Red Sox: Is this year’s outfield as good as ’75?

May 5, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox hall of famers Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski stand in left field as part of the pregame ceremony before the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
May 5, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox hall of famers Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski stand in left field as part of the pregame ceremony before the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
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MLB: Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers
MLB: Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers

The ’75 Red Sox outfield was historically good with Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans. Is this year’s outfield just as good?

Going into the 2017 season, the Boston Red Sox outfield is arguably the best in the league. Given their skill level and their age, the trio of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi have already started to be compared to the legendary outfield of Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans.

Even though Betts, Bradley, and Benintendi haven’t played a full season together yet, there is so much hype going into this season that I couldn’t wait to do a comparison myself. In order to get a fair comparison, I took the individual seasons of Lynn, Rice, and Evans in 1975, which was the first full year that they played together. It’s not fair to compare their legendary careers to the brief careers of this Betts, Bradley, and Benintendi.

Let’s go position by position and compare the players:

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