At age 25, Bobby Dalbec exploded into the consciousness of Boston Red Sox fans in the second half of 2021. After struggling through the 72 games he played before the All-Star break, Dalbec went on a tear the rest of the way, blasting 15 of his 25 home runs and compiling an impressive .955 OPS as he played a key role in propelling the overachieving Red Sox into the playoffs, where they came two wins away from advancing to the World Series.
With a low-key, friendly demeanor and eye-popping power — he once blasted a home run in Triple-A ball that traveled 515 feet and struck a moving train —"Bobby D," a 2016 fourth-round draft pick out of Arizona, became an instant fan favorite at Fenway Park.
But he never lived up the expectations set by the Red Sox fan base or, more importantly, by the organization itself. As a result, Dalbec found himself commuting between Fenway and the team's Triple-A affiliate about 50 miles to the east in Worcester, Mass., for the entire five years of his Red Sox career.
That is all over now for Dalbec, who has found a potential new lease on baseball life, signing a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox, according to a report by MassLive.
The deal comes with a non-roster invitation to White Sox spring training and a chance to make the big club. On a team that set a record for futility last season, losing 121 baseball games in a 162-game season, Dalbec's chances should be pretty good.
If he succeeds in cracking the major league White Sox roster, he'll earn a payday of $1.5 million plus a chance to pocket another $500,000 if he meets certain incentive-clause goals.
Dalbec seemed to get worse as a hitter throughout his time with the Red Sox. When he filled in for an injured Triston Casas in 2024, he managed just one home run in 83 at bats while putting up a painful .133 batting average. It seemed that what Dalbec needed more than anything else was a change of scenery.
"Eyes on the big-picture, I don't know if there's necessarily a lane for meaningful opportunity for me with the Red Sox right now," he told MassLive during a 2023 stretch at Triple-A Worcester.
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As hard as they rooted for him, Boston fans also found themselves extremely frustrated with Dalbec, especially with his propensity to strike out at an alarming rate. In his five-year Red Sox career, Dalbec struck out 384 times in 1,044 plate appearances, a rate of one strikeout for every 2.72 times he came to the plate.
By contrast, baseball's all-time strikeout leader is Reggie Jackson with 2,597 for his career. For Jackson that was rate of one strikeout per every 4.4 plate appearances.
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