BLOG: Brock Holt Is NOT A Good Player

Brock Holt's choice of walk-up music this season is interesting, but he had to do it. He claims that he was "inspired" by Whitney Houston over the off-season, and while that may be true, but it's not the whole story.

The reason behind Holt's choice of music to be played as he steps to plate about 400 times this season is simple. He's not a great player, so he had to pick something that would get people talking.

Sorry Brock Holt fans, but he's simply not a good player.  He's a utility player. He's Lou Merloni. Nothing against Merloni, but the only reason he played for the Sox as long as he did was not only was he a local boy, the pride of Framingham, but he kept the superstar, at the time, Nomar Garciaparra, happy. Brock Holt is no different.

Holt is a a career .264 hitter, who has never played for more than 129 games in a season. His best year was his rookie campaign in 2014, where he posted a. 281 average with a .711 OPS. The only season his OPS was higher was his sophomore season (.727), but that was because he saw his on-base percentage jump to .349. But other than 2014 and 2015, Holt's average has plummeted. In 2016, in only 94 games, Holt hit .255, while last year in less than 40% of the games, he batted a measly .200.

Granted, Holt has battled concussions the past two years, and bouts of vertigo last year, it's not an excuse for his mediocre play. He's not a superstar. He's a role player that's just good enough to give the a starter a day off, here and there, but he's not an everyday player.

But fans love Holt. They love him because he is so versatile, he can play anywhere, infield or outfield. Fans love his locks, and when he wears his shades he looks like one of those high school "cool kids." Very James Dean. And before Holt deleted his Twitter account, because of its negativity, his handle was something to expect from a teenage girl, "BrockStar4Lyf." He is just one of the "cool kids" sitting at the "cool kids table."

And don't think management hadn't paid attention. He became unofficial spokesperson, representing the team at different non-baseball events such as visiting patients at the JimmyFund Clinic, or making various appearances in public service announcements.

He is a great guy overall, but great guys don't win ballgames for you. With Xander Bogaerts out for at least the next three-to-four weeks, we'll be seeing a lot of Holt, but if his first game since Bogaerts going on the D.L. is any indication, it's going to a long four weeks. First two at bats against Yankees starter Luis Severino, Holt watched strike three, then put his bat on his shoulder as he walked back to the dugout like a five-year old in tee-ball.

On another note: Everyone's talking about Holt's at bat music selection this year, but what about Hanley Ramirez's? Ramirez also has an intriguing song from the year he was born, the Norwegian synthpop song"Take On Me" by A-ha, but nobody mentions that.