Trevor Story was one of the most highly-coveted players during the MLB offseason. His offensive breakout and defensive prowess with the Colorado Rockies made him one of the top-notch SS in the game.
Eventually, the Boston Red Sox won his sweepstakes and paired him with Xander Bogaerts in the infield, moving him to second base. And, while he’s made the defensive adjustment with ease, his offense hasn’t followed him away from Coors Field.
26 games into the season, Story is hitting .210 with a .589 OPS. That’s far from what you’d want from a player who was signed to asix-year, $140 million contract to be one of the faces of the offense.
Trevor Story Says There’s A Lot Of New Things Going On
That’s why, after hitting rock bottom and getting struck out four times by Shohei Ohtani, fans at Fenway Park just couldn’t take it anymore. Story felt firsthand the wrath of the Green Monster, hearing boos left and right. Still, his confidence remains untouched:
“Just a lot of new overall,” Story said after the game. “In life, baseball, all of it. There’s just a lot of new stuff going on. I’m very heavy on the routine and regimen of what’s been successful for me.”
J.D. Martínez, Álex Cora Have Story’s Back
Needless to say, the team still has Story’s back. J.D. Martínez remembered how poorly his career in Boston started, while Álex Cora acknowledged that big expectations will come with big responsibilities:
“I didn’t hear the crowd,” Martinez said. “I don’t know what happened, but Trevor’s a professional. He’s a proven All-Star. My first month here, I think I was hitting like .200 and then I turned it on. So, I’m not putting anything past him. He’s a great player. He’s proven himself for a while now. I always like to measure guys at the end of the year, not after a month.”
“Expectations here are what they are,” Cora added.“What the fans expect are the same things he expects. That’s part of the equation.”
It was normal to expect some offensive regression as Story left the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the game, but no one saw this coming. Even so, it’s still early in the season and he’s too good not to turn this around.
