Greg M. Cooper – USA TODAY Sports
Going into the 2013 season I can safely say that the two players on the Boston Red Sox that I found most dislikable were John Lackey and Stephen Drew. Lackey has redeemed himself to quickly become one of my favorites now, and Drew is quickly following in his foot steps.
Drew played the part of the hero last night in the Red Sox’ 7-5 win over the Houston Astros. With the Red Sox down 5-4 and two runners on base in the ninth inning, Drew came to the plate. If the Red Sox lost the game they would lose the series, a prospect that would have to be considered an utter failure against a team that barely constitutes a MLB roster.
Drew responded by smashing a breaking ball from Josh Fields into the right field stands to give the Red Sox yet another come from behind victory. It also put them 2.5 games in front of the Tampa Bay Rays who lost last night.
Drew often gets a bad rap because he’s associated with his older brother J.D. Drew. Ever since J.D. came into MLB he was disliked by most fans. When he came to the Red Sox with an overpriced contract he quickly earned the ire of Red Sox fans. He showed little emotion and didn’t appear to be a part of the team camaraderie. He made up for all that by coming up so big during the Red Sox’ 2007 World Series run.
Stephen is not his brother, though. After his clutch home run last night he showed emotions that we never saw from his older brother during his time here. He noticeably seems to enjoy the game of baseball more so than J.D. Stephen had a very slow start to the season, and when coupled with his nearly $10 million contract and the emergence of Jose Iglesias, fans quickly turned on Drew.
However, since returning from the DL on July 20, Drew has been one of the best shortstops in the AL. He’s hitting over .300 with four home runs and 13 RBI. His RBI total on the season is third amongst active AL shortstops, and he’s proving to be a dependable bat towards the bottom of the lineup. If he keeps this up he might quickly becoming a fan favorite at Fenway Park.
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