Roughly six months ago, Steve Pearce was crowned the 2018 World Series MVP. Since then, the road hasn’t been so smooth for the Boston Red Sox first baseman.
Pearce strained his calf back on March 17 during spring training, joining the Sox on April 4 without any sort of rehab stint under his belt. He’s has gone 4-for-39 in his first 13 games of the season, striking out 19 times in the process.
The first baseman said he’s gone from the “highest of highs to the lowest of lows” in a matter of months.
“I’m not being the type of player that I want to be,” Pearce said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Pressing a little bit. Timing. Just a little bit of everything.”
“I’m just missing pitches, ball’s not going (my) way,” he added. “You start to press a little bit trying to get four hits in one at-bat. I just need to dumb it down a little bit and just ‘see ball, hit ball.’ Hopefully it’ll start to work out.”
This season obviously has been a bit bumpier than last, as Pearce alludes to, and the bounces have not only gone against Pearce, but the Sox as a whole. But Pearce has had a particularly rough go of it, with manager Alex Cora opting for Mitch Moreland most nights at first base, and had Michael Chavis debut at the position on Monday night.
“I’m not this type of player,” Pearce said. “So right now it’s kind of hard to put me out there because I’m not playing well. I’m not producing. I’m not doing a lot of things well. I’m out here every day and I’m grinding. I’m working on it, trying to figure out how to get back to the player that I am.”
So what’s Cora’s advice to a struggling Pearce?
“Don’t try to do too much,” he said. “Don’t try to be the MVP of the World Series.”
Simple enough, right?
