Is Xander Bogaerts the best shortstop in baseball right now? He has made a pretty good case for himself throughout the 2021 season.
But, unwittingly, the Red Sox star has entered himself into another debate along the way. Is Bogaerts actually the strongest at his position.
We found one person who believes that to be the case, Bogaerts' manager Alex Cora (who was the one who actually got the conversation started Sunday morning).
“I mean, six whatever, and 225 pounds, you know, I don't think there's a stronger shortstop in the big leagues," Cora said. "You see the other guys and (Fernando) Tatis, yeah, he's physical but he's lean, he looks smaller as far as like, he’s a strong shortstop. We talk about Alex (Rodriguez, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds) and (Cal) Ripken, (6-4, 220) those guys, those type of guys, and he can make him play the position, we know that, but it gets to the point in certain times that you can see that you know, hey, he's getting on base at a high rate, too. So you have to take care of that too.”
Only two shortstops (Carlos Correa, Bo Bichette) have hit balls harder than Bogaerts' hardest of the season (113.6 mph). Nobody at the position has managed a home run longer than the Red Sox' shortstop's 446-foot blast. And only Tatis has a higher slugging percentage than Bogaerts' .602.
But, as Cora pointed out, there is a balance to be had when it comes to Bogaerts' 6-foot-2, 218-pound frame.
Along with playing the ninth-most innings of any shortstop in the majors, Bogaerts has managed more totaled bases than every player but three (and none of then are shortstops).
There are others who come into the conversation. Certainly Tatis, who is slightly taller (6-foot-3), but doesn't weigh as much. Carlos Correa is listed at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, but doesn't have the pop Bogaerts possesses.
It's an entire package that the Red Sox are making sure they handle with care. Moral of the story: Bogaerts career-high for most games played at shortstop in a season is 156 in 2015. He's not surpassing it.
It's the price of being the strongest shortstop in baseball.
