First month ‘fun’ for Chavis
Four weeks ago, Michael Chavis made his first big league appearance as a prospect the Red Sox expected to use briefly, then send back to the minors.
Four weeks later, he’s still with the team. And raking.
Chavis entered last night hitting .282 with a .943 OPS to go with seven homers and 21 RBI in his first 23 major league games.
“I’ve learned a lot,” he said before last night’s game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. “I learned that baseball up here is different. It’s more fun. I’m a competitive person and in the minor leagues, everything on the field, everything before the game is oriented toward progress and getting better.”
Chavis had made great progress in the minors, where he had four homers — all moonshots that caught the attention of the Sox’ big league staff — with a .954 OPS in 12 games.
But he likes the change of pace in the major leagues compared to the minors.
“Up here it’s about winning,” he said. “It doesn’t get any higher than this. You can tell in the clubhouse, on the field, everything before the games, it’s all about winning. To me that makes it fun. It’s not lackadaisical. We’re trying to win every single day. I think that’s awesome and I really enjoy that.”
The Sox knew he had power, but they didn’t expect him to hit this well. He has the five longest homers of the Red Sox’ season, hitting them farther than even J.D. Martinez.
Chavis said he’s already learned a lot from Martinez.
“I knew he was a smart hitter,” he said. “Getting to see him work and work with him every single day, it’s a whole different level that I didn’t expect or know about. He’s so intelligent, not just with what he’s doing but how the swing and baseball works in general. He’s so intelligent about all that. He doesn’t just help me, he helps everybody. We have a hitting coach, assistant hitting coach and we have J.D. That’s really what it’s like.”
Martinez’ style of hitting the ball in the air is similar to that of Chavis.
“By the results, yeah, hitting the ball in the air is a big part of my game,” he said. “But I’m not trying to hit the ball in the air and create launch angle. It’s just something that happens because of how my swing works.”
The hard part for Chavis is getting used to the attention off the field. Fans ran up to him to take pictures on his way out of the stadium one night this week.
“Yeah that’s been different,” he said. “People recognize me in public. I think it’s awesome. It’s part of the dream, when you’re a kid you dream of playing in the big leagues and getting recognized. That’s part of it. Still not used to it. Not taking it for granted but it’s been great.”