Like virtually everything else associated with the game of baseball in 2018, the role of the leadoff hitter is undergoing a reimagining.
Gone are the patient hitters who work walks and whose sole purpose is to get on base. In their place: athletic hitters with power, and the freedom to swing as they see fit.
In the dugout of the world champion Houston Astros, bench coach Alex Cora saw that concept personified in outfielder George Springer. And immediately after being hired as the Red Sox manager last November, Cora began to think of Mookie Betts the same way.
Betts had been the Red Sox leadoff hitter, off-and-on, for part of the previous two seasons. But Cora saw some similarities between what Springer brought to the role and what Betts had the potential to bring.
When manager and outfielder talked last November, Cora told Betts he envisioned him bringing "instant offense'' to the top of the Red Sox lineup. And, 10 games into the season, Betts has provided.
That was on full display at Fenway Tuesday night as Betts offered a little bit of everything from the top spot. Yes, there was the critical on-base component: reaching base in all five plate appearances. There were runs scored, the ultimate box to be checked, with a career-high five. And even, for the traditionalists, some patience in the form of a fourth-inning walk.
But there was also muscle: a first-inning double to center to start. It marked the third-straight game Betts doubled to lead off the home half of the first, then came around to score. That's the perfect embodiment of Cora's fantasy of "instant offense" — just add Mookie.
Then, in the sixth, came another double -- this one to left -- and, after the Red Sox batted around, a grand slam which put the finishing touches on a nine-run sixth and a 14-1 walloping of the New York Yankees.
Have a day, Mookie Betts! pic.twitter.com/sdJJuDLAUq
— Stadium (@WatchStadium) April 11, 2018