Marcelo Mayer showed the Fenway Park crowd what he’s capable of when he blasted two home runs for the Red Sox in Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The shortstop has been considered a top prospect by evaluators for several years now, so it should come as no surprise to Boston fans that he’s performing at a high level early on.
Mayer is a player I’d describe as “a ballplayer”. All baseball players play ball, but not all baseball players are “ballplayers.” Rafael Devers is a fantastic player, but he’s not someone I look at and immediately say “that’s a ballplayer.”
My point is, Mayer exudes baseball. Every move he makes on the field looks natural. From his swing, to the way he fields a ground ball and throws over to first, to his epic fist pump after stealing a hit to end an inning. He even embraces being booed at Yankee Stadium.
If I feel it while watching TV, it should come as no surprise that his manager, Alex Cora, is equally impressed with his sense of the game. After the game on Wednesday, Cora spoke about Mayer’s approach to baseball.
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“We had a great conversation today about fundamentals and defense during BP,” Cora said during his postgame availability. “He said, to be a complete player, you have to be a good defender and a good base runner. And that was like music to my ears.”
It’s easy to overlook defense and baserunning. Offensive stats dominate the back of the baseball card. Although just 22 years old, the prospect already seems to have big league life figured out.
