Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras isn’t worried about hitting home runs, yet he’s hitting them like never before

In the second inning, Willson Contreras sent Nate Eovaldi’s splitter 337 feet and over the Green Monster. The home run would’ve counted in just 2 of 30 major league ballparks — Daikin Park is the other.

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But why does that matter to him?

“That’s a homer,” Contreras interjected when asked about it.

One way or another, Contreras found the famous wall for both of his home runs Sunday night against the Rangers, continuing to outperform expectations despite the struggles of his team.

This time, it came in the Red Sox’ 6-4 loss in the series finale. It helped him finish the series with three home runs, the first time he’s done so since April 2021, against the Braves while he was a Cub.

“The approach of making contact, right to make contact, is working,” Contreras said. “I know I’m in a good stretch right now, but I’m trying not to like overthink or think too much. Trying to keep my game simple: Make contact and let things happen.”

Contreras’s long balls on Sunday gave him 16 on the season, putting him on pace for 38.5, far better than his high of 24 in 2019. He says focusing on not forcing things has helped him have such a strong season.

The stats support it.

At 90.2 miles per hour, Contreras’s average exit velocity is the lowest it’s been since 2021. Additionally, his 45 percent hard-hit rate — balls hit at least 95 m.p.h. — is his worst since 2018. It’s a change he said he made in the middle of April.

“I’m not seeking for homer, I’m not seeking for double, but I’m just trying to make every contact on the plate,” Contreras said.

Contreras’s aim to just hit the ball doesn’t mean he can’t swing it, though, as his second homer got over the wall with a 101.4-m.p.h. exit velocity. That 392-footer, obviously, would count in every ballpark.

Whether he’s swinging as hard as he can or just trying to get the bat on it, Contreras’s success with the bat has a chance to bring life to the Sox, even if the end result is the same as Sunday’s.

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“Everybody in the dugout knows what he’s capable of,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.

But did they, or anyone, know what Contreras was capable of before the season?

ZiPS, FanGraphs’ widely used projection model, had the three-time All-Star totaling just 17 home runs. Additionally, he was projected to have fewer home runs than four Red Sox.

He now leads the team by five in the category.

With his on-pace numbers, and the fact that he owns the sixth-best OPS in the majors at .965, Contreras very well could add another All-Star nod to his résumé. The season can seem even more impressive when he’s sometimes left to create his own momentum, but Tracy doesn’t think the situation necessarily matters to the veteran.

“Very experienced. Been there done that,” said Tracy. “So it doesn’t much matter. His heartbeat’s going to be slow when he gets it.”

That mentality has clearly helped Contreras become somewhat of a nonchalant home run hitter. He doesn’t spend much time worried about what his stats are, nor what they can be.

In fact, at 34, he’s become a simple man.

It’s not about how many home runs he has hit. Or how many home runs he could hit. Line up, put the bat on the ball, and worry about everything else later.

“[If] it happens, [it] happens,” he said. “I’m not looking to put the pressure on myself to get to 30 [home runs], or to get to some number. Like I said, there’s still a lot of season left, but feel good at the plate, try to make contact, and if I get to 30, thank God.”

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