Boston Red Sox forgotten gems
By Rick McNair
Infielders
Brian Daubach had four consecutive 20+ home run seasons to begin his major league career after a brief stay with the Marlins, who released him. The “Belleville Basher” looked old school and played it most notably in a brawl with the Rays that resulted in Daubach being target practice for their pitching staff.
Daubach played five seasons for Boston, hitting .265 with 86 home runs and 306 RBI. The basher did little with other teams in his eight-year career. In Boston, he would play anywhere asked with most service time at DH and first, but did some infield and outfield work and defensively he battled the hit ball like he battled a pitcher.
There was nothing quite like the sound of Mark Bellhorn’s home run in game seven at Yankee Stadium in the ALCS that was the final dagger in the curse.
Bellhorn was neither a great hitter nor a great fielder, but certainly competent in both. In 2004 Bellhorn slashed .264/.373/.444 and it is amazing when a player has an OBP that exceeds a batting average by a 100 points. Bellhorn had a knack for walks with 88 that season and a knack for strikeouts by leading the American League with 177.
In 2005, Bellhorn was released, as his bat caught a cold and the Yankees signed him and his bat then caught pneumonia. Bellhorn was a gamer who got as much as he could with limited skills.
Another potential manager is Alex Cora, who has a reputation that is well respected in baseball for his insight into the game and a player who would do all the under-appreciated moves a manager and fellow players would love. All you have to do is watch him on ESPN to see that inside baseball he exhibited as a player.
Cora was part of the 2007 World Series team and played all four infield positions that season. In his four seasons in Boston, Cora slashed .252/.321/.350 with very little power from his left-handed bat. Cora was great in situations that demanded bat control such as hit and run or finding that right hole in a shift. As smart a player as I have seen.
In 2012, I saw Mookie Betts play second base for Lowell and I immediately conjured up thoughts of Pokey Reese. Physically, they are similar and around second base very much alike with quickness and agility and that helps explain the seamless transition by Betts to the outfield.
Reese last season was with the 2004 team and the slash was nothing impressive at .221/.271/.303 with three home runs and 29 RBI in 96 games. Where Reese shined in 2004 was playing short and that certainly showed the value of defense at that position and hastened the departure of Nomar Garciaparra when he returned to action.
Next: Red Sox Christian Vazquez Is A Rock
Reese endeared himself to the Fenway Faithful early in the 2004 season with both an inside-the-park home run and a second shot over The Monster. Terry Francona just loved this guy.