Red Sox: Ranking players who have had numbers retired at Fenway Park
With David Ortiz set to become the 10th player in Boston Red Sox history to have his number retired at Fenway Park, where does he rank among that group?
On Friday, June 23 the Boston Red Sox held a ceremony to retire the number of David Ortiz. Speeches were made, tears were shed. In the end we saw No. 34 placed on the right field facade alongside numbers associated with some of the greatest players in franchise history.
It's official #34Ever pic.twitter.com/bBf2tUZckF
— BoSox Injection (@BoSoxInjection) June 23, 2017
Which begs the question of where Ortiz ranks among those greats. We’ve already looked at where his numbers stack up from a historical standpoint in team and MLB history, but where would we place Ortiz in rating the ten players who have had their number retired by the Red Sox?
For the purposes of this exercise, we’re only concerned with what these players did on the field in a Red Sox uniform. So the numbers Ortiz tallied in Minnesota don’t count. It’s also why you won’t find Jackie Robinson on the list, despite that his No. 42 hangs in every MLB ballpark.
With those stipulations in mind, here is how we rank to ten players who have had their numbers retired in Boston.
Johnny Pesky – No. 6
Known as “Mr. Red Sox,” Pesky spent the first eight seasons of his career in Boston. During that span he hit .313/.401/.393.
Pesky broke into the big leagues in 1942, only to miss the next three years due to military service. After finishing third in AL MVP voting as a rookie, Pesky barely missed a beat after three years away from baseball, collecting another 200+ hit season to finish fourth in the MVP race. He led the league in hits in each of his first three seasons in the majors, topping 200 hits in each of them.
The rest of Pesky’s career couldn’t quite live up to his promising start. He made only one All-Star team, which came in 1946 in his first season since returning from the war. He had very little pop in his bat, hitting only 17 home runs in his career and 13 during his time in Boston.
Pesky was a high-average hitter with a solid glove at the shortstop position, yet was only briefly a star caliber player. He also played in fewer games for the Red Sox than anyone else on this list. He would later return to the organization as a coach and manager, enhancing his case for having his number retired.
Joe Cronin – No. 4
If we were to factor in the impact these players had on Major League Baseball, Cronin may deserve a higher ranking. He spent 24 years in the Red Sox organization as a player, manager and general manager. He also became the first modern-day player to become a league president. His 1071 wins as a manager are the most in franchise history and he led the Red Sox to the pennant in 1946.
Cronin came to Boston in 1935 after seven years in Washington and two in Pittsburgh, serving as both a player and manager. He was selected to the All-Star team in five of his first sevens seasons with the Red Sox, finishing as high as seventh on the MVP ballot on two occasions.
Cronin hit .300 with an .878 OPS over 11 seasons in Boston. He brought a bit more power to the shortstop position than Pesky did, but couldn’t match his glove in the field. Once Pesky arrived, Cronin’s days at shortstop were numbered.
The 30.1 fWAR he compiled with the Red Sox ranks 20th among hitters in franchise history. It’s also the lowest among the players who have had their number retired. Cronin’s number hangs in right field at Fenway for what he did as a manager as much as what he did as a player.
Carlton Fisk – No. 27
Fisk will always be remembered most by Red Sox fans for his dramatic 12th-inning home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. The clip of him waving the ball fair has become one of the most iconic images in franchise history.
The Red Sox selected Fisk with the fourth overall pick in the 1967 draft. He would spend his first full season in the big leagues in 1972, capturing the Rookie of the Year award, making his first All-Star team, winning a Gold Glove and finishing fourth on the MVP ballot.
Fisk hit .284/.356/.481 with 162 homers over 11 seasons in Boston. He was an All-Star in seven of those seasons and landed inside the top 10 on the MVP ballot three times.
A lengthy 24-year career lasted until Fisk was 45 years old, although more than half of it came after leaving Boston. He was granted free agency in 1980 when GM Haywood Sullivan infamously mailed his contract offer a day after the deadline. One of the greatest catchers in baseball history got away become of front office incompetence.
Jim Rice – No. 14
Rice’s first full season in the majors would have been viewed as exceptional if not for being overshadowed by teammate Fred Lynn, who captured the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in 1975. Rice was the second best rookie of that class and finished third on the MVP ballot.
The power-hitting outfielder led the league in home runs three times, topping out at 46 in his MVP season of 1978. He was selected to eight All-Star teams in 16 years, all of which he spent in Boston.
The 382 home runs Rice hit with the Red Sox are the fourth most in franchise history. He’s also fourth with 1451 RBI and seventh among hitters with a 50.8 fWAR.
Bobby Doerr – No. 1
Considered to be the top second baseman in franchise history – at least until Dustin Pedroia surpasses him – Bobby Doerr spent his entire 14 year career with the Red Sox.
Doerr was a nine-time All-Star who appeared on the MVP ballot eight times, finishing as high as third place in 1946. He as named The Sporting News AL Player of the Year in 1944 when he led the league with a .528 slugging percentage.
He was an exceptional defensive second baseman who was among the best in the game at turning double plays. His 116 defensive rating is the fourth highest in franchise history at any position and a significant reason why his 53.3 WAR ranks sixth among position players.
A Hall of Fame career was cut short when a back injury forced Doerr to retire at the age of 33. By that point he had already appeared in 1865 games, the sixth most in franchise history.
Wade Boggs – No. 26
Jumping ship to the rival New York Yankees soured many fans on Wade Boggs, but there’s no doubting that the first 11 years of his career in Boston were exceptional.
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Boggs made eight All-Star appearances and won five batting titles as a member of the Red Sox. He was a bit ahead of his time in terms of recognizing the value of on-base percentage. He had power, but wasn’t one to try to smash home runs at the expense of batting average and drawing walks. It’s that mentality that led to Boggs routinely hitting 40+ doubles and producing an OBP well over .400 throughout his time in Boston.
During those 11 season with the Red Sox, Boggs hit .338/.428/.462. He topped 200 hits in seven consecutive seasons and won six Silver Slugger awards. He ranks second in franchise history in batting average and third in OBP.
His .369 career batting average at Fenway Park is the highest among Red Sox hitters with at least 1,000 career plate appearances in the ballpark.
The 70.8 fWAR that Boggs posted during his time in Boston ranks third in franchise history.
Carl Yastrzemski – No. 8
The record books are littered with Yastrzemski’s name, in part because of his uncanny longevity. Not only did he play 23 seasons in the majors, he remained relatively productive until the end, making the All-Star team in his final two seasons when he was in his 40’s.
Yaz is the franchise leader in games played, plate appearances, runs scored and RBI. He hit .285/.379/.462 in his career, spent entirely in Boston.
In 1967, Yaz won the AL MVP and the Triple Crown by hitting .326 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. It was his second of three career batting titles. While he’d never again lead the league in homers or RBI, he did reach 40 home runs on two other occasions and topped 100 RBI four other times.
Yaz made 18 All-Star teams and was the MVP of the 1970 All-Star Game. He also earned seven Gold Gloves as an outfielder before moving primarily to first base and DH to help prolong his career.
The 94.8 fWAR that Yastrzemski posted in his career is second highest in Red Sox history.
David Ortiz – No. 34
We have finally arrived at the latest player to have their number retired at Fenway Park.
Ortiz ranks a mere eighth among Red Sox hitters with 48.2 fWAR and he never won an MVP award. His role as a designated hitter held him back in both regards, yet did nothing to diminish the fact that he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball for over a decade.
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The Red Sox scooped Ortiz up after the Minnesota Twins discarded him to the scrap heap and the move paid immediate dividends for Boston. He finished fifth on the MVP ballot in his first season with the Red Sox and went on to make 10 All-Star appearances.
Big Papi finished among the top-five on the MVP ballot in five consecutive seasons and piled up seven Silver Slugger awards. He led the league with 54 homers in 2006 and led in RBI three times. Ortiz hit at least 30 home runs and drove in 100+ RBI ten times in his 14 seasons in Boston.
What sets Ortiz apart from the rest of the prolific hitters on this list is his postseason production. He took it up a notch in October, hitting .289/.404/.543 with 17 home runs in 85 playoff games. His resume is chalk full of clutch moments and walk-off hits in the postseason. He’s also the only one on this list with multiple championship rings, winning Wold Series titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013 – earning World Series MVP honors in the last of those three title seasons.
Pedro Martinez – No. 45
The only pitcher to ever have their number retired by the Red Sox is the great Pedro Martinez.
Pedro created an electric atmosphere every time he took the mound at Fenway. While he only spent seven seasons in Boston, his time here included some of the best pitching performances we’ve seen in the modern era.
In 1999 and 2000, Martinez delivered arguably the best seasons by a pitcher in major league history when accounting for the steroid tainted era he played in. He won 23 games with a 2.07 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 313 strikeouts in ’99, leading the league in each category to capture the AL Cy Young. He should have been the MVP that year but had to settle for second place. Pedro followed that by winning 18 games with a 1.74 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 284 strikeouts to win his second consecutive Cy Young.
During his time in Boston, Pedro won four ERA titles and led the league in strikeouts three times. His 10.95 K/9 rate is the highest by a pitcher with at least 250 innings in a Red Sox uniform.
Martinez owned a 117-37 record during his tenure in Boston and ranks sixth in franchise history in wins. His .760 winning percentage is the best in team history. His 51.9 WAR is third among Red Sox pitchers despite spending less than half of his career here and ranking only 18th in innings.
Pedro was the ace of the 2004 World Series team that ended an 86 year title drought.
Ted Williams – No. 9
Ted Williams isn’t simply the best player in Red Sox history, he’s arguably the best hitter to ever play the game.
The Splendid Splinter spent his entire 19-year career in Boston, hitting .344 with an MLB record .482 OBP. His 521 home runs places him 20th on the all-time list and gives him the most by a Red Sox hitter (Ortiz surpasses him when accounting for the homers he hit with the Twins).
The 17-time All-Star won six batting titles, led the league in home runs and RBI four times and walks eight times. He won the Triple Crown twice, including once in 1947 when he somehow didn’t win the MVP.
Williams spent three years of his prime away from baseball to serve in the military. When he returned in 1946, all he did was hit .342 with a 1.164 OPS to earn the first of two career MVP awards. Imagine what his career numbers would have looked like if he hadn’t missed those three seasons!
The 130.4 fWAR that Williams compiled over his career ranks eighth on the all-time list and leads all Red Sox players by a mile. He ranks second in MLB history with a 188 wRC+ and .493 wOBA.
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David Ortiz was a prolific slugger who made a name for himself by coming through in the clutch when it mattered most, but when it comes to great hitting there is no topping Teddy Ballgame.