Boston Red Sox Designated Hitter lineage
The Boston Red Sox have had some memorable and forgettable designated hitters. Let’s take a look.
The designated hitter (DH) is, in actuality, not an easy role to consistently fill with success. The Red Sox have been quite fortunate to have the best to ever “play” that position in David Ortiz. Any discussion of “The Best” to be a DH in Boston has a beginning and an end with Papi and that can apply to all of baseball.
When examining the various practitioners of DH in Boston I have excluded some of whom the bulk of their Boston career was spent elsewhere on the diamond. Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Manny Ramirez and even a young and talented Cecil Cooper and underappreciated Brian Daubach. For Yaz, Rice, and Evans it was a career extender – especially Yastrzemski.
More from BoSox Injection
- Red Sox Nation deserves far more from Fenway Sports Group
- Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
With Cooper – a magnificent hitter – it was a place to play part-time or until a positional roadblock was eliminated, which appears to be a method many teams have employed over the years. So my focus was on those that the Red Sox decided to bring aboard to see if they had anything left in the baseball tank or could provide some stability at DH for several seasons.
The list contains four members of the baseball Hall of Fame, a flawed personality that became patient zero in the PED mess, a player who walked away from baseball over a slight, one who drove himself into bankruptcy and a few others who were totally forgettable.
Forgettable and some memorable
Some players arrive five years too late and that was Bob Bailey. Bailey hit just .191 in 41 games for Boston and that was the end of his career. Earlier in his career, Bailey was a productive right-hand power bat, but that was long gone when he came to Boston.
Dante Bichette was 36-years-old when he came to Boston. The best years for Bichette were in Colorado, where he took full advantage of the rarefied air in Denver. The power numbers were gone (19 HR in two seasons) and so was Bichette.
Jack Clark could collect two things in life – home runs and cars. The first allowed him the fiscal resources to buy the second – all of which eventually went on the auction block when the “Ripper” went bankrupt.
Clark signed a three-year deal with Boston late in his career to provide that potent right-hand bat that the Red Sox consistently attempt to locate. In his first season, Clark did not disappoint hitting 28 home runs while bagging 87 RBI. The downside was a .249 average and that was a vision of things to come.
In 1992, the average deteriorated to .210 and there was a power outage with only five home runs and 33 RBI in 81 games. Clark was given his release and never played MLB again.
The Red Sox signed 30-year-old Jose Canseco to be their DH. By this stage of what became a flawed career Canseco was viewed as a liability in the field so Boston and Fenway Park were the perfect landing spot. Jose did not disappoint.
In his two seasons, Canseco slashed .298/.389/.571 while hitting 52 home runs and accounting for 163 RBI. In 1996, Canseco had a tremendous first half with 26 home runs by the All-Star break before back woes affected his performance.
Jose was traded in the off-season for John Wasdin and that finished his Boston legacy.
Hall of Fame Division
Don Baylor was a linebacker who happens to wear a baseball uniform. A former MVP brought to Boston to take full advantage of Fenway Park and Baylor did not disappoint by hitting 31 home runs and having 94 RBI while hitting .238.
Baylor won the Silver Slugger Award for his 1986 efforts and once again led the league in his specialty of being hit by pitches. In 1987, Baylor was slumping off his 1986 totals and was traded to the Twins who were making a late season – and successful – pennant push.
Andre Dawson is in the Baseball Hall of Fame and anyone who saw “The Hawk” in his prime would understand why. Dawson was a five-tool player, a former MVP and a perennial Gold Glove winner. When he signed with Boston what was left was his right-hand bat that the Red Sox hoped had some punch left.
Dawson played two seasons or parts of two seasons with the Red Sox as his knees continued to debilitate his performance. Off-season surgery did not really improve and in Boston
You never forget your first – DH that is. Orlando Cepeda was what the DH was designed for – an aging slugger who had limited defensive ability and that was “Cha Cha,” a former MVP. Multiple All-Star and in his prime a five-tool player on the great Giants teams of the late 1950s and early 60s. Cepeda also knew Fenway as a guest when the Cardinals – for whom Cepeda then played – faced the Red Sox in the 1967 World Series.
The Red Sox jumped first when the DH was instituted and beat out competitors for Cepeda’s services. The 35-year-old right-hand power hitter was working on knees that had ceased to cooperate with the rest of the body. Despite that Cepeda appeared in 142 games and banged out 20 home runs and 86 RBI while hitting .289. Essentially that was a career swan song for Cepeda.
A Tony Perez in his prime would have been one dangerous bat at Fenway Park. I am not sure if that ball he hit off Bill Lee in the 1975 World Series has landed? The Perez that arrived in Boston was simply nearing the end and initially Tony played first base in 1980 before putting in some DH time the next two seasons. Perez did hit 40 home runs and notch 175 RBI in his 304 game Boston career.
Creme de la Creme
David Ortiz was and is actually a decent defensive player. When sent into a “regular” position at first base the slugger does not embarrass himself. Ortiz has baseball smarts and will make the basic plays and not play outside his comfort level. Ortiz has limited mobility, but will cover the ground and certainly can handle errant tosses. But where Ortiz has blossomed is as the premier DH in baseball history.
Ortiz tale is now both an oral and written history that will go on for generations among the Red Sox faithful. The legacy of clutch hitting is certainly one that sets Ortiz on a special pedestal when compared to other Red Sox players. Any list of great moments in Red Sox history will be littered by the Ortiz exploits.
Baseball is also a sport of personalities and that is another area where Ortiz has special identifiers attached. The most memorable of moments are public pronouncements on a solemn occasion that contained language that in the context was, to me, quite appropriate. You had the annual salary squabbles, the questions of PED use, expletive-laced news conferences, the molasses-paced home run trot, bat flips, on-field rivalries and the occasional press conference faux pas interruptions caused by a noted teammate.
The real thing of baseball is the numbers. No sport is so heavily invested in numbers as is baseball. When it comes to hitting numbers for anyone and especially a DH then the numbers stratosphere has Ortiz as an occupant.
The personal awards are everywhere – Silver Sluggers, All-Star, various MVP Awards and the most important awards that escaped even the great Ted Williams – three World Championship rings.
Next: Red Sox Prospect Andrew Benintendi Knocking On Fenway Door
The best DH – in baseball history.
Sources: FanGraphs/Baseball-Reference