Red Sox historic trials and tribulations at third base
Has the Boston Red Sox third base issue been resolved with Rafael Devers? A look back at some failures and success at third base.
Even the best of teams sometimes have a hole in the lineup. Sometimes it is a weak bat covering a strong glove or that can be flipped. Other times it is just mediocre play and then management commences a search to find some baseball Spackle to fix and repair. For the Boston Red Sox, that hole has been third base for several seasons.
The 1946 championship Red Sox were at the bottom of the statistical barrel in the American League at third base with a .224 average. So – as mentioned – even in the best of times.
The latest and greatest from our farm system is Rafael Devers, who has burst upon the scene with a flurry of extra base hits. Only 20-years-old the word around the camp fire is Devers is the key – the solution – the Spackle needed.
The need is quite apparent since in the time frame from 2012 to the present the Red Sox are dead last in the American League in offensive output at third base. Defensively the Red Sox are 14th in that period so they have matched lousy defense with awful offense. Ah…consistency!
Now for a look at some of the players who have drifted through to play third for Boston. I started in the 1950’s and go to the present with my own rating system.
FAILURE WAS AN OPTION
The most obvious – no surprise – Pablo Sandoval and the flushing down the hopper of his $95 million contract. That notation above regarding the Red Sox from 2012-17? The Panda is the significant contributor to that statistical disaster. In three seasons Sandoval contributed a .237 average and -20.3 UZR/150.
Will Middlebrooks put up magical introductory numbers in 2012. In just 75 games, Middlebrooks hit 15 home runs and had 54 RBI while hitting .284. A powerful right-handed bat just waiting to rack up home run totals at Fenway. Middlebrooks was once ranked the number one prospect in the system – like Devers. Then it all came apart. Middlebrooks is now in Triple-A and may surface again.
What did the Red Sox know about Ted Cox? I saw Cox at Pawtucket in 1977 when he hit .336 and then came to Boston in September. The major league debut for Cox was historic, going 4-4 and hitting .362 in his brief Boston stay. Cox never played third that season, but had held down the hot corner at Pawtucket and the year before at Bristol. Cox was traded in the off-season and lasted in MLB until 1981.
Wilton Veras made the 1999 squad and hit .288. Veras was just 21-years-old and played a questionable defensive contribution at third. A right-handed hitter who then split his 2000 season between Boston and Pawtucket before moving on to a world tour of leagues before hanging it up in 2010.
I thought that Garin Cecchini would be Boston’s answer to Alex Gordon. Gordon moved to left field from third and became an All-Star. Cecchini – never a great glove man – attempted the same. Cecchini – like Gordon – looked like a left-handed doubles machine in the making. Cecchini just never succeeded and is now in Omaha playing third in the Royals system. Think of Cecchini whenever Devers, Michael Chavis or even Bobby Dalbec is mentioned.
THE HITTERS
Before there was Brock Holt there was Billy Goodman. I’ll put Goodman on this list since in 1950 he won a batting title hitting .354. Goodman played everywhere, but the lefty hitter did play 27 games at third. A favorite of mine when I started following the Red Sox in the early 1950’s.
Carney Lansford won a batting title for the Red Sox in the strike shortened 1981 season by hitting .336. Lansford followed that up with another season .300 season in 1982 by hitting .301. His reward? Traded to Oakland at the tender age of 25. Why is simple our next entry.
Wade Boggs captured five batting titles while playing for the Red Sox. In 1983, as a replacement for Lansford, Boggs topped the league at .361. Boggs had hit .349 in 1982 and would have won that title if he had accumulated enough at-bats.
Bill Mueller played three gritty seasons for Boston on knees that were like bald tires. His first season the switch-hitter won a batting title with a .326 average and the next season was 2004 – we all know how Mueller did that year.
I have always regretted that the Red Sox passed on Adrian Beltre. Now Beltre has 3,000 hits and 189 of them were delivered to the Red Sox. Beltre would swing hard and hit hard and led the American League with 49 doubles in his lone Boston year. A great glove and stinging bat.
THE SOLID PROS
The top of my list is Frank Malzone, who could catch them and hit them. A bowlegged right-hand hitter with surprising power. Malzone was one stand out success of the Red Sox farm system in the 1950’s. Owner Tom Yawkey tossed around bonus bucks to sign every kid with a pulse. Malzone signed for $100.
Malzone made six All-Star teams and won three Gold Gloves before Brooks Robinson took over the award at third base. Malzone hit .276 in his 11 Boston years and hit 131 home runs in the process.
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Mike Lowell was considered a toss-in when the Red Sox acquired Josh Beckett. Lowell was coming off a .236 season in Miami and whispers were he was baseball old at 31-years-old. The right-handed hitting Lowell rebounded in 2006, then in 2007 he hit .324 with 120 RBI. A solid two-way player.
John Valentin was an average shortstop, but an above-average third baseman. In three seasons Val ranked second defensively among third sackers. This guy could hit and had a .289 career average at Fenway Park.
Another shortstop who moved to third was Rico Petrocelli. Petrocelli’s first full season at third was 1971 and by 1976 his Boston career was over. A powerful right-hand hitter who once hit 40 home runs while playing short. Petrocelli hit 28 out in his first season playing third.
Solid at first and solid at third was Kevin Youkilis. I will omit his Hanley Ramirez type adventures in the outfield. A nice right-hand bat and excellent defense. A dirt dog to the fullest.
My difficult choice for this group is left-handed hitting Scott Cooper, who had replaced Boggs. Cooper was, however, a two-time All-Star with the Red Sox and a noted line drive hitter. Cooper was also ranked third among American League third basemen defensively in 1993-94. An underrated defensive player, but prone to throwing errors. Traded to St. Louis and was out of the majors by 1997.
NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH
The first one is Butch Hobson, who was just awful defensively. Hobson recorded an astounding 43 errors at third in 1978. In 651 games at third, Hobson had 98 errors and there was variety – bad throws, balls under the glove, balls off his chest and just about any combination. Even Sandoval looked better.
Hobson could hit home runs and strike out. In 1977 he hit 30 home runs and had 112 RBI and led the American League in strikeouts. A .252 career hitter with the Red Sox, who briefly managed the team.
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The positive about Shea Hillenbrand is he could field better than Hobson and Sandoval, but the bad news is the phrase “not by much.” Hillenbrand – a right-hand hitter – held down third base from 2001-03 and could hit. In 344 games with the Red Sox Hillenbrand hit .284 with 33 home runs, an All-Star selection, and a ball hit off the catwalks at The Trop. Hillenbrand had another big season with Toronto, but he never lived up to expectations in Boston.
In 1995, Tim Naehring looked like he had finally pulled it together by hitting .307 at age 28. The right-handed hitter always possessed an excellent defensive skill set, but the hitting seemed to languish. In 1997 the power came as Naehring slammed 17 home runs and hit .288 In 116 games. What happened? A shoulder injury late in 1997 effectively ended his career.
Before Sandoval and his weight issues, there was Joe Foy – a key in the 1967 team. Foy and manager Dick Williams had considerable friction as Williams was highly critical of Foy – whom he especially singled out. Was it race as some have suggested? What is known is Foy ate himself out of baseball.
In three seasons in Boston Foy hit .246 with some respectable power – 41 home runs and 172 RBI Foy also stole 36 bases in 55 attempts. In 1969 with Kansas City Foy swiped 37. Foy arrived in KC via the expansion draft as Boston left him unprotected. After one season with KC, he was traded to the Mets for future star Amos Otis. Foy died of a heart attack at just age 46.