Number twelve
George Foster
MLB Stats: 1977 G, 7812 PA, .274/.338/.480, 348 HR, 1239 RBI
A rather silent member of The Big Red Machine would do nothing on his lone visit to Fenway Park in the World Series of 1975, but the former MVP could hit.
I saw Foster several times at NL parks and often wondered how he would respond to the bulk of his career at Fenway? Foster was a line drive hitter who did utilize the entire field, so that may have been a slight wall disadvantage.
Number Eleven
Dick Allen
Fenway Park Stats: 17 G, 67 PA, .279/.328/.508, 3 HR, 13 RBI
A notoriously surly individual who was a prolific line drive hitter. When traded to the AL Allen (“Don’t call me Richie”) promptly won an MVP Award. Allen also was an NL Rookie of the Year winner with the Phillies and a multiple All-Star who led the AL in home runs twice.
Allen had many incidents in Philadelphia prior to being traded including brawls with teammates, verbal incidents with the notorious abusive Philly fans, fines by management and actually wearing a batting helmet in the outfield as Philly fans would shower Allen with various items.
Allen would have been interesting at Fenway since he was a line drive machine. I can visualize many balls being wall singles or doubles that would have been long gone elsewhere. Another player who was worth admission to see in batting practice.
Number Ten
Albert Belle
Fenway Park Stats: 58 G, 257 PA, .262/.367/.532, 17 HR, 55 RBI
A more dysfunctional player would be difficult to locate, but “Mr. Freeze” could hit and hit with power. In 12 seasons “Joey” hit 389 home runs and hit .295. The Fenway crowd loved to taunt Belle who was a verbal target just about everywhere he played.
Belle would put on displays in batting practice with line drives to all parts of Fenway. Belle was a hitter who could use the field and use it with power. His career ended at age 33 as the result of osteoarthritis.