“He did it on his own,” manager Alex Cora said. “That’s what he needed to do at that point.”
If not for his $140 million contract, Story might have gone to the bench. But the Sox stayed with him. That shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer was playing third base in place of an injured Alex Bregman at the time played into the decision.
Call it faith or lack of better options, but the Sox have been rewarded.
Story was 3 for 5 with a homer, a double, and three RBIs on Saturday in a 12-1 victory against the Yankees.
It was the latest step in a surge that has seen Story hit .297 with an .856 OPS and 59 RBIs over 70 games since June 1. That the Sox have won 43 of those games is no coincidence.
“It has been so fun to watch,” teammate Rob Refsnyder said. “Everyone here loves Trevor.”
Story’s two-out double in the third inning drove in two runs on Saturday. He homered in the fifth inning then singled and scored in a seven-run ninth inning that had Yankees getting loudly booed by their fans.
At 71-59, the Sox are tightening their grip on what would be their first postseason berth since 2021. Their shortstop is one of the players leading the way.
Saturday’s home run, a shot to right field off Will Warren, gave Story 20 for the season. Combined with 22 stolen bases in as many attempts, it’s his first 20-20 season since 2021 with the Rockies.
Story is the first Red Sox shortstop with a 20-20 season since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. The closest Xander Bogaerts came was 21 home runs and 13 steals in 2016.
“Just unreal, man,” said Garrett Crochet, who allowed one run over seven innings for the win. “Huge leader in the clubhouse; huge presence in the box.”
Story had a 25-25 season in 2018 for Colorado. That’s in range, too. After all the injuries that wrecked his first three seasons with the Red Sox, such plateaus didn’t seem possible.
“He’s been amazing for us offensively. It’s big time,” Bregman said. “We just needed him to be himself.”
At 32, Story has gone through too much over the last few years to sit back and reflect.
“It’s cool but there’s a lot more work to do,” he said. “It just means a lot to me to do it here with these guys, with this team and the way we’re doing it, playing winning baseball. That’s the thing that matters the most.”
Story played in only 163 of a possible 486 games from 2022-24. It took a while for his body to become adjusted to the grind of a baseball season.
“A lot of work,” said Cora, noting that Story had to put the time in on and off the field to regain both his skills and stamina.
“Kind of relearning how to play every single day, and the adjustments that come with that, physically and mentally,” Story said. “Just being able to relax and trust myself and know that you don’t have to be perfect out there.
“You can just go out there and enjoy the game and play like I always have. I think that just comes with time and reps.”
Cora and Bregman both joked that the baseball gods rewarded Story for his bunt against the Brewers.
Maybe so. They owed him one, too.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.
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