June boon for him
Numbers testify to something rare
PHILADELPHIA - Understand, J.D. Drew has never had a month like the one he's having now. But here's the real stunner: David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez have never had a full month in which they've slugged at the rate Drew is currently slugging. Neither, for that matter, has Nomar Garciaparra nor Mo Vaughn. For some historical perspective, Carl Yastrzemski didn't have a month statistically this good in his Triple Crown year of 1967.
Bear in mind, Drew could taper off, with 10 games left this month. But after going 0 for 4 in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Phillies, he had four hits yesterday, including his ninth home run this month, a double, and two singles, to raise his batting average for the month to .441. It was the eighth four-hit game of his career.
Of his 26 hits this month, 18 have gone for extra bases, as he has also doubled seven times and hit two triples. That means nearly 70 percent of his hits (69.2) have gone for extra bases. His slugging percentage for the month is an astounding 1.085, the highest in the major leagues.
Drew already has 13 home runs, two more than he hit all of last season. Of his nine home runs this month, seven have come in the last 11 games. When he homered in the first and doubled in the third yesterday off Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick, that gave him 13 extra-base hits out of his last 14 hits.
Only once in his career has Drew had more home runs in a month. That was May 2001, when he hit 10 while playing for the Cardinals. He finished that season with 27, a total that probably would have been much higher except he missed six weeks after David Wells hit him with a pitch, breaking the little finger on his right hand. Drew also missed a dozen games in August with a lower-back sprain.
Of Drew's 37 hits that month, 19 went for extra bases, and he slugged .762. He also batted .366.
Ortiz hit 14 home runs in July 2006, slugged .798, and drove in 35 runs. Of his 37 hits that month, 21 went for extra bases. He hit 11 home runs in two months in 2005, August and September, but did not break .700 in slugging percentage in either month. He hit 10 home runs in June 2004, had 18 extra-base hits, and slugged .731.
Ramírez's best month slugging-wise with the Sox came in September 2002, when he slugged .781 with nine home runs and 19 extra-base hits out of 38 hits. In July 2000, he slugged a career-best .912, with 12 of his 20 hits going for extra bases, including 10 home runs. In September 1998, 14 of Ramírez's 21 hits went for extra bases, including 11 home runs. He slugged .687, but batted .253 for the month. In May 1995, Ramírez slugged .808 and had 19 extra-base hits out of 39, including 11 home runs, and hit .394.
In May 1996, Vaughn slugged .811 with 12 home runs and 19 extra-base hits out of 42. Yastrzemski hit nine home runs in both August and September 1967, and hit .417 in his spectacular September finishing kick, when 15 of his 40 hits went for extra bases and he slugged .762.
Ramírez sits
Ramírez's back leg buckled during his last at-bat in Tuesday night's win, so Terry Francona kept him out of the lineup yesterday. The expectation is that Ramírez will be back in the lineup tomorrow night, when the Sox open a three-game set at home against the Cardinals. The same can be said for Kevin Youkilis, who did not play in the three games here because of back spasms, and Coco Crisp, who took himself out after one at-bat yesterday after experiencing discomfort on the top of his left hand on a swing . . . The Sox plan to honor the Celtics before tomorrow night's game, with one possibility being that they'll wear green jerseys. Francona, a big fan, said he watched the clinching game of the NBA Finals Tuesday in his hotel room with his daughter . . . The stolen base by Phillies leadoff man Jimmy Rollins in the fifth inning was his 28th straight . . . Two fine defensive plays stood out in the second inning: Dustin Pedroia fielding a ball behind the mound and turning completely around to get the force at second, and Sean Casey spearing Kendrick's bunt and doubling off the runner at second. "He was so excited," said Sox starter Justin Masterson. "That was an athletic play."