Last week, I asked you, the reader, to tell me who you thought would be the MVP for the Boston Red Sox this season. You guys largely agreed with me, at least in that almost half of you chose the recently re-signed Dustin Pedroia to lead the team this season. Pedey is probably the best choice: he plays a crucial position, he’s smack in the middle of his prime, and – perhaps most importantly – he’s finally healthy to open the season. Everything seems lined up for our favorite second baseman to post a big season at the plate.
From there, the results were pretty interesting. Rookie Xander Bogaerts came in second with a surprising 15% advantage over David Ortiz, who was undoubtably the MVP of the 2013 squad. This seemed a little premature to me; I’ve been predicting a huge year for Bogaerts all offseason, but he’s still only 21 years old. I have no doubt he’ll top this list eventually, but maybe not this year. Grady Sizemore came up next – perhaps fueled by the hype around his Spring Training and some impressive performances to open the season – followed by a four-way tie between Mike Napoli, Clay Buchholz, Koji Uehara, and That Player He Unforgivably Left Off The Ballot. Jon Lester sadly finished last.
Who will be the Red Sox MVP in 2014?
This week, I’m returning to the outfield. You’ll remember that, not long ago, I asked you to pick who should start in centerfield between Grady Sizemore and Jackie Bradley Jr. Well, you guys knew that Sizemore was going to get the nod, so now I’m gonna take a different approach. I want you guys to tell me: with Shane Victorino on the DL, who should be the starting trio in the Red Sox outfield?
What should the Red Sox starting outfield be? (Pick Three)
Cast your votes and I’ll have the results for you next week! (By which time, it probably won’t even matter anymore.)