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Red Sox: Former pitchers that failed to live up to expectations

By Rick McNair

Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians during game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians during game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Boston Red Sox have had many players who never lived up to the future projected for them, such as Clay Buchholz. This is a look at a few pitching disappointments for the 1960’s.

Sep 18, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; The Boston Red Sox take batting practice prior to a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; The Boston Red Sox take batting practice prior to a game against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Clay Buchholz is gone from the torment – at least locally – of simply failing to fulfill the promise his talented arm had. Buchholz had a rocky career with the Boston Red Sox, mixing exceptional stretches of superior performances with stretches where he was a disaster. The great promise never consistently materialized, but I wish him well in Philadelphia.

Red Sox fans and fans of every professional sports team can dredge up players that were high-profile draft picks, performed up to expectations and quickly faded or fell apart thanks to an injury or a serious of injuries. Sometimes it is just a mystery about why one of great promise simply fails to meet expectations.

The Red Sox roster has an abundance of young talent that has produced – Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley are all All-Stars. All have produced enough to show that a long and productive career is expected, but all is not as it seems to me – one or more may fail.

Great promise sometimes results in bitter disappointment. That brought back some memories of Red Sox pitchers from the 1960s whose great promise never materialized for an extensive career. This is a look at a few and – like Buchholz – I will stay in the realm of pitchers.

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