Over the first seven years of Boston Red Sox outfielder Rob Resnyder's career, he bounced around to five different teams, including the New York Yankees (2015-17), Toronto Blue Jays (2017), Tampa Bay Rays (2018), Texas Rangers (2020) and Minnesota Twins (2021).
In 2022, Refsnyder landed with Boston and despite not getting everyday opportunities, he's played the best baseball of his career.
Over three years now with the team, he's appeared in 218 games and has hit .283 with an .803 OPS, 14 home runs and 81 RBIs. This year alone, he's hit .299 with an .863 OPS, seven home runs and 32 RBIs.
While his play on the field has been impressive, he's really stepped up in the clubhouse as the leader that the team needed.
During Boston's series against the Texas Rangers, the 33-year-old spoke to some of his younger teammates about the importance of battling through the dips in a long season.
“We’ve been playing our best baseball when our young guys have been pretty electric on the basepaths, playing uber-aggressive,” Refsnyder said (via. MassLive). “I think that’s our identity this year. Sometimes, when you lose a couple games in a row you get a little passive. I just wanted our younger guys to push the envelope. They’re so vital to our offense.
“To get in the postseason, you can’t be scared to make mistakes. We’ve got to just play the way we’ve been playing the past couple weeks.”
Refsnyder went on to hit the single that gave the Red Sox the walk-off win in the series opener over Texas.
Boston's team in 2024 is an inexperienced one with multiple rookies starting every game, and manager Alex Cora has been impressed with what they've been able to do despite their lack of playing time at the major league level.
“It was fun to watch, man,” said Cora. “We’re playing with kids. We’re playing with kids in the middle of trying to make it to the (playoffs). You look around and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is really happening here.’ They’re enjoying the moment."
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