Red Sox Rookie of the Year winners: Ranking their careers
Apr 13, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; A view of the scoreboard before opening ceremonies at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox home opener against the Washington Nationals. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Red Sox have had six Rookie of the Year winners. Just who had the best career?
The Major League Rookie of the Year Award has had six winners from the Boston Red Sox with some mixed career results, which is representative of the history of the award. Stardom does not often follow the honor.
Names that are recognized universally by ardent fans, occasional fans and the baseball indifferent are sprinkled among the winners. Jackie Robinson, the first recipient, is in the Baseball Hall of Fame as are several other ROY winners that are among the very best to every play.
The award certainly is not a signal for future success as many have shined brightly only to fade over performance issues or injuries. How many actually remember Joe Charboneau or John Castino? Even Mark Fidrych and Dontrelle Willis may or may not click a memory.
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The original award was for both leagues and not separated into two awards – one for each league – until 1949. The award did actually have its origins dating back to 1940 when it was issued by the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1947, it was open to all members.
There is one interesting connection to Boston and not the Red Sox, but the Boston Braves. Sam Jethroe at age 32 became the oldest award winner as a Boston Brave.
The award has been shared with the more prestigious Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards on a few rare occasions. Fernando Valenzuela won the Cy Young and ROY while Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki copped the double honor with an MVP. And that brought into a question of Ichiro being a true rookie.
The same argument surfaced with Black winners back in the 1940s and 1950s who has extensive professional experience in the Negro Leagues just as Ichiro and other Japanese stars had an extensive background in their professional league.
Each voter gets to select three rookies and points are scaled from three to one for each selection. Most points and you win. If a player had more than 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched the previous season they were ineligible.
The Red Sox, have had six players win – the Dodgers have had the most at 16. And the Yankees – for informational purposes – have had eight winners. For the Red Sox, we will look at the best with the emphasis being on their career and not the one season in which they won.
Jun 3, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Practice balls in a bin prior to game one of a doubleheader between the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Sixth Place – Don Schwall
ROY Totals: 15-7, 178.2 IP, 167 H, 110 BB, 91 K, 3.22 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, WAR 2.5
Career Totals: Seven seasons, 49-48, 743 IP, 710 H, 391 BB, 408 K, 3.72 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, WAR 6.3
1961 was a transition year for the Red Sox since one player was missing who was an institution – Ted Williams. But a replacement was ready to rock & roll in 21-year-old Carl Yastrzemski. Unfortunately, the HOF career got off to a wretched start with a .266 average.
Another rookie, 23-year old second baseman named Chuck Schilling surprised with some respectable hitting (.259) and some decent defense for the sixth place (76-86) Red Sox. The real surprise became Schwall who finished his inaugural season at 15-7.
Schwall, a former All-Big Eight basketball star at the University of Oklahoma, had earned his promotion with an excellent performance (16-9, 3.59) for Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. For the younger fans, Schwall was physically very similar to the John Lackey we all saw in 2013-14 – a tall right-hander with a great sinker ball. In fact, Schwall had the lowest HR/9 rate in the AL at 0.4. That was a career trademark as he finished with a 0.6 HR/9.
One season does not a career make and 1962 was a reversal of fortune as the record sank to 9-15. The real warning sign in his All-Star season of 1961 was 110 walks and a 5.5 BB/9 rate. In 1962, that total jumped to 6.0 and Schwall was traded.
The next five years saw Schwall work as both a starter and out of the bullpen with some mixed results before fading out of MLB in 1967.
May 25, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; General view of third base during the ninth inning of the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox at Target Field. The Twins win 7-2 over the Red Sox. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
Fifth Place: Walt Dropo
ROY Totals: 136 G, 180 H, .322/.378/.583, 34 HR, 144 RBI, WAR 3.3
Career Totals: 1288 G, 1113 H, .270/.326/.432, 152 HR, 704 RBI, WAR 6.7
In 1950, the third place (94-60) Red Sox led the American League with 1027 runs in a 154 game schedule. The run total was over 100 runs higher than the Yankees total that was number two in the league. The team batting average was .302 or 20 points higher than the Yankees and Tigers. The leading home run hitter was the 27-year-old right-handed slugging Dropo, who smashed 34 and led the American League in RBI at 144.
For comparisons if you have seen Billy Butler he is physically similar to the hulking Dropo. The surprise was the power since Dropo – called Moose for his size and birthplace of Moosup, CT. – had never banged out more than 17 in the minors. The secret? A perfect Fenway Park swing that registered 24 home runs and 93 RBI at the friendly confines that inflated the overall numbers for 1950.
The following season Dropo slumped and Billy Goodman took over at first and Dropo was sent back to the minors for a month before finishing the season at .239. In June, the following season Dropo was shipped off to the Tigers and had one last big home run season finishing with 29 between Boston and Detroit.
Dropo was considered a decent fielder at first with some surprising range for a big man with limited speed – only five steals in his career. Dropo’s only All-Star section was also in that magnificent 1950 season and Dropo did remain active until 1961 while never attaining the lofty numbers of his inaugural season.
When Dropo retired he stayed in the Boston area and was a very successful businessman in a variety of ventures including his son’s fireworks business. I remember meeting Dropo at a few events and can say he was a very engaging fellow.
Sep 29, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) has New York Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner (11) out as he completes the double play during the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. Boston Red Sox won 10-4. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Fourth Place: Dustin Pedroia
ROY Totals: 139 G, 165 H, .317/.380/.482 8 HR, 50 RBI, WAR 3.7
Career Totals: 1244 G, 1482 H, .299/.365/.444, 118 HR, 588 RBI, 41.1 WAR
Pedroia is difficult to place since he is certainly not done at age 32 and signed to 2020. What does stand out is his contributions to two World Series Championships and an MVP Award.
The four-time All-Star also has four Gold Glove Awards and is usually among the upper echelon in fielding metrics. The glove work is a plus in any consideration and the plays of Pedroia over the years is a highlight film that could take up Sports Center for an evening.
Leadership is often mentioned with Pedroia along with intangibles – a difficult topic to somehow place into a metric formula. Pedroia appears part troll, elf, and general irritant to teammates and the opposition. But players on both sides have spoken of their adulation and respect for “The Muddy Chicken.”
Pedroia was back to form mid-way through the 2015 season when another injury hit and virtually cut his season in half. This situation is now starting to become a bit more common and could portend difficulties finishing off what is essentially a lifetime contract.
So Petey sits at the fourth position but expect Pedroia’s numbers to accumulate. A healthy Pedroia is a productive Pedroia.
May 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Football Club owner Nomar Garciaparra speaks at a press conference at Exposition Park to announce the intent to build a 22,000 soccer stadium at the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Third Place: Nomar Garciaparra
ROY Totals: 153 G, 209 H, .306/.342/.534, 30 HR, 98 RBI, WAR 6.4
Career Totals: 1434 G, 1747 H, .313/.361/.521, 229 HR, 936 RBI, WAR 41.4
What could have been? Nomar appeared on the fast-track for the Hall of Fame until injury intervened and the numbers dropped – especially after being traded to the Cubs and making the rounds to the Dodgers and Oakland before packing it in by age 35.
A six-time All-Star whose defensive skills were generally considered average with a TZ (Total Zone) 34 for his career. For comparisons, Derek Jeter finished with a TZ of -123.
In his early Red Sox years, this observer considered Garciaparra an excellent defender with a strong-arm, but injuries appeared to impact his range. Nomar did have his baseball salad days in Boston with a slash of .323/.370/.553, two batting titles and a reputation as possibly the toughest out in baseball.
The 2004 championship season saw Nomar shipped to the Cubs at the trade deadline. The details are sketchy, but the assumption is both the team and Garciaparra felt better to move on, but that is the territory of TMZ so I will avoid it.
Garciaparra and the old wounds from Boston – real or imagined – have healed. Garciaparra retired as a Red Sox by signing a one-day contract.
Second Place: Fred Lynn
ROY Totals: 145 G, 175 H, .331/.401/.566, 21 HR, 105 RBI, WAR 7.1
Career Totals: 1969 G, 1960 H, .283/.360/.484, 306 HR, 1111 RBI, WAR 49.2
The Gold Dust Twins of 1975 were Lynn and fellow rookie Jim Rice, who led the Red Sox to the pennant and into the World Series against the Reds. Maybe if Rice did not shatter his wrist and could have played the Red Sox would have won?
In his six full seasons in Boston, Lynn was an All-Star each season, won four Gold Gloves, captured a batting title and finished his Boston stint with a .308 average before being sent to the California Angels in one of the more questionable moves in Red Sox history.
Lynn was a career .347 hitter at Fenway, but money became an issue and Lynn, adamant about his compensation, was sent packing to LA where he made the All-Star team each of the three seasons he was an Angel.
From LA, the route was Baltimore, Detroit and a final season with the Padres and then retirement at age 38. In his ten seasons out of Boston Lynn never reached the .300 mark again.
Lynn and Garciaparra are eerily similar in their careers. Both enjoyed tremendous success in Boston and were never able to achieve those lofty totals elsewhere. Both left under a dark cloud and both later returned and were welcomed home. Both had injuries that certainly impacted their performance.
One item that puts Lynn in a special class is his glove work. Red Sox fans have been amazed by Jackie Bradley, but Lynn did it just as well and maybe even better while hitting a ton in Boston.
Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk waves to the crowd after being introduced during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Clark Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
First Place: Carlton Fisk
ROY Totals: 131 G, 134 H, .293/.370/.538, 22 HR, 61 RBI, WAR 6.6
Career Totals: 2499 G, 2356 H, .269/.341/.457, 376 HR, 1330 RBI, WAR 68.3
Does the selection of Fisk assign me the label of a baseball Stephen Hawking for brilliance? This was the ultimate no-brainer selection for a catcher who played 24 seasons and finally retired at age 45. The service time was actually greater with the Chicago White Sox than the Boston Red Sox, but the first team that surfaces in a discussion is the Red Sox – to even the casual fan.
The home run was the key and that photo is now legendary. I can put on bragging rights to being at the park that evening along with what is about two million others with the same claim. Too bad game seven ruined the series for Boston fans.
A nine-time All-Star, three Silver Slugger Awards, a Gold Glove, some notorious feuds such as the on-going one with Thurman Munson of the Yankees. Historically the rivalry may have gotten a serious reboot with the various real and imagined flare ups with New York. As a side note, Fisk was almost sent to the Yankees via a trade in the 1980s.
Fisk was a number one draft pick by Boston in 1967 and was somewhat local being from the Republic of Vermont. Brought up to the bigs in 1969 for a few games and then back in 1971 for another handful before launching his Hall of Fame career.
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The Boston years ended up with an ill-fated contract snafu that made Fisk a free agent and that status was ignored by Haywood Sullivan. The core of that great team of the 1970s was systematically dismantled by the Red Sox as had the great Red Sox teams back in the Harry Frazee era. The wounds were finally healed and Fisk ha his number retired by Boston and received an honorary 2004 World Series ring.
Sources: Fangraphs