Remember not that long ago when Boston Red Sox fans were ready to revolt over the offseason free agent signing of Trevor Story? Well, as Memorial Day approaches, Story’s fortunes at the plate have mirrored and been a big part of Boston’s recent winning ways.
The Boston Red Sox are 8-2 over their last 10 games, with that stretch occurring just as Trevor Story has put together a history-making amount of production at the dish.
How Trevor Story of the Boston Red Sox has put his name in the record books with his recent hitting
Starting with a May 19 home game against the Seattle Mariners through a May 26 road game at the Chicago White Sox, Story is 10-for-29 at the plate with seven home runs and 21 RBI. His slash line during that stretch is an eye-popping .345/.394/1.069 with an OPS of 1.463.
Those 21 RBI that Story has put together is tied for second among all MLB players since the beginning of the 1947 season. Only Albert Belle in 2000 and Del Ennis in 1950 have matched Story by logging 21 RBI in a seven-game stretch, and only three players (Edwin Encarnación in 2015, Sammy Sosa in 2002, and Harmon Killebrew in 1962) have more RBI during the same number of games, with each of them recording 22 to set the high mark.
It is quite a turnaround at the plate for Story, who was signed this offseason to play second base for the Red Sox. His slash line before the streak sat at .205/.293/.320 but has now ballooned to .232/.312/.464 heading into Friday night’s action, helping him earn American League Player of the Week honors.
He also had just two home runs all season before hitting seven over the last seven days, so the power stroke that Story displayed during his first six MLB seasons with the Colorado Rockies has certainly returned.
Story’s career slash line is .270/.339/.520, so there is plenty of time for Story to reach those types of numbers this season with the Red Sox. And let’s quickly get ahead of those people who will often point to his time at Coors Field for making Story into the hitter he became with the Rockies. After all, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado have shown plenty around the MLB universe that hitters can still hit, even after they leave Denver’s altitude and start anew with other teams.
Along with his hitting, Story has re-endeared himself to the Boston faithful by flashing a Marcus Smart Boston Celtics jersey as the Red Sox headed off to Chicago to start a road trip.
There is no doubt that Story will cool off from his historic pace, but if you were one of the Red Sox fans to give up on Story early in the season, he’s here to remind you (again and again, lately) just what he can bring to a team.