MOOKIE BETTS

RED SOX CAREER: 2014-2019 OVERALL CAREER: 2014-current

Highlights: 229 doubles, 139 home runs, .301 average, .374 OBP, .893 OPS, 1 World Series title, 4 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Glove Awards, 1 MVP HOF eligibility: Will be eligible for the first time five years after he retires As magnificent as Betts has been in the first six years of his career, so many questions linger.

For instance, Baseball Reference compares him statistically t obo th Grady Sizemore and

Barry Bonds, based on similar performance through age 27. It’s unfortunate Betts will lose a year (or at least part of a year) from his prime, and just before free agency, no less. But Bonds and Sizemore represent a pair of interesting cases. Bonds was a super athletic outfielder who relied on speed and raw ability, with some power, to become a force with the Pirates before his 28th birthday. Then he went to the Giants, put on a whole lot of size and became baseball’s home run king. Sizemore was a similar player, speedy and athletic with some pop, but injuries derailed his career at age 26. Sizemore tried and tried and tried but failed to ever restart it. It’s remarkable to think of the two paths, and where Bets ands, eager to write his own after beginning his career about as well as anyone ever has.

He’s already one of five players in MLB history with four straight seasons of 20 homers and 40 doubles, joining Canó (5), Albert Pujols (4), David Wright (4), and Jeff Kent (4). Since he made his MLB debut, he ranks first in runs, first in doubles, second in extra-base hits and fourth in hits. With numbers this good, he doesn’t need to be elite for long. If he keeps playing this well for four or five more years, he could punch his ticket no matter what happens into his mid-30s.