Mickey Gasper is as good a reason as any to be romantic about baseball.
No one saw this coming. Even Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, who has vouched for Gasper all along, couldn’t have seen this.
Gasper homered on Tuesday night, after homering on Monday night, too. He has now left the yard seven times in his last 13 games.
Amazingly, in the middle of that, Gasper was sent down. The Red Sox optioned him back to Triple-A Worcester over the weekend to make space on the MLB roster for Roman Anthony and Trevor Story.
Almost immediately, though, Willson Contreras got hurt. He had to go on the Injured List. Gasper got the call, again.
Back like he never left, Gasper took Mariners standout righties George Kirby and Bryan Woo deep in consecutive games.
He’s always hit in the minor leagues, but before this season, Gasper never had shown he could do it at the major league level.
Now? Gasper is on one of the best hitting runs in the history of baseball, no exaggeration needed.
Mickey Gasper’s Latest History
The sequence on the Red Sox broadcast on NESN on Tuesday night was incredible.
They put a graphic on the screen showing that Gasper was the third player in Red Sox history to have a 12-game span with at least 12 home runs, 10 walks and two or fewer strikeouts.
Ted Williams had done it 29 times. Jimmie Foxx also did it once in a Red Sox uniform, and now Gasper had done it.
That was on the screen moments before he homered again, that aforementioned seventh home run in 13 games.
Here’s how it all played out for Red Sox fans watching on TV:
MICKEY GASPER HAS HOMERED AGAIN! THIS MAN IS REACHING NEW LEVELS OF HOT EVERY DAY! pic.twitter.com/wUkOH2gug9
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 1, 2026
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It’s the stuff of legend.
There’s no telling when Gasper will cool off, but in the meantime, Red Sox fans are enjoying the kind of extended moment that you aren’t sure you’ll ever see again.
Red Sox Have a Mickey Gasper Dilemma
If the Red Sox get fully healthy, which in this case means the return of Contreras, the Red Sox will have to decide what to do.
Gasper is nominally a catcher, but he’s not a great defender. He’s played first base some with Contreras hurt. He can DH, of course, and if he hits like this, he ought to remain in the lineup.
Boston does have a glut of outfielders, though, and so the DH spot most of the year was used to rotate those guys through, as well.
Gasper’s best bet is to keep raking at a historic level. Sure, it may not have been Boston’s plan, but you can’t bench a guy doing things at the level of Williams and Foxx.
Just because no one saw it coming doesn’t mean it’s not magical. Gasper is doing things that most MLB hitters wouldn’t even dream of. No matter how long it lasts, it’s one of the most remarkable stories of a remarkable Red Sox season.
Mickey Gasper’s Latest Feat Joins Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx in Red Sox History