NEW YORK – The end result is what is visible, and it is extraordinary.

The swing of Adrian Gonzalez is something to behold, the barrel of the bat whipping through the zone to the point of impact with a natural upper-cut that sends balls soaring towards the outer reaches of a ballpark.

Typically, the slugging first baseman stays back on the ball to maximize the time he has to react, something he can do because – despite being left-handed – he has the power of a right-handed masher when driving the ball to left field. But he also can crush balls to right, as he made apparent on Friday night, in launching a 91 mph Bartolo Colon fastball into the second deck in Yankee Stadium to help the Sox to a 5-4 win in New York. (Recap.)

Yet Gonzalez’ success is about much more than the picture-perfect hitting mechanics that he’s honed. The end-result is merely the last detail of a process that reflects a great mind for the craft of hitting.

When asked about an individual at-bat on a given night, Gonzalez invariably offers a meticulous response. He will rapidly detail what he expected the pitcher to do, what he planned to do, the pitch-by-pitch sequence, the outcome.

Take, for instance, the home run off Colon on Friday night. Gonzalez entered the game with a mixed record against the big right-hander, having gone 3-for-10 with a homer but five strikeouts in his career against the 2005 AL Cy Young winner.

Colon had missed the strike zone on the first pitch of the fourth-inning at-bat with a 91 mph fastball. At that point, ahead in the count, 1-0, Gonzalez had a plan to execute.

“Bartolo was going to pound me in. I knew that. He wasn’t going to give me much to go the other way with,” said Gonzalez. “My gameplan was to pick and choose my spots to look for a pitch middle-in that I could drive to right field. After ball one, I thought that would be a good spot, and I think he left it more middle than he wanted to.”

This was a textbook case of adapting an approach. Though Gonzalez would ordinarily stay back on the ball and drive it to the opposite field, he was mindful that Colon would work to deny him his strength. And so, Gonzalez continued to demonstrate the exceptional plate coverage – turning on balls in, driving balls on the outer half of the plate to left field – that has fueled his home run binge in recent days, with seven homers in 10 games.

Gonzalez was asked repeatedly if he was mindful of pulling the ball in Yankee Stadium, given the new park’s reputation as one in which the ball carries like crazy to right-center (case in point: the Kevin Youkilis liner towards the gap in the seventh inning that sailed into the seats for a two-run homer). But he insisted that his homer was not about the environment, but rather a byproduct of a strategy that is developed independent of the venue.

“I’m never worried about the ballpark,” said Gonzalez. “I learned that early, playing in San Diego, that you can’t let the ballpark get in your head. So I just go out there, try to execute a gameplan.”

His efforts to do that are aided by tremendous recall. Gonzalez carries with him to the plate his history against a given pitcher. He is mindful of the pitches that have been used to get him out, and those on which he has had the advantage.

That recall was brought to light when Gonzalez was asked if he remembered his home run at the old Yankee Stadium, across the street from the new edifice. Gonzalez hit it during his only prior trip to the Bronx, as a member of the Padres for a three-game series in June 2008, when he went 3-for-11.

“I hit it to right-center. It was a changeup from a guy that wore glasses,” Gonzalez said, referring to Edwar Ramirez. “I can remember most of my home runs. I’ve got a pretty good memory for those things. I remember the pitches that they threw. That’s why I go up there and have a good idea of what they’re going to do.”

Yet Gonzalez’ ability to retain information is not simply about the past successes he’s had. 

“I remember strikeouts. I remember everything,” said Gonzalez. “It’s just the way my mind works. I don’t go to school, so I’ve got to remember this.”

He possesses the ability not just to carry the information and game plan with him, but also the skill to use those details to enact the gameplan. Thus far in his Red Sox career, particularly over his last 18 games, the results have been remarkable.

Since April 24, Gonzalez is hitting .400 with a .418 OBP, .787 slugging mark and 1.204 OPS. Of his 30 hits, half have gone for extra bases – he has eight doubles and seven homers. He is the American League leader in RBI (31) and the big league leader in total bases (90).

It has been an extraordinary run by a hitter of exceptional skill. It is a run that won’t last forever, but the Sox are more than happy to enjoy it for as long as it continues.

Manager Terry Francona was asked to reflect upon his first baseman’s skills after Friday night’s game, to discuss his completeness as a player who can impact the game from the batter’s box and as a Gold Glove caliber defensive player.

“He’s not very fast,” Francona joked of the only apparent shortcoming of Gonzalez.

Yet when asked whether there has been anything surprising about his performance to date, the manager offered an earnest response.

“We had a pretty good book on him,” said Francona. “To make a trade of that magnitude, we had a pretty good idea what we were getting.”

And that, perhaps, is the most striking thing of all about Gonzalez. There is little doubt that this is a period in which he is locked in at the plate, yet what would be a career-best run for some hitters is instead an event with precedent for the first baseman.

In May 2009, he had a run of hitting homers in five straight games for the Padres, and less than three weeks later, had another run of going deep in four straight contests. Likewise, last year he had another four-game streak of longballs.

This is simply what an Adrian Gonzalez hot streak looks like. And the Sox are relishing the first-hand demonstration of it.

“He’s one of the best in the game. That’s what we knew we were getting when we got him. He finds ways not just to make our team better, but everyone around him better,” said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “He’s pretty special.”