For the first time in a long time, something has gone right for the Red Sox. Really right.
For that, they can thank Bobby Dalbec.
He is the 25-year-old first baseman who became the first Red Sox rookie to homer in four straight games. And to add some spice to the story, Dalbec did it with someone else’s bat.
“Just trying to use my lower body better and my back side better. I was kind of heavy on my front side and not really controlling it, which was allowing me to twist and miss pitches that I shouldn’t miss, so it feels good just to be able to have a good routine right now and keep it rolling,” Dalbec explained after the Red Sox/ 5-2 win over the Phillies Tuesday night in the second game of the teams’ doubleheader. “Also starting using Jackie Bradley’s bat ever since I hit those homers, so I think that’s got a lot to do with it, too.”
Why Bradley Jr.’s bat?
“”t just feels good,” Dalbec explained. “He was swinging a really good hot bat. I picked it up in the cage one of the games I was sitting and couldn’t put it down and just tried it out and it’s been going pretty well.”
For once, the Red Sox were smacked with serendipity.
If the Red Sox trade Bradley Jr. and his bats, not only don’t they get the current hot streak from the outfielder (he went 3-for-3 to get his OPS up to .761 for the season), but who knows if Dalbec’s recent run at history ever unfolds.
And while the bat story adds another layer to the recent success (just as was the case when Daisuke Matsuzaka hit a home run with J.D. Drew’s bat), there were other explanations for Dalbec’s step away from all those swings and misses.
“So (assistant hitting coach) Pete (Fatse) and (hitting coach) Tim (Hyers) both had him the cage and changed the leg kick,” said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke. “He was doing a kind of toe tap thing and they changed it to a higher leg kick and maybe that’s the difference. He looks good and really nice day for him.”
Make no mistake about it, there is a long way to go for Dalbec. While he did make history, history also teaches us to pump the breaks a bit.
Some might remember Sam Horn hitting five home runs in his first seven games for the Red Sox in 1987. He was supposed to be a no-doubt-about-it staple in the middle of the lineup after that run. Nope. After two seasons of never playing more than 33 games he was off to Baltimore.
Horn is just one example — having offered the same feel-good story we’re currently soaking in with Dalbec. There have been plenty of other rookies managing to take the path the Red Sox are banking on for their current first baseman, immersing themselves into the majors at just the right time.
After days like Tuesday, however, it’s hard not to project.
Dalbec. J.D. Martinez. Alex Verdugo. Rafael Devers. Christian Vazquez. Xander Bogaerts. Lock down a few more positional pieces along with a whole lot more pitching and you might have something.
Dare to dream. Why not? Reality hasn’t been all that fun for these Red Sox.
“I’ve seen some great starts but not the home runs like this so we talk about it and that’s what we were hoping for,” Roenicke said. “We talk about putting the ball in play more and he’s doing it and also got a big base hit for us so that’s really fun to see. With all the things going on it’s great to see a young guy start off like that.”