Breaking News: Xander Bogearts Starts at Shortstop
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| Photo from Boston Globe |
Contributing Writer
We have been waiting... and waiting... and waiting... well, wait no more Red Sox fans, it is game on tonight.
In San Francisco against the Giants, Xander Bogaerts will be making his first ever MLB start. He will be giving Stephen Drew a day of rest at shortstop and facing right handed pitcher Ryan Vogelsong.
If there was ever a day to stay up late for a game as an Overseas Fan, then this is it my friends. Here in Europe we will have to get up at 04:15 AM, tomorrow.
This feels like waiting for your birthday party to get here and you have been counting the days until you get to open your presents. It has crawled slowly forwards, until the moment that it is here.
Tonight for some.
Tomorrow very, very early for others.
We are going to see the future of the Red Sox appear on the big stage.
Xander Bogaerts was managed in the World Baseball Classic on the Netherlands team by the Giants hitting coach, Hensley Meulens. Fitting that he gets to watch the young prospect leave the shadows and hopefully put on display that amazing talent he has, both hitting and fielding.
We have said it before, but he hit .297 with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs in 116 games for Double A Portland and Pawtucket. He hit .298 with a .926 OPS against lefties in Triple A. Scouts and other talent evaluators generally rate Bogaerts as one of the top three or four prospects in baseball.
Did I mention he is a citizen of the Netherlands?
Get ready to use the Dutch language cheers of encouragement tonight as he bounces onto the field and onto his destiny with the Boston Red Sox. As we say over here in the Netherlands, "Hup, Xander, Hup!"
Now we all have to head to bed early as the alarm will be going off at 04:00 AM.
Post a comment or via twitter @ericschabell with your thoughts.
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