Bronson the Bambino
The Boston Red Sox have a long history of trading away promising young pitchers who then go on to become renowned sluggers. First there was Babe Ruth. And now there is… Bronson Arroyo?
Bronson’s hitting prowess first gained notice earlier this year when he smacked two dingers in his first two games in the National League. This Saturday he was at it again, going 3 for 3 with a double, 2 singles, and 4 runs batted in against Andy Pettite and the Astros. Oh, and Arroyo also pitched 6 innings without allowing and earned run to lead the Reds to a 7-5 win.
“Bronson has some good bat speed,” said Reds manager Jerry Narron.
“His hitting was incredible!” gushed Reds catcher David Ross.
“He obviously was seeing the ball really well,” lamented Astros pitcher Andy Pettite.
But alas, before we can start demanding the Reds move Arroyo to the outfield so he can hit every day, it is worth noting that in his previous 27 at bats, going back to his second homer on April 11, he had gone 0 for 27, and had had only 6 hits in 84 career at bats coming into the game.
“I’m probably going for another 20 strikeouts in a row after this,” Arroyo said after the game.
As an aside, the Reds would not have won the game at all if Ryan Freel had not made a ridiculous circus catch in the bottom of the 9th with two Astros on, crashing into the fence in deep left-center on the dead run to rob Mike Lamb. If you can track down a highlight of it, it is truly a sight to see.
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