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TORONTO - "Tiny changes. Remarkable results."
These were the words written on top of the book Alex Bregman has made a point to always keep by his side: "Atomic Habits", a 320-page guide written by James Clear and released in 2018.
They have been the words Bregman have come to live by, and words that have given the third baseman new life.
"It just talks about the process instead of setting goals," he explained after the Red Sox' resounding 10-2 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. "As opposed to setting goals, set processes."
Bregman finished the book in the offseason, and now he is reaping the rewards from devouring the New York Times best-seller.
After his 3-for-5 night - which included hitting one of the Red Sox' five homers - Bregman continues to find himself living life as the game's most prolific third baseman this season. He is hitting .331 with a .972 OPS and six homers.
Conversely, last season he headed into the final day of the season's first month hitting .216 wtih a .555 OPS, with his team at the time, the Astros, carrying a 7-18 record when Bregman played.
So, what's the difference?
"I feel like this year, I’m just trying to love the work and love the repetitiveness of going to the cage every day and trying to hit the same exact line drive, just kind of falling in love with that," Bregman explained. He added, "I think just the process, working on it, working on the swing every single day, trusting the work, falling in love with the work before the game, and just going and having fun when I'm playing."
It is a philosophy and a mindset that was partly sprung by Clear's message. In short, the four laws the book suggests to live by include, 1. Make it obvious, 2. Make it attractive, 3. Make it easy, and 4. Make it satisfying.
Check. Check. Check. And check.
"We looked at a lot of a lot of different things, whether it's the timing or the mechanics or the setup or the load or how I was getting into the hitting position, what time I was getting into the hitting position, and then obviously kind of got a baseline there of when it was at its best, and kind of have just worked every single day, put my head down, got in the cage, and got with our hitting coaches and gotten after it," Bregman said in regard to his ramp-up for the 2025 season. "I feel like there's still room for improvement in a lot of areas. I feel like some days it's consistent and some days it's not, but just more so falling in love with the process of the work before the game, and just going and having fun on the field."
While Bregman was falling in love with the process, his teammates have been taken by this version of the player that has landed in a lineup that has scored 30 runs in the past three games.
"Something that he does that not a lot of people in the league do, they're totally free or totally OK with giving the other pitcher a free strike and then still put together a quality about every time," said Tuesday night's winning pitcher, Sox starter Garrett Crochet (7 IP, 2 R). "And I think that's a very unique skill that he does. The way that he looks at hitting in general and even looks at pitching, it's helped out the entire team."
"He worked hard in the offseason," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bregman. "He felt like last year he was off, especially early in the season, swinging more. Swinging at the edges of the strike zone. You look at the numbers now, the on-base percentage is over .400, hitting the ball hard, hitting the ball the other way too. He’s a complete hitter and like I said in the press conference, it’s more than hitting at Fenway. This kid, he understands what he needs to do to be successful, and so far so good."
There were the words above the title, and then the ones making up the subtitle below.
"An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones."
Words to live by of late for both Bregman and the Red Sox.