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When you win a global series, everyone remembers great home runs and clutch release performance, but small games can be just as important. Take the fourth game of the American League championship series. The Boston Red Sox beat the Houston Astros 8 to 6 to give them a win over the World Series. One of the key games went at the bottom of the eighth, while the Red Sox were up 8 to 5 at the time. Tony Kemp opened the scoring with a goal scored on the straight and the speedster fired first, trying to double and then Mookie Betts cut the ball and kick a shot at second base to hit him.
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It was not Kemp's best decision: no player absent and his team trailing by three points at a time, but Betts also made a perfect match. The Astros would score one point in the inning, but if Betts does not make that throw, it may turn into a bigger round, tournaments and playoffs.
Here is the thing about this piece. The next day, before the fifth game, Alex Cora, the coach of the Red Sox, spoke of two other Betts makes it into the game. In the third inning, with Jose Altuve in second place, Betts made a great run on a deep flying ball, holding Altuve to that spot. In the seventh inning, with Marwin Gonzalez at first and two out, Carlos Correa doubled the straight line, but Betts quickly hit the ball bouncing off the wall and delivered a perfect relay to hold Gonzalez third. . – where he would remain stranded.
"When Carlos hit the bottom of the line, [Betts] When he arrived in his place, he got the ball, got rid of it and they had to make a decision and they stopped Marwin on the third goal. So that's what it's all about, the little plays, "said Cora.
Of course, Betts also played a lot of big games throughout the season, which is why he was named the AHL's MVP on Thursday, finishing a season in which he won a batting title, led the majors in percentage of slugging, has AL in the extra-base shots and tied for the main league in the points scored. He also won his third consecutive gold medal and joined the 30/30 club with 32 homers and 30 steals. His score of 10.9 WAR was the highest among the title players since Barry Bonds in 2002 and he is tied for second place in the history of the Red Sox with the 1946 season of Ted Williams, behind the record of 12.5 from Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, the year of his triple crown.
It's these little things, however, that help to dramatically mark Betts' brilliant overall performance.
After this match against ALCS, Betts called his throw to make Kemp one of the top three of his career. "I knew right away that he was going to move to second place.It's one of those pieces that I've practiced so often in the spring and that are part of the game." ", did he declare.
It may sound like a cliché, but with Betts, you can absolutely believe he practiced this game during his spring training. One of the things that makes Betts so good is the accuracy in everything he does on the field, like doing this throw.
He is not the fastest player in the league – with the Statcast-Sprint Sprint rankings, he tied for 143rd in major tournaments – and yet he was 30-36 years old as a Basic thief, he had only five doubles games and was credited with over-20 registered defensive tracks. Over the past three seasons, Baseball-Reference.com has given her a plus-24 value over the baspath average (stealing bases and running the basics), the best mark of the majors – almost five points better than the classic speedster. Billy Hamilton.
The 26-year-old Betts is certainly not the strongest or strongest player in the league, but he beats 84 more successes (and do not forget he's not the only player in the league). played only 136 games, missing a few weeks due to abdominal pressure). He rarely hits the home runs in batting training – he will be the first to tell you that you'll never see him in the derby at home – but his eye-hand coordination is so good that he hits the ball for often, his average exit speed of 92.3 mph is tied for 14th overall.
He does not go out because he rarely comes out of the hitting area. His pursuit rate of 16% was the third lowest of the majors, behind only Joey Votto and Brandon Nimmo. Clearly, Betts has fast hands like lightning and superb athleticism – he can soak up a basketball at a height of 5 feet 9 inches – but that's it. this attention to detail that allows him to play a game at 300 or solve a Rubik's cube in 1 minute and 53 seconds. . I have no doubt that no matter what profession Betts – computer programmer, astronaut, Wall Street banker – chose, he would have succeeded. It's just a part of her makeup. Fortunately for us, he chose baseball.
Indeed, David Price reminds me something on the eve of the World Series. I asked him how many times he had seen Betts show emotions on the ground. He immediately recalled that two moments, including a big slam Betts hit JA Happ earlier in the 2018 season. Yes, Betts usually plays with a poker face, but that does not only reflect his personality, but also his overall approach to the game, to master as much as to appreciate. This lack of bragging, however, makes it no less exciting.
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Even though he's an attracted hitter, Betts's stats are not just the result of short fly balls on the green monster. He hit 0.34 / 0.461 / 0.657 at home with 13 runs, but 0.31 / 0.418 / 0.627 with 19 runs on the road. During his career, he scored more circuits on the road (62-48), although he achieved a higher average at Fenway Park.
One of the things I've read, especially when Betts started very hot, is that he was too passive in front of the plate in 2017. After beating 0.318 with 31 homers and finishing second of the most useful player vote in 2016, Mike Trout, he hit .264 last season. He needed to swing more.
He did not swing anymore. His swing rate at the first step was lower than in 2017 (he switched to the first step about 10% of the time). He hovered on 1-0 at the same pace as 2017. He hovered 1-1 on the field, 1 percent less. It is difficult to find evidence that he has changed approach.
Betts and Trout have now finished 1-2 on two of MVP's last three votes. Clearly, Trout's record of domination is much longer: he finished in the top five MVP polls in seven consecutive seasons tied with a record and has three seasons of 10 wins against Mookie. But Mookie's best season is probably better than Trout's.
Is Trout still the best player in the game? The man hit 0.312 / 0.460 / 0.628 with 39 homers, so he did practically nothing to dislodge this first place. But for the first time in his career, one can reasonably say he has competition in the debate. Mookie Betts is your MVP AL 2018. Can he do it again in 2019? I will not bet against him.
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