Betts completes quest for 30-30
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
After going five straight years without a single player going 3030, Major League Baseball now has two more names to add to the club.
Mookie Betts joined Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez as the two players to collect 30 homers and 30 stolen bases this year, the first 30-30 guys since Ryan Braun and Mike Trout did it in 2012.
Betts stole his 30th base of the season yesterday in the Red Sox’ 19-3 win over the Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader.
“It’s a special accomplishment,” Betts said.
When he slid into second base after a leadoff walk in the second inning, the fans at Fenway Park knew exactly what it meant. Betts received a loud ovation from the crowd as he joined Jacoby Ellsbury as the only 30-30 players in franchise history.
In his previous three full seasons in the majors, Betts had 18, 31 and 24 homers to go with 21, 26 and 26 stolen bases, respectfully.
“I always believed he’d steal 30 bases,” said David Price, who threw five innings of three-run ball in the first game. “But to do both of those the same season and hit .345 or whatever he’s hitting right now, that’s very special. He’s our MVP, and I believe he’s the MVP in all of baseball.”
From 1995 through 2009, there were 31 instances of a player going 30-30, and at least one player did it every single year. But since ’09, there have been just eight instances: Betts, Ramirez, Ellsbury, Braun (twice), Trout, Ian Kinsler and Matt Kemp.
What’s harder to accomplish, the stolen bases or home runs?
“Definitely the steals,” Betts said. “Pitchers are getting quicker, catchers are better. It’s just tough. We have a good group of guys that we run at the right times and pick our spots. That’s why we’re a successful basestealing team.”
Everybody hits
It was just the beginning of a milestone day for the Red Sox, who clobbered the lifeless Orioles. It was the second time this year the Sox scored at least 19 runs, the first time at Baltimore on Aug. 10 in a 19-12 victory.
Their 22 hits was a new season-high, and tied them for third-most by any MLB team this year.
J.D. Martinez hammered home run No.42 in the fourth inning. Xander Bogaerts smoked his 22nd homer to dead center, a three-run shot that gave him 100 RBI on the season, making him the sixth shortstop in club history to reach 100 RBI.
Rafael Devers added home runs No.20 and 21 as he joined Ted Williams and Tony Conigliaro as the only two Sox players ever to hit 20 homers before turning 22.
No more Thornburg
Five days after former third baseman Travis Shaw crossed the 30-homer mark for the second consecutive season, the Red Sox announced that Tyler Thornburg will be shut down for the season.
Since being traded from the Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers before the 2017 season, Shaw has 62 homers with an .845 OPS. Thornburg has thrown just 24 innings for the Sox while trying to come back from surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome. He made his Sox debut this July and looked good for five straight scoreless outings before the trade deadline, but he has not pitched well since (5.87 ERA), and he hasn’t thrown since Sept. 14.
“After his last one, he’s having some issues with command and he didn’t bounce back the way we wanted him to,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There’s no need to push him hard.”
Most pitchers struggle coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome, and Thornburg has been no different. But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in July that Ryan Brasier’s breakout season and Thornburg’s progress were enough to help convince the Sox they didn’t need to add another reliever before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Since Dombrowski made those comments, Thornburg allowed a .317 average and .998 OPS while walking nine batters to 12 strikeouts in 151⁄3 innings.
The Red Sox are hoping he’ll be able to contribute in 2019.
“We feel that he’s going to be OK, he’s going to have a really good offseason, and he should be fine next year,” Cora said. “He’s excited about that, but he’s frustrated about this.”
Remdog returns
NESN broadcaster and former Red Sox infielder Jerry Remy returned to the broadcast booth for one inning last night’s second game. Before the game, Remy announced that he would not be able to travel for Red Sox road games anymore and would have to cut back on his work schedule in 2019 due to his lung cancer.
Asked how he’s feeling, Remy said, “Day-to-day, just like everyone else. It’s OK right now. I finished up radiation. They got the tumor. Right now they’re working on a vaccine, they took part of my tumor in a biopsy and they sent it off to a lab and they’re trying to develop a vaccine that they can give me that will keep this cancer in check. It’s the same area that comes back every single time.
“It’s something we’re going to have to sit down and talk about. I’m not retiring, but they’ll be limitations. I’m not going to