BOSTON \u2014 Romy Gonzalez\u2019s OPS against left-handed pitchers (1.030) is 294 points higher than the average among American League right-handed hitters (.736).<\/p>\n
The Red Sox infielder can\u2019t put a finger on exactly why he\u2019s been this good<\/i> against lefties but he has one simple theory.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad\u2019s lefty, so I took lefty BP my whole life and did a lot of work with him,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n
Historically, batters have more success against pitchers who throw with the opposite handedness. For years, managers have stacked their lineups with right-handed batters when they face a lefty starter and left-handed hitters against a righty starter.<\/p>\n
But Gonzalez\u2019s numbers are exceptionally better than most of his peers. Among qualified right-handed hitters, Gonzalez\u2019s 1.030 OPS against lefties ranks third, behind only Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge (1.277) and Paul Goldschmidt (1.188).<\/p>\n
In the American League, right-handed hitters have combined to bat .252 with a .319 on-base percentage, .417 slugging percentage and .736 OPS vs. lefty hurlers. In the NL, right-handed hitters have a .241\/.309\/.385\/.694 line vs. lefties.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez, meanwhile, is 35-for-103 (.340) with a .389 on-base percentage, .641 slugging percentage, six homers, nine doubles and two triples against southpaws.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez\u2019s father, Gus, was a former football player, not a baseball player. But Gus got a lot of work in pitching to Romy, who played QB through his sophomore year of high school before stopping to focus primarily on baseball.<\/p>\n
Maybe it was all those BP sessions. Maybe it\u2019s his pregame and in-game work now. Maybe it\u2019s a combination of factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis preparation, it\u2019s really, really good,\u201d Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse said. \u201cAnd I think he takes a lot of pride in being prepared for those situations, being prepared for those at-bats. Spends a lot of time off the shapes, especially at home on the Trajekt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trajekt pitching machines simulate any major league pitcher\u2019s windup and entire repertoire, including pitch shapes, to help hitters prepare.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously he\u2019s had a lot of success, but it\u2019s been great to see his process kind of take full (effect) these last few months,\u201d Fatse said.<\/p>\n
The work begins pregame and continues throughout the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving understanding of shapes, but also like putting himself in situations to see the shapes before the game starts,\u201d Fatse said. \u201cBuilding his approach off of that, taking it into the at-bat and then kind of the evaluation as the game goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a July 7 postgame interview, Gonzalez was asked how locked in he feels against left-handed pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cTremendously locked in,\u201d Gonzalez replied. \u201cMe and Rob (Refsnyder are) constantly grinding, working together.\u201d<\/p>\n
His teammates pounced on the \u201ctremendously locked in\u201d saying, having T-shirts made with the phrase. But something else he said that night that was even more interesting. He said \u201che wasn\u2019t proud\u201d of his career before arriving in Boston.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I got over here, just working with the hitting guys and Rob, it\u2019s been tremendous for my career and it\u2019s been awesome,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez said that Refsnyder, Alex Bregman and Trevor Story have all helped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust feeding off each other and constantly talking about approaches and what to look for, whatnot,\u201d he said. \u201cYeah, those three guys and obviously our hitting staff\u2019s great. So working with them has been huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox claimed Gonzalez off waivers from the White Sox on Jan. 31, 2024. He played in 86 major league games for the White Sox from 2021-23, batting .222 with a .239 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage and .600 OPS.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had 220 career at-bats or plate appearances with the White Sox and they weren\u2019t good,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cA lot of that I think attributes to my health. I wasn\u2019t healthy for most of my time there. But, yeah, being healthy and being here, it\u2019s just so different, man. Playing at Fenway Park every day with this group of guys is special, and it just brings a different level of, I don\u2019t want to say focus, but it just means a little more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always go back to health because when your body\u2019s not doing what you want it to do, it\u2019s kind of tough to go out there and perform and put yourself in the best position,\u201d he added. \u201cSo, yeah, I think health always is No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonzalez also mashed against left-handers in 2024, batting .302 (35-for-116) with a .362 on-base percentage, .517 slugging percentage, .879 OPS, six homers and seven doubles. Even after that performance, though, he did not enter spring training 2025 thinking he had a spot secured on the Opening Day roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my mind, I was battling for a spot,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had that mindset. I didn\u2019t think I had a ticket to being on this team. I felt like I had to earn a position.\u201d<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Red Sox slugger’s OPS against left-handed pitchers (1.030) is 294 points higher than the average among American League right-handed hitters (.736).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":81268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\n