Kevin Plawecki has a some experience with it comes to broken hands.
Back in 2018 with the Mets the catcher fractured his left hand after being hit by a pitch. So when his right hand was struck with a 95 mph fastball Sunday he had an inkling this might be deja vu.
It wasn't. X-rays confirmed Plawecki there were no broken bones.
"I thought I broke it, to be honest with you," Plawecki said after being hit with the seventh-inning heater in what would be a 10-8 Red Sox loss to the Blue Jays."Big man upstairs was looking out for me, thank goodness, yeah, dodged a bullet and thank God."
The injury immediately ended what had been a memorable day for Plawecki, who blasted a first-inning three-run homer and ended up going 2-for-3.
Plawecki has been somewhat of a revelation for the Red Sox, who signed the catcher to a one-year deal worth $900,000 to replace Sandy Leon. Leon had left to replace Plawecki as the Indians' backup backstop.
Heading into the season the former first-round pick had been known more for his glove than bat. But the script has flipped a bit this season, with Plawecki hitting .354 with a .904 OPS in 52 plate appearances.
Defensively the results haven't been up to his usual level -- at least numbers-wise. He has only thrown out one of 10 baserunners, while totaling a catcher's ERS of 7.74. The Red Sox are also just 1-14 games in which he has played.
But the reality of Plawecki's defensive output has a lot to do with the pitchers he has to work with, a group which has been, to be kind, challenging this season. Sunday was no exception, with the Sox hurlers not only allowing 10 runs but also walking nine batters in the process.
"It's frustrating," he said. "Hard to get in a rhythm. It's always tough when we're not getting ahead of guys. It just makes it so much harder on us to get quick innings, get back in the dugout, and get back to hitting again. It's tough when we're falling behind and we're walking guys and stuff like that. I know these guys are busting their tails. We're trying really hard to get ahead of hitters and get quick innings and get us back in the dugout but today just wasn't one of those days. It's frustrating but we've got to move on."
All things considered, Plawecki -- who has one more year of arbitration-eligibility -- seems like he could be more part of the solution rather than the problem.
"Like I said at the beginning of the year, I prepare every day like I'm going to play, whether I'm playing or not," he said. "I stick to my same routine so that when I'm in there, I can perform to the best of my ability and have no regrets in doing that. I try to go out there and perform to the best of my ability and give our team the best chance to win each and every day. It's obviously good to have some results. I've been working my tail off for the past not only offseason but the past couple of years with numerous people so it's good to have some results kind of go along with that. I just try to stay prepared each and every day whether I'm playing or not playing so that when I am in there, I feel comfortable and confident."
