Boston Red Sox franchise leaders in 2011 season – MLB Season Review
The American League’s eastern franchise Boston Red Sox had been ruled out of the race for the 2011 World Series in the month of September despite having posted a phenomenal performance throughout the season.
The club was nine-games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card race before entering September, but their entire momentum dropped down at a crucial time. The club went 7-20 in the last month and their journey ended with a last inning defeat in the final
outing of the season against by the Rays.
It was as harsh blow for the club that they forced their general manager Theo Epstein to leave the team. Epstein left the club and Ben Cherington took charge. Performance that held the club in top position before September was no doubt aligned with the calibre
of the Red Sox. It was the joint effort, both by pitchers and by the batters to take them into a 90-72 record.
Jacoby Ellsbury held the club into a dominating position throughout the season. He launched 32 home-runs and scored 119 runs to take a lead over entire batting camp, including David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez. However, his dominance was restricted to only
these two categories, as Gonzalez scored a career best .338 batting average and 117 RBIs. Gonzalez also led the franchise with .957 OPS.
Gonzalez however could not generate anything special during the crucial time in September. He made only one run on five hits in 20 at bats of his last five outings. He was unable to gain even an average performance against the Tampa Bay Rays in the final
series of the season.
Ellsbury on the other hand scored five runs and eleven hits including four home-runs in his last six outings, but he was unfortunate not to have any support from his batting camp. He batted .379 in the last six days of the season.
Besides these leaders, the pitching ranks were also limited to only three, especially Jon Lester, who led the club in both wins and strike-outs. The left-hander Lester went for 15-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 31 starts and struck-out 182 to secure a franchise record
in the 2011 season.
Like other Red Sox players, Lester was also in trouble in the last days of the season as he allowed 12 runs and 10 hits over just eight innings in his last two starts. During a crucial outing against the New York Yankees he allowed eight runs in just over
two innings while in his final outing of the season, he yielded four runs on six innings. Despite a sluggish display in the last month, the lefty managed to lead the club in two categories.
Red Sox were equipped with a single promising closer, Jonathan Papelbon, who saved 31 outings for the club in his 63 chances. His 31 saves were the franchise leader and the seventh in the American League.
Josh Beckett, the 31-year-old pitcher has posted a 13-7 record but could lead the club in only a single category. His 1.03 WHIP was the best among all Red Sox pitchers in the 2011 season. However, his 2.89 ERA was the fourth among the American League leaders.
After the 2011 season, the Red Sox made some sudden changes to their entire team. Ben Cherington, who signed Marco Scutaro for the 2012 season, replaced Theo Epstein and it was the start of the new era for the club.
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