It says all you need to know about the quality of the Red Sox' defensive play in 2021 that only one player from their roster was recognized Thursday when the Fielding Bible Awards were handed out.
It says even more that the lone Red Sox player to gain recognition was not celebrated for playing any one position.
Kiké Hernandez, who became the Red Sox everyday center fielder only midway through the season, was named as the "multi-position'' choice for the team, chosen by a panel of 17 experts from Sports Info Solutions.
No other Red Sox player was given strong consideration for the team -- Alex Verdugo finished fourth among left fielders -- which shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
Meanwhile, Rawlings announced its Gold Glove finalists, which featured just one Sox nominee: Hunter Renfroe in right field. Even that selection was something of a surprise. While Renfroe often dazzled with his powerful throwing arm, recording a league-leading 16 assists, he also committed 12 errors and measured poorly in other defensive metrics, with Renfroe earning zero defensive runs saved, suggesting he was a neutral defender.
Hernandez made just 81 starts in center to go with 45 starts at second (and another four at shortstop). That he wasn't utilized in more than half the games at any one position likely cost him when it comes to Gold Glove balloting.
Regardless of which defensive metric is used, the Sox finished in the bottom half when it came to overall team performance. The Sox ranked 18th out of 30 in team defensive runs saved, as computed by Sports Info Solutions.
They were also ranked last in Outs Above Average, with a -35 figure.
Meanwhile, even more ominously, they were 30th and dead last in defensive efficiency -- that is, the percentage of balls in play converted into outs. The Sox did so at a .659 rate. The Los Angeles Dodgers ranked first with an efficiency rating of .723.
That the Sox had so much trouble turning balls in play into outs was reflected in some of the secondary numbers for their starting pitchers. Eduardo Rodriguez, to use one example, had a 4.74 ERA, but a FIP (fielding independent pitching) of 3.86, almost a full run lower. FIP measures a pitcher's effectiveness at preventing home runs, walks and hit-batsman and causing strikeouts).
Ironically, Hernandez enjoyed his most success in center, though he was signed with the intent of serving as the team's (more-or-less) everyday second baseman. As the best defender on the team, capable of playing plus-defense in both the infield and outfield, even the Red Sox aren't entirely committed to him returning as the starting center fielder in 2022.
"I think it gets to the upside and the positives of having someone like Kike, who's so talented that he can play all over the field,'' said chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. "No secret in this room -- when we signed him, we didn't see him being our everyday center fielder down the stretch. But that ended up being our best team and because of the different things he can do, it worked out for us. So it gives us options going into the offseason and this year, the fact that he went out to center allowed Christian Arroyo to emerge (at second base). Not only did it improve our outfield, but we realized a benefit somewhere else.
"So the possibility certainly exists there. But it was a pretty good feeling having him out there (in center) this year.''
Improving the defense will be a top priority this offseason and more work will be focused on that next spring training.
"I do believe, towards the end of the season, we started playing better (defensively),'' said Alex Cora, "and you saw the results. I always said, whenever we play good defense, we became a really, really good team. We've got guys who are capable of it.''
But clearly, they need more.
