When Stephen Drew blasted a solo home run in the 4th inning on Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox had to have known they were destined to be crowned World Series champions. Heading into Game 6, Drew was 4-for-50 from the plate. Was his vision the issue?
According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, Drew paid a visit to the eye doctor before Game 6 and was fitted for contact lenses. The team has not spoken about it publicly, as they likely do not want to make it sound like an excuse for Drew’s poor postseason hitting. However, it is worth noting that he went 2-for-4 on Wednesday night and could have had three hits if not for a nice play by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams on a sharply-hit ball.
If not for Drew’s tremendous defense, he probably would have been benched. Xander Bogaerts could have moved over to shortstop and Will Middlebrooks would have played third base and at least been given a shot. But John Farrell trusted Drew and Dustin Pedroia to anchor the middle of his defense, and it paid off.
Could the contact lenses have been a coincidence? Sure, but don’t think Scott Boras won’t be using it to his advantage when he and Drew sit down at the negotiating table together this offseason.
