BOSTON -- Jackie Bradley Jr. is ready to continue slugging during the World Series after winning the ALCS MVP. He posted a 1.067 OPS with two home runs, one double and nine RBIs in the Red Sox's 4-1 series win over the Houston Astros.

The World Series between the Red Sox and Dodgers begins Tuesday here at Fenway Park.

He's also looking forward to next season.

"There's a lot I can do to get better," Bradley said.

The 28-year-old sees himself still becoming a "tremendously better" major league hitter.

"Because I have a lot more knowledge of what I want to do," Bradley said. "And I look forward to working with certain guys in order to get that accomplished."

The 2018 season has been an interesting one for Bradley. After the Red Sox's 3-2 loss at Yankee Stadium on May 8, manager Alex Cora was asked how much longer he can afford to keep playing Bradley who was slashing .173/.264/.264/.528 at the time.

Bradley slashed .210/.297/.345/.642 in 86 games during the first half, then put together a much better second half. He posted a .269/.340/.487/.827 line in 58 games.

He hit with consistency for three straight months: .801 OPS in July, .827 OPS in August and .826 OPS in September.

Bradley hit the ball hard during the first half with hardly anything to show for it. He had the 29th hardest exit velocity (91.5 mph) among major league hitters as of July 9.

But like many left-handed hitters, he competed with an increase in shifts this season.

MLB teams shifted against Bradley 51.7 percent of plate appearances compared to 33.1 percent in 2017, 30.5 percent in 2016 and 16.1 percent in 2015, per Baseball Savant.

Left-handed hitters faced shifts 29.6 percent of plate appearances this season compared to right-handed batters at 8.9 percent (Baseball Savant).

Bradley finished with a .234/.314/.403/.717 line, 13 homers, 33 doubles, four triples and 59 RBIs.

Those numbers are nowhere near his stats from 2016 when he posted a .267/.349/ .486/.835 line, 26 homers, 30 doubles, seven triples and 87 RBIs.

But could 2018 perhaps be Bradley's best major league season to date taking into account how hard he hit the ball even though his stats didn't show it during the first half, how consistently he produced during the second half and how well he has hit during the postseason?

Bradley -- who finished 19th in average exit velocity (91.9 mph) among major leaguers this season (Baseball Savant) -- went just 1-for-10 with a single during the 2016 postseason. He posted a .728 OPS in the second half that year compared to a first-half OPS of .926.

This year he improved as the season progressed. He's playing his best baseball now.

"It depends on what way you're talking about it," Bradley said. "As a whole, as a player, I don't believe so. No one's going to look back at my year and say 'Just because he hit the ball hard he had a better year.' Everybody's going to look at the numbers because it's a numbers game. So if that's the way we're going to look at it, then no this was not my best year."

There's not much Bradley can do to become a better defensive center fielder. He's as good as it gets out there. But he still hasn't won a Gold Glove.

Bradley was a Gold Glove finalist in both 2014 and 2016 but he got snubbed in 2017. He appeared in only 74 major league games during 2015.

Would he be surprised if he doesn't win the honor this year?

"I don't know. I really haven't thought too much about that right now," Bradley said. "Just kind of focusing on the team, teammates and winning this whole thing."

Bradley eventually would love to win a Gold Glove. He takes pride in his defense.

"One-hundred percent," he said. "Definitely would love to have one of those kind on the belt, so to speak."

Cora is looking forward to seeing Bradley's second-half success carry into 2019.

"He's a different hitter," Cora said before Game 5 of the ALCS. "Halfway through the season he found it, he found his stroke, he's staying through the ball. He started making the move, like J.D. (Martinez) calls it, whatever that means. But he's hitting the ball in the air. He's going the other way. And we know he's going to swing and miss. We can live with it.



"Looking forward for him to maintain this the rest of this season," Cora added. "But honestly I don't want to get ahead of myself because we're in the moment, but looking forward for next year for him to stay with this swing and put it all together through 162 games."