When Anthony Seigler was called up from Triple-A on June 20, little was expected of him. At the time, the Red Sox were 30-43, and with the club’s middle infield decimated by injuries the best anyone could hope was that the 27-year-old could help keep things from spiraling any further.
A month later, Seigler has emerged as one of the unsung heroes of the season.
Seigler’s time in Boston has almost perfectly coincided with the club’s dramatic change in fortune, and the second baseman has played a prominent role in the turnaround. Since coming up to fill in for Isiah Kiner-Falefa after the veteran infielder went down with a forearm injury, Seigler has settled in as not only the club’s starting second baseman, but the club’s regular leadoff hitter as well.
It’s been a remarkable turn for Seigler, who missed all of spring training due to a nagging left knee injury before spending most of the first half in Triple-A.
“It’s been fun to say the least,” Seigler said. “I’m very grateful that I’m able to be in the spot that I’m in, I’m glad they trust me in that spot, I’m just trying to play the game the right way and I’m leaning on my teammates a lot.”
Originally a first-round pick out of high school by the New York Yankees in 2018, Seigler battled in the minors for eight seasons before finally making his big league debut last July with the Milwaukee Brewers. Following the season, he was acquired by the Red Sox in the deal that also brought fellow infielders Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio to Boston.
Seigler was something of a forgotten man until he made his return in late June, at which point he and the club took off. Since being called up on June 20, the Red Sox are an MLB-best 20-5, and during that stretch Seigler has batted .253 with two home runs and a .720 OPS.
He played especially well out of the gate, batting .351 in his first 11 games following his promotion, and between his abilities as a switch-hitter and keen batter’s eye the Red Sox didn’t waste any time inserting him at the top of the lineup.
“We talked about it before we even got here, his ability to work at-bats, his ability to swing at strikes, take balls, he knows the strike zone, the numbers in Triple-A carry huge walk rates, especially hitting left-handed,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters in Anaheim on July 5. “He understands the zone, he puts the bat on the ball, he can draw long at-bats and help hopefully get the game started off right for us. He’s done that a few times. He’s the logical choice for it.”
Seigler has also drawn rave reviews for his high-energy playing style, and while the second baseman downplayed the notion he’s more energetic than his teammates, he acknowledged that he likes the idea of helping set the tone.
“I feel like I’ve always played the game this way, but they’re giving me the opportunity to showcase that and be in position to do that,” Seigler said. “And give the rest of the team something to look forward to and something to build off it.”
Boston Red Sox second baseman Anthony Seigler screams as he celebrates his solo home run in the second inning as the Red Sox take on the Yankees at Fenway Park earlier this season. (Staff photo by Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
While the Red Sox’s 13-game winning streak is the club’s longest since 1948, Seigler has been a part of a similar streak in his brief MLB career. Shortly after his debut last year, the Brewers ripped off 14 straight wins, an experience he shared with Durbin and Monasterio as Milwaukee rolled through the second half into the playoffs.
Seigler said even amid this year’s early struggles he always felt like this year’s group had what it took to pull off something similar, and it’s been amazing to see that belief manifest itself into reality.
That camaraderie was reinforced by what may prove to be the season’s defining moment — the nightmare flight home that followed their crushing series loss in Colorado. After plane troubles forced them back to Denver, the team didn’t land in Boston until 5 a.m. the next morning. Hours later they beat the Yankees, kicking off the ongoing stretch of 18 wins in 20 games that included a second travel disaster that upended their trip to play the New York Mets.
“In the moment it sucks but we were joking around the whole time, we’re having fun,” Seigler said. “For that to happen it just brings us closer, helps us to cut up more and be ourselves. And then to go into that, I mean, we knew we were going to take care of business, handle business, it didn’t matter if we were down three, up three, this has been a lot of fun.”
It’s been everything Seigler could have hoped for during his long years in the minors, when times like today might have felt too good to be true.
“It’s been rewarding,” Seigler said. “It’s been a lot of fun to know where I was and know where I am and hopefully could be going with this team. It’s been a lot of fun and I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else.”
