Jose Igelesias’ Bat Finally Heats Up as Red Sox Open Series With Magic Orioles

by abournenesn

Sep 21, 2012


Jose Igelesias' Bat Finally Heats Up as Red Sox Open Series With Magic OriolesEditor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.

Throughout his professional career, the refrain surrounding shortstop Jose Iglesias has always been the same: he's an amazing hitter, but can the youngster hit enough to stick in the big leagues? Well, just a couple days after being lifted for a pinch hitter in the middle of an at-bat, Iglesias temporarily exercised some demons and broke out offensively.

On Thursday, Iglesias went 3-for-4 and hit a home run that didn't just barely clear the wall, but would qualify as a prodigious blast several rows deep into the left field stands. Good for Igelsias, but moreover it's good for the Red Sox, as if the 22-year-old can carry his weight with the bat, then Boston may have a long-term answer at shortstop on their hands.

Mauro Gomez also got a couple hits on Thursday, and in limited action with the Sox he's indicated that his impressive Triple-A numbers may not be a fluke, and the 28-year-old may just be a late bloomer. First base is another slot in which the Red Sox don't have a definite future, so as the season winds down it will be very interesting to see if Gomez can stay relatively hot at the plate.

Aside from that, Jacoby Ellsbury gets the night off, but he's still the Red Sox' hottest hitter, while Nate McLouth leads the way for the Orioles during their magical run to the postseason.

Here are the temperatures for the Orioles and Red Sox for Friday, Sept. 21:

Baltimore Orioles
Nate McLouth 86
Adam Jones 77
Ryan Flaherty 76
Steve Tolleson 75
Matt Wieters 74
Nick Markakis 73
Luis Exposito 71
J.J. Hardy 66
Xavier Avery 65
Wilson Betemit 65
Taylor Teagarden 64
Endy Chavez 64
Lew Ford 60
Chris Davis 60
Omar Quintanilla 59
Manny Machado 58
Mark Reynolds 57
Robert Andino 53

Boston Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury 86
Mauro Gomez 82
Jose Iglesias 74
Ryan Kalish 72
Guillermo Quiroz 69
James Loney 67
Ryan Lavarnway 66
Mike Aviles 66
Pedro Ciriaco 64
Cody Ross 60
Dustin Pedroia 57
Jarrod Saltalamacchia 55
Ivan De Jesus 53
Daniel Nava 52
Scott Podsednik 51

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