J. D. Drew: Difference between revisions

On October 20, 2007, Drew hit a [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] in Game 6 of the [[2007 American League Championship Series|2007 ALCS]] with the Red Sox facing elimination.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=September 9, 2008|title=Red Sox's Drew (strainedreturns from lower back) returnsstrain; fromCarter, Kottaras DLrecalled|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3576639|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[ESPN]]|language=en}}</ref> The home run, along with brother [[Stephen Drew]]'s for the [[Arizona Diamondbacks]], marks the third time that two brothers have both hit home runs in the same postseason.

In 2008, Drew hit one of the longest home runs in Fenway Park history. According to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, it was measured at 460 feet. He finished with a .280 average, with an [[On-base percentage|OBP]] of .408 and a [[slugging percentage]] of .519.<ref name=":0" /> At the end of June, Drew was named the AL Player of the Month after hitting .337 and hitting 12 home runs while taking over for [[David Ortiz]]'s three-spot in the lineup while he was on the disabled list.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Silva|first1=Steve|date=July 2, 2008|title=Drew named AL player of month for June|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/07/drew_named_al_p.html|access-date=July 2, 2008}}</ref> Drew was officially announced as an AL [[MLB All-Star|All-Star]] reserve on July 6. This was Drew's first All-Star game appearance. He hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat as an All-Star en route to winning the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award|game's MVP award]]. In what was to become the longest All-Star Game time-wise in MLB history, the American League (and Drew's Red Sox) manager [[Terry Francona]], having almost run out of pitchers, contemplated putting Drew, a former high school hurler, on the mound to close the game. "I'd have been ready," Drew said. "I've had an opportunity to throw a lot in the outfield. I don't know if I would have gotten anyone out, but I'd have thrown something up there."<ref>{{cite web|last=Edes|first=Gordon|date=July 16, 2008|title=The longest goodbye|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/07/16/the_longest_goodbye/|access-date=December 21, 2012|work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref> Drew later visited the 15-day disabled list, spending from August 27 to September 8 on the DL with a strained lower back.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 26, 2008|title=RedBoSox Sox loseput Drew toon DL with lower back strain; Beckett to start Friday|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3554863|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[ESPN]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

On October 3, in Game 2 of the [[2008 American League Division Series]] against the [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]], Drew hit a go-ahead two-run home run.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Browne|first=Ian|date=October 4, 2008|title=Drew delivers back-breaking blow|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20081003&content_id=3586948&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006005437/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20081003&content_id=3586948&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos|archive-date=October 6, 2008|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[Boston Red Sox]]}}</ref> On October 16, in Game 5 of the [[2008 ALCS|American League Championship Series]] against the [[Tampa Bay Rays]], Drew helped to bring the Red Sox back from a late-inning seven-run deficit with a two-run home run in the eighth inning and then delivered the walk-off hit in the ninth. The Game 5 comeback, sparked by Drew, is the second-biggest in postseason history and is the largest for a team on the brink of elimination.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 17, 2008|title=Drew's game-winning single keeps Red Sox alive in ALCS|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/281016102|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213405/https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/281016102|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2021|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[ESPN]]|language=en}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> However, the Red Sox lost to the Rays in the seventh game.