For Xander Bogaerts, the hits are coming in streams rather than drips. On Wednesday, he went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a walk. The 23-year-old now leads the majors with 96 hits.
It's difficult to appreciate that volume of hits through 64 games until examining them in broader context. When doing so, it quickly becomes apparent that Bogaerts is entering historic company.
Bogaerts' 96 hits through 64 team games are the most by any Red Sox player in at least the last 100 years, surpassing the prior standard of 95 set by Ted Williams in 1948. He is on pace to collect 243 hits for the year, which would surpass the franchise record for the most hits in a season, a standard currently set by Wade Boggs in 1985, when he tallied 240 hits.
"Hits are hits, man. I'll take anything – infield hits, anything," said Bogaerts. "[An infield hit] that Hanley hit in the last inning, he told me that it was a pitch he should hit out. I said, 'Bro, give me 20 of those. I'll take that instead of the homerun.' That's just my thinking compared to those big guys."
Bogaerts remains mindful that he approached 200 hits last year, his surge over the season's final months coming up slightly short of that hitters' milestone when he concluded the year with 196 hits.
"It was close," said Bogaerts. "It would be nice to get around 200 because I did it the year before. Just try to be the same guy. I'm getting pitched a lot different, so you've got to do some different things. You've got to adjust."
To date, he's been doing that successfully in a way that has him primed to leave little to chance regarding the 200-hit threshold in 2016 – with potentially loftier milestones remaining a possibility.
Follow Alex Speier on Twitter at @alexspeier.