The Red Sox reached the midway point of the 2019 season at 44-37 or seven games over .500, which put them on pace for an 88-74 record this year.
By this point, we all finally recognize that this team is not as good as last year's, even though it remains mostly the same. This was somewhat expected since the 2018 team won 108 games in the regular season and 11 more in the playoffs. That's a tough act to follow.
The Red Sox struggles this season are mirrored by their best player, Mookie Betts.
Betts set the bar so high last year that a slight decline in performance was to be expected this year. However, Betts' stats have fallen precipitously in 2019.
The center fielder's batting average is down 85 points to .261, his OBP is down 59 points to .379 and his slugging percentage is down almost 200 points, plummeting from .640 to .459.
However, as Alex Speier points out, Betts is actually walking at a higher rate this year and striking out at a slightly lower rate than last year, when he was already among the best both categories. So what gives?
Speier notes that Betts is pulling the ball less this season, falling from 47.8 percent to 43.6 percent, which may account for some of the falloff. Because Betts isn't a natural power hitter, he needs to pull the ball to generate home runs. Balls hit the other way often result in outs for Betts.
After the breathtaking season Betts had in 2018, pitchers have made an adjustment and are attacking him down and away. He knows it and hitting coach Tim Hyers knows it. Hyers says that Betts even anticipates this.
The question at this point in the season is why hasn’t he been able to make the necessary adjustments of his own? Betts had a fantastic 2016 season, but a rather ordinary 2017. Then he had his historical MVP run last year. In other words, he’s been on and off from year to year.
That may hurt him in free agency after next season, unless he produces another even-numbered-year explosion in 2020.
Betts still has time to adjust, but this season is already past the halfway mark. In other words, time is short for the former MVP... and for the Red Sox, who rely on him so much.
