Yankees coach Gary Tuck recalled vividly his introduction to Blake Swihart. In his previous life as the bullpen coach and catching instructor for the Red Sox, Tuck recalled encountering a then 19-year-old in the summer of 2011, after the Red Sox had tabbed Swihart as a first-round pick.
“I will tell you this about Blake Swihart,” said Tuck. “He was brought in here when he was drafted. Theo Epstein asked me to talk to him about catching. I said I’m not going to talk to him about catching. We put him in catching gear and he went out and went through the whole workout with [Jarrod] Saltalamacchia with [Epstein, the Red Sox' former GM] and [then-farm director] Mike Hazen watching, unfazed by any of it – athletic skills and no fear. It was pretty awesome. And I took him inside this Monster, gave him a pen and said, ‘Sign your name. Get back as fast as you can, before the ink dries.’ That’s my story.”
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On Saturday, less than four years after that initial introduction, Tuck was present for Swihart’s big league debut, a 4-2 Yankees victory over the Red Sox. The ink isn’t dry.
Nor, in a sense, is the ink dry for Mookie Betts, who was a fifth-round selection in Swihart’s draft class. Both agreed to turn pro on August 15, 2011. Both have breezed from high school through the minors to the big leagues in breathtaking fashion.
Those two followed the trail blazed by Xander Bogaerts, who in 2013 became the first Red Sox 20-year-old position player in the big leagues in more than 30 years. Though he has a World Series ring and two Opening Day starts under his belt, Bogaerts is still just 22, nearly six months younger than Swihart.
In their own right, each reached the big leagues at a strikingly young age. Collectively, if one draws the line from catcher to shortstop to center field and realizes that the three players who comprise the up-the-middle backbone of the Red Sox are the same age as many players starting their pro careers, the phenomenon is startling.
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That the Sox are committing to such a roster – one year after up-the-middle instability and youth represented a focal area for the Sox’ struggles – was not lost on team officials.
“I was looking at the same thing,” said manager John Farrell. “Once again, the center of the diamond is young, athletic, highly thought-of players that are in very pivotal positions. We don’t think of that as a detriment but we recognize that they’re not long on experience.”
“We’ve talked about that,” concurred bench coach Torey Lovullo. “We’re proud of that. We’re proud of the fact that these guys have developed, they’re ready, and they’re going to contribute. It’s something we all bring up individually at times and we’re all really excited about it.”
Of course, this isn’t by design. The Red Sox thought the combination of Christian Vazquez and Ryan Hanigan would permit them to leave Swihart in the minors for the better part, if not the entirety, of 2015. But that plan got thrown out the window with season-ending Tommy John surgery for Vazquez and the broken finger that will knock Hanigan out through the first half of the year.
The Sox are mindful of what they went through a year ago. The transition to A.J. Pierzynski behind the plate, along with the considerable struggles at shortstop by Bogaerts and in center by Jackie Bradley Jr., became a focal point as the team sank to last place. The inability of Bogaerts, Bradley, and Will Middlebrooks to shake slumps that lasted months likewise highlighted the challenge of a heavy reliance on youth.
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This time, of course, the Sox hope things will shake out differently. Though Betts is hitting .221 with a .296 OBP and .337 slugging mark, he continues to hit rockets (as with his double high off the Green Monster in left-center on Saturday), and he demonstrated at the end of last year evidence of being able to offer top-shelf production at the big league level. In Bogaerts, the Sox believe that what Farrell called “the equity built toward a more seasoned player” in 2014 will permit him to avoid the pitfalls of a year ago. As for Swihart, the Sox are hopeful that athletic ability and a track record as a quick study in the minors will help him to avoid getting jarred on his accelerated path.
“As a group, I think they play way above their years,” said Lovullo. “Xander’s a year older. He has a full year of major league service under his belt. He had a very respectable year last year. Overall, he’s improved his overall game just by the reps and experience. With Mookie, we feel like he’s a very rare talent who can play above his years. Honestly, Blake’s first day, it’s easy to look at and assess it, but we feel like he’s ready for this challenge.”
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Still, the novelty of what the Sox are attempting is striking. Never in their 114 seasons have the Red Sox relied upon a catcher, shortstop, and center fielder who were all 23 years old or younger for 60 or more games each.
That should come as little surprise. After all, only 13 teams in baseball history since 1901 – and none since 1999 – have entrusted 60 games of up-the-middle responsibilities to a catcher, shortstop, and center fielder who were 23 or younger. Even with a number of future Hall of Famers in the ranks of such trios, none of those teams ever reached the postseason.
Year | Team | Players | Record |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Milwaukee Brewers | Bob Coluccio / Charlie Moore / Darrell Porter / Robin Yount | 76-86 |
1999 | Minnesota Twins | Cristian Guzman / Torii Hunter / Javier Valentin | 63-97 |
1977 | Atlanta Braves | Barry Bonnell / Biff Pocoroba / Pat Rockett | 61-101 |
1975 | Montreal Expos | Gary Carter / Barry Foote / Pepe Mangual | 75-87 |
1973 | St. Louis Cardinals | Luis Melendez / Ted Simmons / Mike Tyson | 81-81 |
1972 | San Francisco Giants | Garry Maddox / Dave Rader / Chris Speier | 69-86 |
1971 | Cincinnati Reds | Johnny Bench / Dave Concepcion / George Foster | 79-83 |
1969 | Cincinnati Reds | Johnny Bench / Darrel Chaney / Bobby Tolan | 89-73 |
1929 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Dick Bartell / Rollie Hemsley / Lloyd Waner | 88-65 |
1918 | Philadelphia Athletics | Joe Dugan / Wickey McAvoy / Cy Perkins | 52-76 |
1917 | St. Louis Cardinals | Rogers Hornsby / Jack Smith / Frank Snyder | 82-70 |
1914 | Cleveland Naps | Ray Chapman / Nemo Leibold / Steve O'Neill | 51-102 |
1913 | Cleveland Naps | Ray Chapman / Nemo Leibold / Steve O'Neill | 86-66 |
For their part, the young players hardly seem jarred by the responsibilities that they’re assuming. They’ve spent their entire lives competing against, and usually excelling against, older opponents. To them, this is no different.
“I think when we’re all out there playing, it doesn’t matter,” said Betts. “The only thing age may say is about experience. We haven’t been out there as much as the older guys. But I feel like we’re mature younger guys. We learn things fast. I think we’ll just take everything in stride and be all right. Xander showed that he took everything in stride, being a young guy and part of a World Series team. I think me and Blake are similar people. We take things in stride, learn things, and put them into play.”
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Others in the Sox organization understand that, even with an enormously talented group of young players, uncertainties and uneven stretches are unavoidable. And they are aware of how those pitfalls contributed to last year’s plummet.
Yet this year, they believe, is different. The team loaded the middle of the lineup with Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval in an effort to redistribute the load from the shoulders of youth to veterans, and to create an environment where the younger players can be permitted to find their bearings in the big leagues without undue pressure.
“There’s a much deeper veteran presence with Hanley, Pablo [to go with] a healthy Dustin [Pedroia], David [Ortiz], Mike Napoli. There’s a stronger core group than maybe we’ve experienced before,” said Farrell. “This is probably more reminiscent of when Pedey and [Jacoby] Ellsbury came up versus maybe a year ago.”
That, certainly, is the team’s hope as it embraces life with a still-developing backbone. Now that Swihart has arrived with Bogaerts and Betts, the Sox hope that the ink starts drying quickly.
“Looking back on [the introduction to Tuck], that was not that long ago,” said Swihart. “For me, it seemed like forever but it really wasn’t.”
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Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.