Bradley might be platooned began to be bandied about.
But since May 16 and 17, when he hit home runs in consecutive games, Bradley’s been walking, trotting and now running toward full strength.
His .231 batting average is deceptive. His BABIP this season is stuck below .250, which means he hasn’t been enjoying much luck with his batted balls.
So ignore the batting average, and pay attention to the return of Bradley’s power stroke. That’s the evidence proclaiming Bradley and his knee’s return to full strength.
“Maybe he’s had some tough luck with balls in play, but the hard contact has been fairly consistent,” said Sox manager John Farrell. “If you’re saying it’s a .230 hitter, it’s one of the hardest .230 averages you might see.”
Not only did Bradley send the Red Sox over the top with his eighth-inning home run, he also drove in another run in the fourth inning on an opposite-field single.
“He’s on about a three-week run here where the hard hits have been more frequent, the batting average has been better, the extra base hits are there, but that’s one of the longer home runs I’ve seen hit in this ballpark,” said Farrell. “You think, that’s halfway to the red seat, which almost seems like a myth, how far that red seat is. But a beautiful swing, well hit, timely, no doubt.”
Bradley said his home run had “no shot” of ever reaching Ted Williams’ red seat, which happened to celebrate its 71st anniversary yesterday, “unless it bounced 50 times.”
It’s important to note that just as Bradley has begun to approach his first-half production rate that earned him his first All-Star berth last year, the Sox are getting their regulars back. Dustin Pedroia returned last night after his DL stint, and the club snapped a twogame slide at the end of the last road trip. It will take more than Bradley and Pedroia to stabilize and re-ignite the Red Sox’ frequently inconsistent offense, but it’s a very important start.
“Very encouraging,” said Bradley, “especially when everybody’s healthy you definitely want to maximize that, so I’d say we’ve got some things still to do, just trying to have some quality atbats, work pitchers and hopefully continue to get some wins.”
He’s right. And he’s back.