Red Sox: Home run hitting sluggers Boston should have signed
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox have had great hitters, but there were a few that simply would have mashed if they played at Fenway Park. Here are a few of my favorites.
The real hunt for the Golden Ticket started when Tom Yawkey purchased the Boston Red Sox. Just what is the Golden Ticket? The ultimate prize for the tender little bandbox known as Fenway Park. That, however, is somewhat of a misnomer as the park is really rather spacious except for the main attraction – The Monster or left field wall. Hence a now worldwide search for a prodigious right-handed power hitter.
The search should have commenced with the demise of the Dead Ball Era, but by then the Red Sox were being dismantled like a structure being condemned. No money and virtually a permanent fixture in last place there was no one to help on the horizon. With Yawkey came Jimmie Foxx, also known as “The Beast.” Foxx still owns the cherished team single season home run mark for a right-handed batter at 50.
The search continued with some, such as Manny Ramirez being incredibly successful and others, such as Ron Jackson (who?) being incredible failures. In between is a litany that runs all over the power hitting map.
Through my baseball years, there have been players that I would have emptied out the coffers – monetarily or with prospects – to take aim at that very inviting left-field barrier. I will offer up a few of my favorites, but, alas, there are many that I have omitted. So here is my personal list of right-handed power hitters who would have cleaned the bases at Fenway.