While much of the discussion of Boston’s Fenway Park revolves around the massive Green Monster wall in left field, the “Williamsburg” bullpen in right-center field can make for some fascinating plays in its own right. That bullpen was built in its current location in front of the fence (moving the wall in about 20 feet) in 1940, and got its name from sportswriters remarking on how many home runs Ted Williams hit there; it’s since led to plenty of homers from both Red Sox players and visitors. But Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts absolutely robbed Texas Rangers’ right fielder Nomar Mazara of one Tuesday:
https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1016845830039441410
That’s an amazing play by Betts, who gets a great jump on the ball off the bat and is in excellent position to make the play at the wall. It also led to some great reactions from his teammates in the bullpen, as you can see in the screenshot above. And this wasn’t a short hit, either; MLB.com’s feed had it at 383 feet.
But Betts showed off his quick reactions, his speed, and his awareness of where in the park he was, and made a remarkable play look pretty easy in the end. That’s part of just a good night (he also hit his 25th double of the year earlier) and an amazing season for him (he’s currently hitting .344/.433/.674 and has produced 5.4 wins above replacement, as per Baseball Reference), but it was a pretty special moment.
[Evan Lazar on Twitter]
