Jul 16, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) grounds into fielders choice to shortstop allowing a runner to score during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Red Sox have had many great shortstops and here is my list for the top seven.
Jul 5, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) throws to first base against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
Shortstop is often viewed as a position when gloves prosper and bats have a tendency to wilt – an acceptable trade-off for a position that is considered a key defensive location on the baseball diamond chessboard. Occasionally a baseball team will have a unique defensive specimen, such as former Tiger Ray Oyler, play a 100 or so games hitting considerably lower than the famed Mendoza Line.
The good field and no hit pronouncement were often attached to shortstop, but it was actually a misnomer, since baseball has produced a wealth of talented players at the position. If it is the power that attracts you than think of Ernie Banks and winning back-to-back MVP Awards while decimating National League pitching.
You want the player capable of doing the little or big things, then go Phil Rizzuto or Pee Wee Reese, who are both in the Hall of Fame. Rizzuto once led the American League in sacrifice bunts four straight seasons – the little things. My favorite from the 1950s was Luis Aparicio, who finished off his career in Boston.
The Red Sox have a player who will work his way into any list of great shortstops and that is Xander Bogaerts who at 23-years-old is blossoming into a five-tool player. Extra-base hits are flowing, speed is evident and defensive capabilities are present for a player who will be an All-Star for many seasons.
Bogaert’s is just one on a list of great shortstops who have played for Boston in the past and XB will undoubtedly eventually reach number one status as he tacks on the years and the numbers, but for now, he will be off my list.
The Yankees needed some pitching and a shortstop after the 1921 season, so naturally they go to their farm system north and get Bullet Joe Bush and his 16 wins, Sad Sam Jones and his 23 wins and Everett Scott and his exceptional defensive play – thanks, Harry!
Scott was a key player on three Red Sox World Series championship teams and added one more with the 1923 Yankees. If it is hitting numbers, then Scott will certainly not stand out with a Boston slash of .246/.281/.315 in eight seasons, but another number does stand out and that is 1,307 consecutive games played, a record that stood until Lou Gehrig broke it. Scott also took pride in his conditioning and that was rare in that era – conditioning that was instrumental in “The Deacon’s” ability to play and survive at 5’8” and under 150 pounds.
Scott’s value was his glove and his baseball intellect as he was capable of doing the right thing at the right time by fully understanding – in classic Clint Eastwood style “His limitations.” Scott is somewhat of a forgotten figure on the great Red Sox teams of that era that had Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, Joe Wood and plenty of others with flashy numbers, but Scott was about as good as it gets with the glove for a dozen or so years.
Red Sox fans have a lust for hitting and especially right-hand hitting capable of taking full advantage of the Green Monster. The Red Sox had the opportunity to acquire a 26-year-old shortstop who had led the American League in RBI in 1944 with 109 and home runs in 1945 with 24.
The St. Louis Browns needed money and Tom Yawkey had plenty of that so off went a bundle of players and $310,000 for Vern Stephens in the 1947 off-season. Stephens had a negative atmosphere hovering around him as a player who had a certain level of selfishness and a history of conflagrations with management and a noted after baseball hours party boy.
Despite all the concerns over the acquisition, Boston fans would not be disappointed as Stephens became an integral force in one of the most devastating lineups in baseball history and that certainly mitigated initial pessimism over the deal.
Stephens played five seasons with the Red Sox and made four All-Star teams and twice led the AL in RBI while hitting 122 home runs and knocking in 562 in those five years and hitting .283 in the process. The downside was the first three years in Boston Stephens was exclusively at short and had 64 errors. Stephens was no iron glove, but far from a Gold Glove.
The Red Sox already had a noted shortstop in All-Star Johnny Pesky when they traded for Stephens and Pesky shifted to third and then back to short for the 1951 season as Stephens moved over to third. 1951 was also the last productive one for Stephens, whose career faded rapidly after that. Was it his lifestyle? Eye issues? Lingering knee issues? Maybe all three?
They call it the “Pesky Pole” for a reason since Johnny Pesky hit a grand total of 17 home runs in ten MLB seasons. There is no record of how many cut around his namesake marker in right field, but Pesky didn’t live off the long ball but the short ball, breaking in as a 23-year-old in 1942 and hitting .331 while leading the American League in hits.
Pesky – like most players of the WW II era – was off to military service and in his case, it was three seasons before returning in 1946 and resuming where he left off hitting .335 and leading the league in hits while playing an excellent defensive short.
That 1946 season also presented an infamous part of Red Sox history when in the World Series Pesky reportedly held the ball too long on a relay allowing Enos Slaughter to motor home with a key run. Many have disputed that play and the level of Pesky responsibility so I will leave it at that.
In 1948 Pesky was moved to third to make way for new shortstop Vern Stephens and Pesky also saw his average dip to .281. Was the move the reason for the sudden drop for the diminutive left-hand hitter?
Pesky rebounded and was returned to short for the 1951 season, but the skill set was eroding and Pesky was shipped off to the Tigers in 1952 and finally finished off with the Senators and a forgettable 1954 season, but that was only the beginning for Pesky in Boston.
Coach extraordinaire, manager, father confessor, friend and number retired. Pesky became a legend.
There was one player that Red Sox fans of the 1970s universally worshiped for his skill, grittiness, competitiveness and fiery personality – Rick Burleson or “The Rooster.” A shortstop who for three years teamed with Denny Doyle to form one slick double-play duo. Later Jerry Remy joined as Rooster’s DP partner.
With Boston, Rooster made three All-Star teams and won a Gold Glove. With the Angels it was a Silver Slugger and another All-Star nod. The Boston stat line was .274/.328/.361 with some punch in his seven Red Sox seasons hitting 38 home runs and 380 RBI from mostly his number two slot in the batting order.
Rooster was a smooth defensive player capable of turning two and covering his right and left with equal precision. What stood out was the arm. The 5’ 10” 165 pound Rooster possessed an absolute howitzer and to this observer his arm was as strong as any infielder I have seen.
With Tom Yawkey gone the Yawkey Trust was in charge of the team and some decisions were made that took the club two steps back rather than one forward. Burleson wanted to be paid what he felt was comparable for his contributions and GM Haywood Sullivan solved the issue by trading Rooster to the Angels in a deal that eventually proved beneficial to Boston.
The last day of the 1967 season provided an iconic moment captured on film and forever part of Red Sox history. The final out was a pop-up to Rico Petrocelli at short and Rico is seen waving his arms like he is directing at F-15 on the flight deck. But it was not over. Fans stayed around and listed to the final out of the Tigers game and a Tigers loss to push the Red Sox into the World Series.
That 1967 season was also a breakout for the 24-year-old Petrocelli as he made the All-Star team and provided some decent punch with 17 home runs and 66 RBI. That season ten of those home runs were at Fenway and for the right-hand pull hitting Rico it was a picture of what his career would be.
Petrocelli hit 210 career home runs and 134 were at Fenway Park. In 1969 a new home run record for American League shortstops was set when 40 left the yard and Petrocelli finished seventh in MVP balloting.
Petrocelli will never be included in a list of great Red Sox defensive shortstops, but he was more than capable of superior positioning and an exceptionally strong arm. In 1971 Boston had the opportunity to acquire Luis Aparicio – a HOF caliber player – and Rico moved over to third for the rest of his career – all in Boston.
By age 33 Rico was finished and injuries were the reason, including a horrific beaning, elbow surgery and constant hamstring issues, but one last significant contribution remained and that was the 1975 World Series and a .308 average with four RBI.
How desperate is desperate in baseball? How about selling your son-in-law off? That is exactly what Calvin Griffith did to the 26-year-old Joe Cronin in 1935 with Joe’s approval. The deal was for $250,000 and a five-year contract for Cronin, who was also to be player-manager for the Red Sox. – a title he also held in Washington. Cronin fully realized the potential of such a windfall to the Senators and advised his father-in-law to take it.
Cronin was generally recognized as an elite player in the American League and represented another addition to the collection of star players that owner Tom Yawkey was purchasing with the intent of winning or buying a championship for the soon to be known “Gold Sox.” Cronin joined Lefty Grove and soon Jimmie Foxx would enter the lineup, but 1935 – Cronin’s first season – the Red Sox finished fourth and that was to become a Red Sox trademark.
Cronin – a hard-hitting right-hander – played 11 seasons for the Red Sox slashing .300/.394/.484 with 119 home runs and 737 RBI. The 11 seasons deserve somewhat of an asterisk as Cronin’s last four years were strictly part-time duty before hanging up the player side of his career in 1945.
Cronin was never viewed as an elite defensive player, but was quite competent with a very basic skill set of having a strong-arm, capable of the double play and an intricate knowledge of positioning himself. A good, but not a great defensive player.
Cronin retired as a manager after the 1947 season, but not from baseball as he became general manager of the Red Sox and eventually American League President.
Aug 14, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2014, Joseph John Castiglione (left), Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez hold inductee plaques before the game against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /
Number One – Nomar Garciaparra
Number one is quite simple and that is Nomar Garciaparra and what could have been such as a lock for the Hall of Fame and a smattering of Red Sox records. Injuries and some Boston disenchantment put that on the back burner where it will remain.
Nomar came to Boston with all the trappings of a prediction of being a star and possibly a superstar – which the latter appeared to be after two batting titles and three All-Star appointments in his first five seasons along with a Rookie of The Year Award.
Nomar was part of the great shortstop triumvirate of the American League with Derek Jeter and Rodriguez. Twice with Boston Nomar exceeded 50 doubles and twice more 30 home runs while knocking in 100+ RBI four different seasons. Nomar could hit and hit with power and finished his 14 MLB seasons with a .313 average.
For the Red Sox Garciaparra slashed .323/.370/.553 and hit 370 doubles in 11 seasons with the team before being traded midway in the famed 2004 season. Garciaparra was never cheated with an at-bat as the notorious free swinger had a career high 61 walks in 2000. Despite his aggressiveness Garciaparra was not strikeout machine as that same 2000 season he whiffed 50 times and hit a staggering .372.
Garciaparra was not an exceptional defensive player, but had the arm one would expect for the position and certainly could cover the ground – especially to his right.
Nomar was traded at the trade deadline in 2004 and got his ring, but no World Series appearance. By that point in his Red Sox career animosity between management and Garciaparra had reached the divorce stage and the inveitable happened as Boston sought a more defensive oriented player and Garciaparra’s offensive skills were certainly declining.
Garciaparra eventually returned to Boston by signing a one day contract to retire as a Red Sox – a nice gesture of closing old wounds as had been done with Bill Buckner.
Sources: baseball-reference/Sources: Summer of ’49/Red Sox Century
