BOSTON -- For the past three seasons, the Red Sox pondered what life could have been like with a healthy Trevor Story.
Could the club have made the postseason in at least one of those years?
Story is rewriting his story, not only staying on the field but pummeling the baseball like he did for years with the Rockies.
Behind a pair of three-run homers by Story -- one into the center-field bleachers in the first and the other deep into the Monster Seats in the seventh -- the Red Sox rolled to a 10-3 victory over the White Sox in the opener of a four-game series in front of a packed house of 35,620 at Fenway Park.
At last, Story feels like a baseball player again, and not someone constantly trying to regain his timing in his return from another injury.
¡°Yeah, I was saying that the other day. I just feel that sense of normalcy and I feel settled in,¡± Story said. ¡°And not trying to battle for health every single day. That side of it can take a lot out of you. So just a little more mental energy, I guess. And I¡¯m feeling good about the comfortability, just being myself, being a ballplayer and being with the boys is nice.¡±
While fans are clamoring for Marcelo Mayer, the team¡¯s shortstop of the future, to punch his ticket to Fenway, Story is saying, ¡°Not so fast.¡±
The right-handed hitter is a veteran leader and a standout defender at shortstop, despite two errors in Friday¡¯s game. He can also still hit, as he demonstrated again on Friday.
¡°Two good swings,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°He's such a good athlete that we've taken away the thought process now. Yeah, he has a plan going in, but we give him the license to swing. Sometimes it doesn't look good, metrics-wise, right? And some people, they're critical about it, but I'm not. I want him to be an athlete, to be in a position to attack and execute. He's been doing that.¡±
The 32-year-old has been one of Boston¡¯s top hitters coming out of the gate this season. In 21 games and 81 at-bats, he has a slash line of .321/.345/.531 with five homers and 14 RBIs.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Mayer (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 11 prospect, No. 3 for the Red Sox) broke out of an early-season slump and had a huge day for Triple-A Worcester, drilling a grand slam as part of a seven-RBI performance.
While Mayer will certainly have his day at some point, the Red Sox are relishing the opportunity to see Story on the field every day.
¡°Trevor¡¯s worked so incredibly hard over the past few years, and to see him have some success early on results-wise, it¡¯s been really, really fun,¡± said Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder. ¡°We all really care about Trevor and how hard he¡¯s worked.¡±
While Story¡¯s defense and baserunning come as a natural product of his athleticism, the offensive piece is what takes the most work, particularly considering the time he¡¯s missed.
¡°Yeah, I feel really good,¡± said Story. ¡°It¡¯s been that way for a week or two, and now it¡¯s just the chance to focus on hitting the ball hard. That's really it. And for me, it's very simple. It's very short. It¡¯s obviously a good feeling when you feel like you can hit the ball hard a lot.¡±
Righty Hunter Dobbins, ranked by MLB Pipeline as Boston¡¯s No. 14 prospect, pitched six strong innings (three hits, two runs with one earned, no walks, six strikeouts) to win his second spot start this season.
Dobbins got his first chance in the back end of a split doubleheader against the Cardinals on April 6, and the Red Sox roared to an 18-7 victory that night.
Twelve days later, the Sox again put up double-digits in runs and hits with the 25-year-old on the mound.
While Alex Bregman (six RBis) was the one who exploded in the debut of Dobbins, Friday night belonged to Story.
¡°This guy's been hurt, and when he's healthy, he's 30-30,¡± said Cora. ¡°This guy's really good. So we haven't seen the healthy version of Trevor Story. My job is to keep him on the field, and I'll do my best. Obviously, last year, that was a freak accident, right? But if he plays, he produces. So far, it's been fun to watch.¡±