Xander's Season

azsoxpatsfan

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May 23, 2014
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Bumping this thread because even though the Sox haven’t been great I like to focus on positives (also X has been my favorite player since Ortiz retired). Here are his AL ranks in both outdated counting stats and advanced metrics:

Runs 2nd
RBI 2nd
Avg 4th
OBP 4th
SLG 2nd
OPS 2nd
2b 2nd
wOBA 2nd
wRC+ 2nd
OFF 2nd
fWAR 2nd

In runs he’s only behind Mookie, in RBI, SLG, OPS, wOBA, wRC+, OFF, and WAR only behind Trout (duh). In a non-Trout world, he’s the clear MVP
 

azsoxpatsfan

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May 23, 2014
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X was worth 4.9 fWAR in both 2016 and 2018. Last nights game gave him 5.0 so far this season
 

Savin Hillbilly

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Jul 10, 2007
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The wrong side of the bridge....
Xander is now on a pace for 35 homers and 53 doubles. This would make him the second Red Sox player ever to top 30 HR and 50 doubles (Papi 2007), and only the 20th in major league history.

EDIT: Should have checked before posting -- Devers is also on a pace to do this in 2019.
 

Al Zarilla

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Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
Now he’s on pace to go down as one of the franchise’s best players, or at least best infielders.
He's already, at 26, the 7th-best shortstop and 15th-best infielder by fWAR in the history of the franchise. Here are all the infielders ahead of Xander in Sox history, and how many more fWAR he'll need to catch them:

Freddy Parent 3.0
Jimmy Collins 4.0
Mo Vaughn 4.2
Kevin Youkilis 5.5
Larry Gardner 5.8
Joe Cronin 6.7
Johnny Pesky 7.4
John Valentin 7.8
Jimmie Foxx 14.2
Nomar Garciaparra 15.5
Rico Petrocelli 16.0
Dustin Pedroia 23.2
Bobby Doerr 29.9
Wade Boggs 47.4
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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I was thinking the other day about Xander vs. Nomar, and who I'd rather have. I love me some Xander and was a fan when he first came to the organization. And his peak years (have we even seen his peak yet?) are going to be tremendous. And though we remember that they shipped Nomar out during the 2004 season and that actually may have contributed to them winning it all....the fact remains that peak Nomar was simply a ridiculously great baseball player.

Let's call this year Xander's peak (it is so far) and let's look first at his current numbers:

500 ab, 96 r, 154 h, 44 2b, 0 3b, 27 hr, 96 rbi, 64 bb, 102 k, .308/.385/.558/.943, 139 ops+, 5.7 fWAR

Let's say he keeps up the same pace...here's what he'd finish at:

618 ab, 119 r, 190 h, 54 2b, 0 3b, 33 hr, 119 rbi, 79 bb, 126 k, .308/.385/.558/.943, 139 ops+, 7.0 fWAR

Now let's compare that to Nomar's best season (2000):

529 ab, 104 r, 197 h, 51 2b, 3 3b, 21 hr, 96 rbi, 61 bb, 50 k, .372/.434/.599/1.033, 156 ops+, 7.6 fWAR

Xander has been healthier, which helps his counting numbers. But man, Nomar was a BEAST.
 

Al Zarilla

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He's already, at 26, the 7th-best shortstop and 15th-best infielder by fWAR in the history of the franchise. Here are all the infielders ahead of Xander in Sox history, and how many more fWAR he'll need to catch them:

Freddy Parent 3.0
Jimmy Collins 4.0
Mo Vaughn 4.2
Kevin Youkilis 5.5
Larry Gardner 5.8
Joe Cronin 6.7
Johnny Pesky 7.4
John Valentin 7.8
Jimmie Foxx 14.2
Nomar Garciaparra 15.5
Rico Petrocelli 16.0
Dustin Pedroia 23.2
Bobby Doerr 29.9
Wade Boggs 47.4
Thanks for compiling that. A couple of those guys have seasons back in the 19th century. Parent and Collins.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Yankees offered to double the signing bonus the Red Sox offered a teenaged Xander Bogaerts, but X turned them down because he already gave the Red Sox his word.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nesn.com/2019/08/xander-bogaerts-turned-down-yankees-attempt-to-double-red-sox-signing-bonus/amp/
Back in the day, the reason was because the Sox also signed Jair. That's actually noted in the article though. I wonder what happened to Jair anyway. He had to repeat the DSL but did have a decent 2nd year until he was injured. Then he was traded to the Cubs and never played again.
 

stepson_and_toe

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Red(s)HawksFan

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Yankees offered to double the signing bonus the Red Sox offered a teenaged Xander Bogaerts, but X turned them down because he already gave the Red Sox his word.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nesn.com/2019/08/xander-bogaerts-turned-down-yankees-attempt-to-double-red-sox-signing-bonus/amp/
That's even more impressive when you consider why he wears the number 2. So glad that he has panned out so well for the Sox, and that he's locked up long term. From the moment he arrived on the scene, I thought he had the makings of a great Red Sox and that's before considering his on field skills. He always exuded a maturity and confidence well ahead of his years.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Xander crushing two more bombs last night. The guy is having just a ridiculously great season. Current MLB ranks for SS:

R: 1st (100)
H: 1st (159)
2b: 1st (46)
HR: 2nd (30)
RBI: 1st (100)
AVG: 1st (.311)
OBP: 1st (.389)
SLG: 1st (.577)
OPS: 1st (.967)
TB: 1st (295)
XBH: 1st (76)

Unreal season.
 

BroodsSexton

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Xander crushing two more bombs last night. The guy is having just a ridiculously great season. Current MLB ranks for SS:

R: 1st (100)
H: 1st (159)
2b: 1st (46)
HR: 2nd (30)
RBI: 1st (100)
AVG: 1st (.311)
OBP: 1st (.389)
SLG: 1st (.577)
OPS: 1st (.967)
TB: 1st (295)
XBH: 1st (76)

Unreal season.
Absolute MVP season in non Trout world.
Just for comparison, Devers among 3b:

R: 1st (111)
H: 1st (174)
2b: 1st (48)
HR: T-3 (28)
RBI: 1st (104)
AVG: 1st (.326)
OBP: 2nd (.375)
SLG: 1st (.589)
OPS: 2nd (.965)
TB: 1st (314)
XBH: 1st (80)
 
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Al Zarilla

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Absolute MVP season in non Trout world.
Stupid Trout can’t even bat .300 though. :rolleyes: In a pre modern stats year, maybe Xander wins MVP with this kind of year. Well, OBP isn’t that modern and that’s Trout’s biggest difference. Home runs too. Happy for Xander, seems like a really good dude too.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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X has a shot at catching Yelich and Bellinger in fWAR. He’s currently at 6.3, Yelich at 6.7, Bellinger 6.9. As of three days ago Yelich was at 6.7, Bellinger was at 6.8, and X was at 5.7. (No shot of catching Trout, who’s at 8.4).
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Dec 19, 2009
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If the Red Sox somehow make the playoffs, does that give X (and/or Devers) an edge in maybe beating out Trout for MVP when his team finishes last AGAIN?
 

azsoxpatsfan

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Only way either of them has a real chance is by getting just insanely hot. Like if X hits 10 homers in September and ends with 40 homers 50 doubles and a .320/.400/.600/1.000 line. Of course he’d accrue tons of WAR doing that and would probably close the gap some. I’d say if he gets within 1 WAR of Trout then the teams respective records might come into consideration
 

Pitt the Elder

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Only way either of them has a real chance is by getting just insanely hot. Like if X hits 10 homers in September and ends with 40 homers 50 doubles and a .320/.400/.600/1.000 line. Of course he’d accrue tons of WAR doing that and would probably close the gap some. I’d say if he gets within 1 WAR of Trout then the teams respective records might come into consideration
Trout could also get injured and miss time. I think both are probably necessary.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Wow... that era of Nomar, ARod, Tejada....... and..... Jeter was pretty crazy. ARod likely would have had several more to his name as a SS if not for Jeter.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Bogaerts is the first AL SS since Miguel Tejada in 2004 and the first Red Sox SS since Nomar to have a 30HR 100RBI season.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/tiny/Gwmtx
That seems crazy to me since there have been a lot of good SS in the league the last handful of years. Machado would have done it last year had he not been traded and Correa always seems to miss 40-50 games a year. Has any NL SS besides Trevory Story had a30 HR/100 Rbi season since 2004? Probably missing someone obvious but Baseballref hides seasons unless you have a paid membership.
 

DanoooME

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No AL SS had a 30/100 year for the years 1951-1990. Junior Stephens, Red Sox, did it in 1950, and in 1949. Can do the 30/100 club for the NL, please?
Here you go:

RkPlayerYearHRRBIAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BBBIBBSOHBPSHSFGDPSBCSBAOBPSLGOPSPos
1Trevor Story20183710825COLNL15765659888174426473168704122760.2910.3480.5670.914*6/H
2Troy Tulowitzki20113010526COLNL1436065378116236259127941516930.3020.3720.5440.916*6/H
3Ernie Banks19604111729CHCNL1566785979416232771286940614130.2710.350.5540.904*6
4Ernie Banks19594514328CHCNL1556715899717925664207272918240.3040.3740.5960.97*6/H
5Ernie Banks19584712927CHCNL154682617119193231152128741814440.3130.3660.6140.98*6
6Ernie Banks19574310226CHCNL15667359411316934670118532512840.2850.360.5790.939*65
7Ernie Banks19554411724CHCNL154646596981762994567220316930.2950.3450.5960.941*6
 

bosockboy

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Here you go:

RkPlayerYearHRRBIAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BBBIBBSOHBPSHSFGDPSBCSBAOBPSLGOPSPos
1Trevor Story20183710825COLNL15765659888174426473168704122760.2910.3480.5670.914*6/H
2Troy Tulowitzki20113010526COLNL1436065378116236259127941516930.3020.3720.5440.916*6/H
3Ernie Banks19604111729CHCNL1566785979416232771286940614130.2710.350.5540.904*6
4Ernie Banks19594514328CHCNL1556715899717925664207272918240.3040.3740.5960.97*6/H
5Ernie Banks19584712927CHCNL154682617119193231152128741814440.3130.3660.6140.98*6
6Ernie Banks19574310226CHCNL15667359411316934670118532512840.2850.360.5790.939*65
7Ernie Banks19554411724CHCNL154646596981762994567220316930.2950.3450.5960.941*6
So Ernie Banks and Coors Field.
 

colinfleminglit.com

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Aug 9, 2019
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He’s a better fielder than Garciaparra—with whom any routine throw could be an adventure—and a better winner—and a lower-peak hitter, though this year, as a single year, makes it close and could end up the best for either. Felt his defense was better last year. It’s fine this season.
 

Al Zarilla

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Here you go:

RkPlayerYearHRRBIAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BBBIBBSOHBPSHSFGDPSBCSBAOBPSLGOPSPos
1Trevor Story20183710825COLNL15765659888174426473168704122760.2910.3480.5670.914*6/H
2Troy Tulowitzki20113010526COLNL1436065378116236259127941516930.3020.3720.5440.916*6/H
3Ernie Banks19604111729CHCNL1566785979416232771286940614130.2710.350.5540.904*6
4Ernie Banks19594514328CHCNL1556715899717925664207272918240.3040.3740.5960.97*6/H
5Ernie Banks19584712927CHCNL154682617119193231152128741814440.3130.3660.6140.98*6
6Ernie Banks19574310226CHCNL15667359411316934670118532512840.2850.360.5790.939*65
7Ernie Banks19554411724CHCNL154646596981762994567220316930.2950.3450.5960.941*6
Thanks, Dano. Knew there’d be a lot of Ernie Banks.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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He’s a better fielder than Garciaparra—with whom any routine throw could be an adventure—and a better winner—and a lower-peak hitter, though this year, as a single year, makes it close and could end up the best for either. Felt his defense was better last year. It’s fine this season.
I think Nomar was the better fielder despite the arm, at least earlier on in his career.

Defensive stats are iffy and I'm only using 1, but dWAR agrees. Of course Xander's defense is all over the place depending on the metric.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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He’s a better fielder than Garciaparra—with whom any routine throw could be an adventure—and a better winner—and a lower-peak hitter, though this year, as a single year, makes it close and could end up the best for either. Felt his defense was better last year. It’s fine this season.
What does this even mean? Does Xander win bigly?
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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What does this even mean? Does Xander win bigly?
Maybe WS rings? Xander has more. I dunno. Xander might put up a 5.5 WAR this season which would easily be a career high. Nomar put up 6.6, 7.1, 6.6 and 7.4 his first 4 seasons in the majors, missed a year and then put up a 6.8 and 6.1 WAR season.

Xander may end up having the better career but that will be due to health. Nomar had 27.9 WAR at the end of his age 26 season, Xander is currently at 19.3 but it took him 300 more games to get there. After age 26, Nomar had 16.4 WAR but 12.9 of that was in his age 28 and 29 seasons. He only put up 3.0 WAR after age 29.

Also up until their age 26 seasons, Nomar had 5.7 dWAR at SS, Xander is at -2.5. That's not close.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
I agree that calling Xander a better fielder than Nomar is stretching a point--he's steadier and might have a better arm, but Nomar had more range and agility. Basically, I'd take Xander for routine plays and Nomar for the highlight-film plays.

At best (from Xander's POV) it's a toss-up. But that's OK -- Nomar wasn't a bad defender, just an average-ish one.

Maybe WS rings? Xander has more. I dunno. Xander might put up a 5.5 WAR this season which would easily be a career high. Nomar put up 6.6, 7.1, 6.6 and 7.4 his first 4 seasons in the majors, missed a year and then put up a 6.8 and 6.1 WAR season.
This really highlights the crazy disparity in dWAR between UZR and DRS (and hence, between fWAR and brWAR). Fangraphs says Xander is already at 6.2. BBref says 4.6.

Basically there are four possibilities:

1) Whoever is interpreting play data for DRS has a vendetta against Xander;
2) Whoever's doing it for UZR is a fanboy cutting him every possible break;
3) A little of both, and the truth is in the middle (i.e., Xander is a moderately below-average fielder);
4) "Advanced" defensive metrics are utter voodoo and Xander is the proof.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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This really highlights the crazy disparity in dWAR between UZR and DRS (and hence, between fWAR and brWAR). Fangraphs says Xander is already at 6.2. BBref says 4.6.
I wanted to dismiss the comparison away outright because I thought Nomar was having the considerably better career to date but if you dismiss the defensive stats, they are very close.
Nomar up to age 26: 25.9 oWAR, 2673 PA
Xander up to age 26: 27.0 oWAR, 3821 PA

A lot closer than 27.9 and 19.3 anyway. Nomar's peek oWAR was 7.3 in 1999. If Xander plays 25 more games at his current pace, he'll finish with 7.63. Xander is currently at 6.4 oWAR. Nomar's 2nd best was 6.6, 3rd was 6.1.

Much harder to dismiss.
 

brandonchristensen

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Feb 4, 2012
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So it's now official -- Xander has become the 2nd Red Sox player, and just the 20th player in MLB history, to have a season with 30+ home runs and 50+ doubles.
I read that if Devers gets his 50th double, they will be the first teammates in MLB history to have that happen.
 

stepson_and_toe

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Aug 11, 2019
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Today on the WEEI website there is an article by Scott McLaughlin--"Who's Swinging the Lumber/ Xander Bogaerts joins the exclusive 30-home run, 50-double, 100-RBI club."

Well, yes, it is exclusive, having only been done 24 times by 20 different players (Pujols x3, Chuck Klein and Todd Helton x2) but no one has ever hit 30 home runs and 50 doubles in a season without hitting at least 100 RBI. You missed your chance, Xander.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Today on the WEEI website there is an article by Scott McLaughlin--"Who's Swinging the Lumber/ Xander Bogaerts joins the exclusive 30-home run, 50-double, 100-RBI club."

Well, yes, it is exclusive, having only been done 24 times by 20 different players (Pujols x3, Chuck Klein and Todd Helton x2) but no one has ever hit 30 home runs and 50 doubles in a season without hitting at least 100 RBI. You missed your chance, Xander.

What?