Raise your hand if you thought the first two Red Sox home runs of 2018 would come from Eduardo Núñez and Xander Bogaerts.
Now put down your hand, you liar.
This shouldn't be construed as anything against either Núñez or Bogaerts: they're both extremely talented, fun players.
But if we're being honest, neither is known primarily for his power. Both players had their career highs in homers back in 2016, Núñez with 16, and Bogaerts with 21. Decent numbers, sure, but not mind-blowing, and they average 11 and 13 HRs per year, respectively.
If you're the betting type, you likely would have put your money on new slugger JD Martinez, or maybe one of the youngsters like Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, or Rafael Devers (who, after all, hit the final home run of 2017 for the Red Sox).
But baseball's funny that way. The first Red Sox home run of 2018 was Núñez's, in spectacular inside-the-park fashion, and the first traditional round-tripper went to Bogaerts, who is on an absolute tear to begin the season.
If the Red Sox can keep getting this kind of production from their middle infield, 2018 should shape up to be a pretty great season.
Now put down your hand, you liar.
This shouldn't be construed as anything against either Núñez or Bogaerts: they're both extremely talented, fun players.
But if we're being honest, neither is known primarily for his power. Both players had their career highs in homers back in 2016, Núñez with 16, and Bogaerts with 21. Decent numbers, sure, but not mind-blowing, and they average 11 and 13 HRs per year, respectively.
If you're the betting type, you likely would have put your money on new slugger JD Martinez, or maybe one of the youngsters like Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, or Rafael Devers (who, after all, hit the final home run of 2017 for the Red Sox).
But baseball's funny that way. The first Red Sox home run of 2018 was Núñez's, in spectacular inside-the-park fashion, and the first traditional round-tripper went to Bogaerts, who is on an absolute tear to begin the season.
If the Red Sox can keep getting this kind of production from their middle infield, 2018 should shape up to be a pretty great season.
