Red Sox Links: Masataka Yoshida Wins Player Of The Week Honors

How did Masataka Yoshida break out of his slump to become one of the best hitters of the early 2023 season? By moving his hands down, yes, but also, by wearing horse-style blinders in the batting cages. Baseball! (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

And just how good as his breakout been? Yoshi has just been named the American League Player of the Week. (Connor Ryan, Boston.com)

We already told you about Brennan Bernardino Mexican League sojourn, but his amateur baseball resume is even wilder: one season of high school ball, two different junior colleges, and a D2 school. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

Do you realize that Red Sox starters have completed at least five innings 13 games in a row? That’s the organization’s longest such streak in two years, and it’s one of the surprising stats that explain the team’s recent surge. (Chad Jennings, The Athletic)

Remember Jose Reyes? Nearly 20 years ago, he was the single most exciting player in baseball for the New York Mets. But there’s something else we can credit him with: Justin Turner gives him props for helping to turn his career around. (Ryan Gilbert, WEEI)

Unlike Yoshida, Enmanuel Valdez got to keep his first home run ball. He plans on giving it to his diehard Red Sox fan dad, who will travel to Boston this week to see his son play in the bigs for the first time. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Marcelo Mayer just finished one helluva week, and it was good enough to garner him South Atlantic League Player of the Week Honors. Not as cool as AL Player of the Week, Marcelo, but maybe one day! (Greg Dudek, NESN)