Far too often this season, it's been easy to forget that Xander Bogaerts is just 23 years old. Bogaerts, after all, entered the weekend hitting .349/.398/.508 -- good for the second-highest OPS+ (140) among qualified shortstops. Yet Bogaerts looked older than his age against the Twins on Saturday for other reasons -- namely, a heads-up baserunning play.
During the sixth inning, Bogaerts found himself at first base with nobody out and David Ortiz up to bat. The Twins were positioned in an overshift, undoubtedly looking for a double-play ball. Sure enough, Kyle Gibson got a grounder to his second baseman, who then fired to the keystone. Unfortunately, for the Twins, Bogaerts beat the throw to the bag. He then did something unusual: he kept running, all the way to third base.
Bogaerts' gamble would've looked smart regardless of what followed, yet a Hanley Ramirez flyball to left field a few seconds later enabled him to scamper home, thereby breaking a 4-4 tie.
The Red Sox would go on to rout the Twins -- thanks in part to a two-run home run by Bogaerts (who else?) later in the game. In spite of that, here's hoping Bogaerts' boldness is remembered. Players this young, talented, and intelligent don't come along often. No wonder he's Boston's newest superstar.
