If Red Sox let Bregman get away in free agency, they’ll regret it originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It went in the scorebook as an L-7, but Red Sox ownership should rewatch the at-bat and then get off the fence and sign Alex Bregman.
Everyone remembers the situation. Bases loaded, Red Sox up 8-6, a shaky Craig Kimbrel trying to close out Game 4 of the 2018 American League Championship Series in Houston with David Price hastily warming.
Bregman was the absolute last person the Red Sox wanted to see. They had spent the entire series meticulously avoiding him (seven walks), but now there was nowhere to hide.
As Bregman stepped to the plate with Minute Maid Park rocking and Red Sox manager Alex Cora looking car sick, the 24-year-old projected steely calm, especially when juxtaposed against the firehose of sweat pouring off Kimbrel. The greatest season in Red Sox history hung in the balance.
Bregman is a patient hitter – a year later he’d lead the American League with 119 walks – and Kimbrel had just walked the bases loaded. Catcher Sandy Leon set up low and away, but Kimbrel, as was his habit, missed badly. The first-pitch 97 mph fastball sailed back through the heart of the plate and ran just far enough inside that Bregman couldn’t fully extend his arms, but with his short stroke he still made solid contact, sending a sinking liner to left field.
If the ball gets down, the Astros win, but Andrew Benintendi sold out to make the spectacular diving catch, delivering the signature play of the postseason. The Red Sox won the series in five en route to their fourth World Series in 14 years. Bregman left the field wearing the same impassive expression, helmet in hand. He couldn’t have done much more.
The two-time World Series winner is a bad man who was born for those moments, and there’s a chance he could deliver them in Boston, if only the Red Sox act.
An offseason that began with promises to spend has instead gotten bogged down. The front office swung a massive trade for potential ace Garrett Crochet and signed former Dodgers standout Walker Buehler to a one-year deal, but neither acquisition cost much money and the roster remains incomplete.
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