Boston Red Sox forgotten gems
The Boston Red Sox have a long list of players who were noted contributors but generally forgotten. Here are a few of my selections.
For the last 20 seasons, the Boston Red Sox have had some remarkable players who were All-Stars and a few who may end up in the Hall of Fame. Stars of great magnitude, wealth and certainly ones that have created a cottage industry of books. A big assist goes to three championships and players that get associated with special consideration. Dave Roberts will never have employment worries if he relocated to Boston.
Roberts is a player noted for one very special moment, but others for a series of special moments – David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and many, many more that are considered stars. They get all the attention at duck boat parades. But what about the others?
Ever since I started to follow and be pained by the local baseball entry starting around 1954 I have had a special attraction to those players, not on the high elevated plateau of stardom, but competent professionals who have their limitations yet perform respectably for several seasons in Boston or elsewhere.
The names may be recognized or send you to a baseball site to find out who they were? Troy O’Leary, Ike Delock, Dalton Jones, Mike Andrews and Marty Barrett are a few who were never All-Stars but may – at times – have been close. They simply were the supporting cast. If it was Playbill they would be in the small type versus the bold type of the stars.
The last twenty years have added to my list of such players. Overachievers? Underachievers? All subjective, but they had some qualities that I respected for their ability to get what I saw as the most out of a limited skill set.
The players I will profile played within their limits and in some instances had a certain level of savior faire that would still bring a smile when their names are mentioned.
Pitchers and Catchers
Scott Atchison didn’t arrive in the majors until he was 28-years-old and then it was only for a series of quick – very quick – cups of coffee. In 2008-2009, Atchison played for Hanshin in the Japanese Professional league before returning to the states to sign with the Red Sox in 2010, where he would start in Pawtucket – a 34-year-old in Triple-A.
The Red Sox needed some bullpen help and up came Atchison for three seasons, where he posted a 5-4 record and 3.18 ERA before receiving his walking papers and became a free agent. What followed were trips to the Mets, Indians, and Twins. Terry Francona sought out the veteran right-hander and he did post a 6-0 record for the Indians in 2014.
Atchison personified the player who just never gave in and eventually stuck around to make almost five million dollars. For Boston, I remember him for his grizzled look and his never give an inch to a hitter attitude.
Rich Garces was Pablo Sandoval like in appearance, which got him the well-deserved El Guapo nickname, but he could pitch and would certainly be a compliment out of the current bullpen. “El Guapo” was a right-hander who could certainly bring some heat with his fastball.
Garces actually pitched seven years for Boston and appeared in 261 games going 23-8 with a 3.78 ERA and lasted until 2002 and then resurfaced in 2007 in the Cam-Am League – an independent league.
Garces played for the Nashua Pride and I had the pleasure of watching “El Guapo” pitched against the Brockton Rox.
For trivia fans, the Pride was managed by Butch Hobson and had recently suspended Chris Colabello on their roster.
The value of defensive catching can never be dismissed and that includes not only the physical aspect but the mental one of keeping pampered pitchers focused and that really surface in the 2013 World Series with David Ross.
Ross hit only .188 in the WS but his defense calmed everything down. During the season, Ross was plagued with injuries and hit only .218 but he was not in the lineup for hitting but stability. Another member of the 2013 team that was exceptionally gifted at earning the respect of both players and staff. Hopefully, he will manage.
Outfielders
Being a first round pick does not necessarily equate to an extended career of baseball success and Darnell McDonald never reached the height of the mountain projected for him.
A right-handed hitter with some excellent power and that power had the famed if he connects attached to it. So McDonald bounced around different organizations and the minors before an injury to Jacoby Ellsbury brought McDonald up from Pawtucket and what a beginning it was.
McDonald pinch hit and became one of the few players to hit a home run in his first Red Sox at-bat. McDonald’s four-bagger tied up the game at 6-6 and he won it with a walk-off RBI and that was the first time that had happened in Red Sox history. McDonald also entertained the Fenway crowd with a nice throw to nail a runner.
McDonald was a player who, despite not fulfilling his promise, just stuck around and became a contributor despite often been considered the 25th man on the roster.
Rags to riches and certainly persistent is Daniel Nava, who the Red Sox purchased for the princely sum of one dollar in 2008. Nava spent most of his baseball existence scuffling until the Red Sox brought Nava up I-95 from Pawtucket in 2010.
Nava certainly had a rather auspicious start in Boston with a grand slam and then played some outfield for the remainder of the season before – again – becoming expendable.
Nava didn’t curl up into a ball and retire, but kept plugging away and resurfaced in 2010. In 2011 it was back to the minors and in 2012 another recall. In 2013 Nava was spectacular, hitting .303 and playing some first base – a skill he honed in the previous few seasons to increase his value.
Nava is still around, playing for the Angels and is representative of an everyman possibility for players at all levels. If a player is in the minors for years there is always the possibility they could be the next Nava who slashed .267/.357/.387 in five Boston seasons. The poster player for hard work and persistence.
Jonny Gomes‘ reputation as an intense, combative, competitive hard-nosed player was well established before he arrived in Boston where Gomes played two seasons slashing .242/.338/.397 with 19 home runs and 84 RBI.
Gomes would give you tough at-bats and pitchers earned the outs against Gomes, who was fearless on the field and especially the base paths. Gomes was a clubhouse police force, a baseball MP – and had always had that quality and it was one that was not dipped in fear but respect.
Gabe Kapler will manage in the majors some day and reportedly lost out to Dave Roberts for the Dodgers job. Kapler had actually managed in the Red Sox system in 2007 as skipper of the Greenville Drive.
Kapler had the nickname “The Body” since he was a workout fanatic and that body was most productive for the 2004 team with a healthy slash of .272/.311/.390 with six home runs and 33 RBI while playing all three outfield positions.
Kapler was a hustle machine on the diamond and would be fearless in the field or the base paths and actually tore his Achilles in 2005 while running out a teammate’s home run. Kap played for the Red Sox in 2006 before managing The Drive and then bounced around several teams. Everywhere he went the refrain was the same: “He will manage in the majors someday” and don’t rule out Boston.
Mike Carp was a capable left-handed hitter who did exhibit some decent power. Carp was a noted factor in the 2013 Red Sox team with a slash of .296/.362/.523 and nine home runs and 43 RBI in only 86 games.
In the post season, the magic wore off and Carp went 0-8. In 2014, the highlight was Carp getting to the mound for an infamous inning of work in which he walked five and allowed only one run despite the wildness.
Frustrated by playing time Carp asked to be traded and the Red Sox did a DFA for the .198 hitting Carp. Since then Carp has attempted to resurface with several teams, but so far results are negative. For one season Carp did a remarkable job for Boston.