The Boston Red Sox once thought that former top prospect Bobby Dalbec would be a star at the MLB level. That hasn’t happened, as he has spent the majority of this season in Triple-A. He may never be the player that some expected, but he did flash the potential that some thought he did with an absolute moonshot on Friday night.
Dalbec and the Worcester Red Sox took on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Tuesday night and he wasted no time to make his presence known.
He came to the plate in the bottom of the first inning where he hit a 515-foot home run off of IronPigs pitcher Michael Plassmeyer.
omg. Bobby Dalbec just hit this ball 515 feet. five hundred fifteen.
f i v e h u n d r e d f i f t e e n. pic.twitter.com/2ZoJkYNniz
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) May 19, 2023
He was lauded for this type of power when he was initially coming up the minor league ranks. Many around the baseball world took to social media to react to the bomb from Dalbec.
Bobby Dalbec’s 515 foot homer to the red duck boat.
— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) May 19, 2023
Bobby Dalbec, aka the Barry Bonds of Worcester, just hit a ball 515 (!!) feet. No, that's not a typo. pic.twitter.com/qBhqh0m1OE
— Thomas Carrieri (@Thomas_Carrieri) May 19, 2023
FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN FEET FOR BOBBY DALBEC AKA BIG BOB THE HEARTTHROB AKA BOBBY DALSPECS pic.twitter.com/nHbdFmoMaQ
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 19, 2023
Bobby Dalbec just hit a ball 515 FEET in Triple-A 😳 pic.twitter.com/s0a4bsW6y4
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 19, 2023
Bobby Dalbec hit the ball 515 feet!?!? 🤯
(via @WooSox)pic.twitter.com/JUnTJxLKwy
— Flippin' Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) May 19, 2023
BOBBY DALBEC 515 FEET WHAT?!? 🤯
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 19, 2023
Death, Taxes, and AAA Bobby Dalbec https://t.co/Fhnqs3bXNR
— Ian (@IanMCusick) May 19, 2023
Dalbec finds himself in the unfortunate category of being an extremely good player at the Triple-A level but a mediocre one in the MLB.
In 91 at-bats Dalbec holds a .258 batting average with five home runs and a .381 on-base percentage. He holds a .232 batting average and a .299 on-base percentage in three MLB seasons.
The Red Sox have seemingly moved on at the first base position in favor of top prospect Triston Casas. Casas has had his own struggles at the MLB level, and this ridiculous home run could make them reconsider Dalbec’s potential in the MLB someday.
[Worchester Red Sox on Twitter] Photo Credit: MiLB.TV