BOSTON, MA - JUNE 23: The number of former Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz #34 is retired during a ceremony before a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park on June 23, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Boston Red Sox are one of the AL’s original teams, dating to 1901, and dominated the early parts of two centuries. Who are their 50 best players?
When the Western League launched its assault on the established National League in 1901, Boston was one of the key cities the new circuit — the American League — moved into, with the franchise now known as the Boston Red Sox.
Boston, first as the Americans from 1901-07 and then as the Red Sox, were one of the dominant clubs of the early 20th century, winning five World Series titles between 1903-18 to go with six AL pennants.
The first World Series championship was a stunner as it came in 1903, just the AL’s third season, and was the first meeting between American and National league champions, something that in 1905 became an annual tradition.
In the early 21st century, the Red Sox have returned to their dominant place in baseball, winning three World Series titles, and making nine postseason appearances since 2003.
But the franchise may be just as well remembered for that time in between those periods. The Red Sox went 86 years, from 1918 to 2004, between championships and experienced some gut-wrenching defeats along the way.
There was the seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 World Series, when Enos Slaughter scored the game-winning run from first base … on a single.
There was the seven-game loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1975 World Series, when one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history — a Game 6, 12th-inning walkoff job by Carlton Fisk — became just a footnote in another team’s celebration.
There was the seven-game loss to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series, where the Red Sox were so close to clinching the title in Game 6 that the scoreboard as Shea Stadium was flashing “Congratulations, Red Sox” and the clubhouse had been prepared for a champagne celebration. That is, until it all came apart.
That’s not to mention losing the 1948 American League pennant in a one-game playoff to the Cleveland Indians, or the 1978 American League East title in a one-game playoff to the hated New York Yankees, or the 1949 pennant to the Yankees by losing two games in New York, either of which would have clinched the title.
Or Aaron Boone’s walk-off blast off Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, another time when the Yankees broke hearts across New England.
That made Boston’s title run in 2004 that much sweeter — being able to stick it to the Yankees in the form of baseball’s first, and still only, come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a postseason series.
Through the decades, the Red Sox have had some of the greatest players in baseball history don the iconic hosiery. But who are the 50 best players all-time for the Boston Red Sox? We’ll attempt to answer that question.
Qualifying standards of 3,000 plate appearances for position players and either 1,000 innings pitched or 200 games for pitchers were used, leaving 114 players in all. Stats reflected are through the 2017 season.
A list such as this has to at least acknowledge baseball’s biggest black eye — the performance-enhancing drug scandals of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Players were judged for this list solely based on their performance on the field, which could run afoul of some readers.
Left-hander Bruce Hurst was a workhorse in the mid-1980s for the Red Sox, settling into the No. 2 spot in the rotation for a solid run after he was taken by the Red Sox in the first round of the 1976 June Amateur Draft.
Hurst debuted in Boston in April 1980 and struggled early in his career in short stints in the bigs in 1980 and 1981 before sticking for good in 1982, emerging as a full-time part of the rotation in 1983.
He was an All-Star for the Red Sox in 1987, finishing fifth in the Cy Young voting in 1988 before leaving as a free agent in December 1988 to sign with the San Diego Padres.
The left-hander wasn’t overpowering, but had a nice array of offspeed stuff that enabled him to finish in the top-10 in the American League in strikeouts in both 1985 and 1987.
He was particularly good against the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series, going 2-0 in three starts with a 1.96 ERA and 1.043 WHIP in 23 innings, leaving with a lead in Game 7 before the bullpen gave it up.
In parts of nine seasons with Boston, Hurst was 88-73 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.404 WHIP in 237 games, 217 starts and 1,459 innings, with 1,043 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 101.
He pitched parts of four seasons with the Padres before finishing his career with short stints for the Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers.
Hurst was a coach at the Major League Baseball Academy throughout Europe in the early 21st century and was pitching coach for China’s national team in 2005-06 and 2012-13, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
He had taken a position as a international scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 before he was purged as part of the organization’s reorganization after an ownership change in August of that year. He told the Boston Globe in the wake of his firing, “I think I’m kind of done with baseball.”
The Red Sox signed young left-hander Mel Parnell from New Orleans in 1941, after club scouts were alerted to Parnell during a trip to Louisiana. They watched the skinny kid strike out 17 hitters and eventually signed him.
That effort came in just the fifth game he had ever pitched, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. Parnell eventually grew into his 6-foot frame and after a delay while he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Parnell made the opening day roster for the Red Sox in 1947.
Parnell struggled in that first stint, eventually being sent back to Louisville before breaking his finger and ending a tough year.
He landed in the bigs for good the following year, earning a full-time spot in the rotation and setting the stage for a big breakout.
Parnell led the American League in 1949 with 25 wins, a 2.77 ERA, 27 complete games and 295.1 innings, while also topping the circuit with a ratio of 0.2 home runs per nine innings, allowing just eight long balls.
He earned the first of his two All-Star appearances and was fourth in the MVP voting, as Boston fell just short of the American League pennant.
Parnell won 20 games again in 1953, but his career nosedived after he was hit by a pitch by former teammate Mickey McDermott, breaking a bone in his left wrist.
Rushed back into action by manager Lou Boudreau, Parnell’s arm and curveball were never quite the same. His career ended after the 1956 season when he had an operation to repair a torn nerve in his elbow.
In 10 seasons, Parnell was 123-75 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.411 WHIP in 289 games, 232 starts and 1,752.2 innings, with 732 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 125.
Parnell managed for while before getting into broadcasting. He would settle in his native New Orleans for the rest of his life, banking a deal with Chrysler that allowed the automaker to use his name on a dealership and starting a pest-control service.
His later years were maked by health problems and he lost his home and two others he owned to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He would eventually fall to cancer on March 20, 2012 at the age of 89.
Duffy Lewis was a find of John I. Taylor, the owner of the Red Sox, who went to California in September 1909 and signed the outfield prospect from the Pacific Coast League’s Oakland Oaks.
Lewis debuted with the Red Sox the following spring and for eight seasons manned left field for Boston, with the slope in front of the left field wall at Fenway Park earning the name “Duffy’s Cliff,” per the Society for American Baseball Research in honor of the skill he displayed playing it.
For six years, he teamed in the Boston outfield with Hall of Famers Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper, a trio that was often considered the greatest outfield in baseball history.
Lewis eventually settled into the cleanup spot behind Speaker in the Boston order and as a solid run producer, driving in a career-best 109 runs in 1912 and finishing in the top-10 in home runs four times, including a second-place finish with eight long balls in 1910.
Lewis missed the 1918 season while serving in the Navy during World War I, missing out on what would have been his fourth World Series championship.
In December 1918, he was traded with Dutch Leonard and Ernie Shore to the New York Yankees for four players and $15,000 cash.
In eight seasons with the Red Sox, Lewis hit .289/.340/.735 in 1,184 games, with 27 home runs, 629 RBI and 102 steals, while scoring 500 runs with an OPS+ of 117.
In three World Series — all Boston wins — Lewis turned in a slash line of .299/347/.810 with a homer and seven RBI while scoring eight runs in 18 games.
He played two seasons in New York before being traded to the Washington Senators prior to the 1921 season. Released by the Senators in mid-June of that year, Lewis spent another six years in the minors as a player-manager.
Lewis was later a coach for the Boston Braves and then became their traveling secretary, a role he held until 1961, after the club had moved to Milwaukee. He died June 17, 1979 at the age of 91, alone and penniless in Salem, New Hampshire.
The Red Sox landed infielder Rick Burleson in the secondary phase of the January Draft in 1970 after the Warren High School star from the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate, California, passed on signing with the Minnesota Twins, who had taken him in the eighth round the previous June.
Burleson worked his way through the farm system until making his debut for the Red Sox in May 1974 and he locked down the shortstop position for the rest of the decade.
Though Burleson lacked the speed of a traditional leadoff hitter, it was a role he occupied during much of his time with Boston, as he was a solid contact hitter who didn’t strike out often.
Burleson was a four-time All-Star with the Red Sox and won a Gold Glove for his defensive work in 1979.
In December 1980, Burleson was traded with Butch Hobson to the California Angels in exchange for third baseman Carney Lansford, outfielder Rick Miller and reliever Mark Clear.
He became adept at lining inside pitches off the Green Monster in left field at Fenway, twice finishing in the top-10 in doubles while with the Red Sox.
In seven seasons in Boston, Burleson hit .274/.326/.688 in 1,031 games, with 38 homers and 360 RBI while scoring 514 runs and posting an OPS+ of 85.
He was 4-for-9 in Boston’s three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the 1975 ALCS, with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs In the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Burleson hit .292/.33/.726 with a double and two RBI.
Burleson had one more All-Star season with the Angels in 1981 before shoulder problems marred the rest of his career. Multiple surgeries followed and he sat out the entire 1985 season with nerve damage sustained when he dislocated the joint while lifting weights, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
He tried one last comeback with the Baltimore Orioles in 1987, but was released in July.
Burleson joined the Athletics as a scout in 1989 and then as batting instructor for the major league club in 1991. He left the A’s after that season to join Hobson’s coaching staff in Boston and spent most of two seasons as third base coach.
He coached with the Angels for a couple of seasons and thenbecame a minor league manager in the Seattle Mariners organization in 1997. He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 1999 and later managed in Triple-A with the Louisville River Bats in 2003-04.
Carl Mays was a submarine-tossing right-hander perhaps most well-known for throwing the pitch that led to the death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in 1920.
Baseball Magazine described Mays’ delivery as “a cross between an octopus and a bowler,” per the Society for American Baseball Research, and while he was not a well-liked player, he was an effective pitcher for the Red Sox at the start of his career.
Mays came to the Red Sox organization when the club acquired the International League’s Providence Grays, where Mays pitched in 1914. He earned a September call-up to the Red Sox, but did not pitch.
He made the staff in 1915, mostly in relief, before taking on a starting role in 1916. He led the American League with 30 complete games and eight shutouts in 1918, when he helped Boston to its fifth World Series title.
In that series against the Cubs, Mays pitched twice and went the distance in a pair of wins, allowing two runs and 10 hits in 18 innings. That came after a less-than-stellar performance against the Brooklyn Robins in 1916, when he was 0-1 in two appearances and allowed four runs in 5.1 innings.
In July 1919, Mays was sent to the New York Yankees to complete a deal made the previous day, in which the Red Sox got Bob McGraw, Allen Russell and $40,000 cash from New York.
In parts of five seasons in Boston, Mays was 72-51 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.093 WHIP in 173 games, 112 starts and 1,105 innings. He completed 87 games with 14 shutouts with an ERA+ of 124.
Mays spent parts of five seasons with the Yankees, did a five-year stint with the Cincinnati Reds and closed his big-league career as part of the New York Giants’ bullpen in 1929.
He pitched in the minors for two clubs in 1930 before retiring. He spent 20 years as a scout for the Indians and the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves.
Bill Dinneen made big baseball news in January 1902 when he jumped from the National League’s Boston Beaneaters to their upstart rivals in the new American League, the Boston Americans.
The right-hander gave the Americans an ace to build around and the durable Dinneen went 21-21 in his first AL campaign while facing an American League-high 1,508 batters.
He was a 20-game winner again in both 1903 and 1904, helping Boston to back-to-back pennants and helped pitch the Americans to a huge upset of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903, starting four times and going 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.057 WHIP in 35 innings, striking out 28 in Boston’s eight-game victory.
Dinneen began to fade after that 1904 season, posting losting marks in both 1905 and 1906 and being traded to the St. Louis Browns in June 1907 after going 0-4 in his first five starts.
In parts of six seasons with the Americans, Dinneen was 85-85 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.139 WHIP, working 180 games, starting 174 and throwing 1,501 innings while fanning 602. His ERA+ was 106.
Dinneen had pitched two seasons with the old, old Washington Senators in the National League before going to the Beaneaters in 1900. He pitched parts of three seasons with the Browns, with his final game in August 1909.
Dinneen wasn’t ready to leave baseball and after a successful one-month trial in September 1909, joined the umpiring staff of the American League, working until the end of the 1937 season, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
He retired to his native Syracuse, New York, and died Jan. 13, 1955 from a heart condition at the age of 78.
Harry Hooper wanted to be an engineer and saw baseball as a sideline to that. At least until he for a $2,800 offer from Red Sox owner John Taylor in September 1908 after a he hit .347 and stole 34 bases in just 68 games for the Pacific Coast League’s Sacramento Senators.
At that point, Hoop was committed to baseball.
He spent the 1909 season as a part-time player while — at the major-league level — worked to convert from his natural right-handed hitting to becoming a lefty swinger in order to maximize his speed out of the box, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
The experiment was a success and by 1910, Hooper was locked into the leadoff spot for the next decade, helping the Red Sox to four World Series titles.
Hooper remained with Boston until March 1921, when he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Shano Collins and Nemo Leibold.
In 12 seasons with the Red Sox, Hooper hit .272/.362/.729 in 1,647 games, notching 30 homers, 496 RBI and 988 runs, while stealing 300 bases and legging out 130 triples.
He led the AL with 34 sacrifice hits in 1910 and had an OPS+ of 114 with Boston.
In four World Series appearances, all Boston wins, Hooper his .293/.375/.810 with two homers, six RBI and 13 runs.
Hooper played five seasons in Chicago before retiring at the end of the 1925 campaign.
In retirement, Hooper was a player-manager for the PCL’s Mission Bells in San Francisco in 1927 and then worked in real estate while playing for low minors clubs in Marysville and Santa Cruz.
He was coach at Princeton University in New Jersey for the 1930 season before resigning after being asked to take a pay cut.
Once again, Hooper returned to California’s real estate market, got through the Depression and made a lot of money. He was also the postmaster of Capitola, California for 20 years.
In 1971, the Veteran’s Committee chose Hooper for induction into the Hall of Fame and he died Dec. 18, 1974 at the age of 87 following a stroke.
Right-hander Ellis Kinder was the epitome of the late bloomer. He didn’t sign a professional contract until he was 23 years old and made his major league debut for the St. Louis Browns in 1946, just three months shy of his 32nd birthday.
Kinder came to Boston in November 1947, acquired with infielder Billy Hitchcock from the Browns in exchange for Sam Dente, Clem Dreisewerd, Bill Sommers and $65,000. He almost immediately clashed with veteran manager Joe McCarthy.
McCarthy wasn’t fond of Kinder’s extracurricular activities, per the Society for American Baseball Research, but learned to put up with the right-hander when he found that despite the carousing, Kinder showed up every day ready to pitch.
Teammate Mickey McDermott recalled, “[McCarthy] never asked Kinder what he’d done the night before. He always knew where Kinder was — in bed with a bottle and a blonde.”
Kinder hurt his arm late in spring training in 1948 and was limited to 28 appearances, but pitched well.
In 1949, Kinder broke out in a big way, going 23-6 in 30 starts and 13 relief appearances, leading the American League with a .793 winning percentage and six shutouts, while finishing fifth in the MVP voting.
After another season spent in dual roles, Kinder moved almost exclusively to the bullpen in 1951 and became one of the early prototypes of the modern closer, finishing 41 games and would have led the AL with 16 saves had the stat been official.
In 1953, Kinder finished 51 games and would have logged 27 saves, both tops in the league. He finished a league-best 38 game in 1955, at the age of 40, but was waived in December and claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals.
In eight seasons with the Red Sox, Kinder was 86-52 in 365 games, starting 89, with a 3.28 ERA and 1.303 WHIP in 1,142.1 innings, striking out 557. His ERA+ was a sterling 135.
Kinder split the 1956 season between the Cardinals and Chicago White Sox as a reliever and made one appearance in 1957 for Chicago before he was released in May.
In retirement, Kinder returned to his native Mississippi, working as a carpenter, roofer and doing other home-improvement jobs. He underwent open-heart surgery in the fall of 1968 and recovered for a spell before he died on Oct. 16, 1968 at the age of 54.
In the modern era of Major League Baseball, it’s not uncommon to see guys 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds take the field. But in the early 1960s, Dick Radatz was a rarity at that size, hence the nickname he was not overly fond of, “The Monster.”
Radatz went to Michigan State University to play basketball and a little baseball, but soon turned his attention to the diamond. The Red Sox signed him after his senior year in 1959 and made it to the majors in 1962, where he was used strictly in relief.
He had made the conversion to the ‘pen with the Pacific Coast League’s Seattle Rainiers in 1961, according to the Society for American Baseball Research, opposing the move at first until he was told by manager Johnny Pesky it would get him to the big leagues faster.
He made the club in spring training in 1962 and set the American League on its collective ear with his power stuff in relief.
Radatz finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting after going 9-6 with a 2.24 ERA and 1.083 WHIP, leading the AL with 62 appearances, 53 games finished and would have led the league with 24 saves, striking out 144 in just 124.2 innings with an ERA+ of 185.
He was an All-Star the next two seasons, racking up 31 wins and 52 saves and set a major league record in 1964 that still stands with 181 strikeouts as a reliever. Radatz also finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1963.
But Radatz worked in 207 games for 414 innings and faced almost 1,700 hitters in those three seasons — a huge workload for a guy making multiple appearances a week — and his effectiveness quickly waned.
His ERA shot up to 3.91 in 1965 and in June 1966 he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Don McMahon and Lee Stange after surrendering 10 runs in 19 innings over 10 appearances.
In parts of five seasons with Boston, Radatz was 49-34 with a 2.65 ERA and 1.136 WHIP in 286 appearances, with 102 saves (unofficially) and 627 strikeouts in 557.1 innings.
By 1968, he was out of the majors, spending the entire season at Triple-A Toledo, before getting a shot with the Detroit Tigers and expansion Montreal Expos in 1969. Released by the Expos in August 1969, his career was over.
Radatz worked a number of jobs after baseball, including as a weekly radio host, before moving back to the Boston area in the mid-1980s. He remained there, working at a packaging company, before returning to baseball as a pitching coach for an independent league team in Lynn, Massachusetts.
He had that job for two seasons and was expected to return in 2005, but he died after he fell down a flight of stairs at home and hit his head on a concrete floor. He was 67 at the time of his March 16, 2005 death.
Reggie Smith came out of the hyper-competitive baseball environment that was South Central Los Angeles in the early 1960s and signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins in June 1963 upon graduating from Compton’s Centennial High School.
The Red Sox grabbed his rights in December 1963 when Minnesota left Smith unprotected in the winter draft.
A shortstop in the minor leagues, the Red Sox set about converting him to center field and teaching him to switch-hit.
He got a cup of coffee in Boston at the end of the 1966 season and then took over the center field job in 1967, part of the team that led the Red Sox from ninth place the previous season to the American League pennant.
Smith finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .246/.315/.703 with 15 homers and 61 RBI. In the Sox’s seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, Smith hit .250/.308/.849 with two homers and three RBI while scoring three runs.
He won a Gold Glove in his second full season, 1968, and was an All-Star in both 1969 and 1972. Smith led the American League in 1971 with 33 doubles and 302 total bases, but after an injury-shortened 1973 season, Smith’s tenure in Boston ended when he was traded to the Cardinals.
It was a tumultuous stay in Boston for Smith, who played at a high level despite having to wear a batting helmet in center field to protect himself from objects being thrown at him from fans … at Fenway Park. Racial tensions ran high in the city at the time Smith played there.
Per the Society for American Baseball Research, teammate John Curtis — who was traded with Smith to St. Louis — said, “[Smith] said some people in the bleachers would throw batteries, heated coins and other projectiles at him. He also told me about a night when some hooligans drove up to his house and emptied the garbage cans he’d placed by the driveway all over his front lawn.
“That’s when I began to undersand that Boston was a different town for him than it was for me.”
Still, over parts of eight seasons, Smith hit .281/.354/.826 in 1,014 games with 149 home runs, 536 RBI and 592 runs scored. He posted an OPS+ of 129 over that period.
Smith was an All-Star five times more in his career, twice with St. Louis and three times with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smith spent the 1982 season with the San Francisco Giants before playing two seasons in Japan, retiring at age 39.
After playing days, Smith worked for the Dodgers as their minor-league operations director in 1993 and as their hitting coach from 1994-99. He coached the U.S. Olympic baseball team in 2000 and was the batting coach for the U.S. during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
Hideki Okajima had been a solid reliever in 12 seasons in Japan, mostly as a lefty set-up man, but expectations weren’t overwhelming when the Nippon Ham Fighters posted him after the 2006 season.
The Red Sox signed Okajima in November 2006 and landed an absolute gem for their bullpen.
Okajima was actually more effective against right-handed hitters, holding them to a .182/.235/.512 slash line as a 31-year-old “rookie” in 2007, earning an All-Star berth while appearing in 66 games and posting a 2.22 ERA and 0.971 WHIP in 69 innings, striking out 63 and posting a 215 ERA+.
Okajima had 27 holds in 2007, allowing just four of 28 inherited baserunners to score.
He was lights out for the Red Sox in the American League playoffs, throwing 7.1 scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians before he was touched for three runs in 3.2 innings over three appearances in Boston’s sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.
Okajima’s effectiveness waned over the next three seasons, but he still posted 23 holds in both 2008 and 2009. He struggled a bit with inherited runners in 2008, allowing 13 of 25 to score, but he was very effective cleaning up others’ messes in 2009, stranding 31 of the 37 runners he inherited.
He missed some time in 2010 with a hamstring injury and was designated for assignment in May 2011.
In parts of five seasons with Boston, Okajima was 17-8 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.246 WHIP in 246.1 innings over 261 appearances, saving six games and posting a 149 ERA+.
In three postseasons, Okajima had a 2.11 ERA and 0.844 WHIP in 17 appearances over 21.1 innings, fanning 16. In Boston’s seven-game loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 ALCS, Okajima threw 7.1 scoreless innings in five appearances, allowing just two baserunners.
He returned to Japan in 2012 before getting a shot with the Oakland Athletics in 2013, appearing in five games. He retired after the 2015 season following two more campaigns in Japan.
Rico Petrocelli had been a pitcher and a outfielder with a power bat while in high school in Brooklyn, but an elbow injury while pitching as a senior turned off most of the scouts that had been following him.
The Red Sox invited him to a workout, however, and signed him in July 1961.
He debuted just two years later, getting into one game in September 1963 before returning to the minors.
Petrocelli struggled in 1964 at Seattle and was advised to try switch-hitting, an experiment that was scrapped early in the 1965 season after he had won the shortstop job for the Red Sox.
According to the Society for American Baseball Research, hitting coach Pete Runnels had a new strategy for Petrocelli, pull the ball to take advantage of the Green Monster.
That worked out much better for Petrocelli, who would never hit for a high average, but pummeled balls over the Monster with regularity.
He helped Boston to their run from ninth in the American League to the pennant in 1967, earning his first All-Star berth, and he returned to the All-Star Game in 1969 in the process of setting a major-league record for shortstops with 40 home runs, a mark that stood until 2002 when it was broken by Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers.
Petrocelli’s power waned after that season, to 29 homers in 1970, 28 in 1971 and 15 in 1972.
The 1961 season also brought a position change, as Petrocelli moved to third base to accomodate newly acquired defensive whiz Luis Aparicio at shortstop.
An elbow injury limited Petrocelli to 100 games in 1973 and he was nagged by a hamstring injury in 1974 before he was beaned by Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jim Slaton in September and missed the rest of the season.
The beaning affected Petrocelli the following season, as he would be diagnosed with a severe inner-ear imbalance that affected him at the plate. Medication treated the problem and he was back in the lineup full-time for the playoffs as Boston won the American League East title for the first time.
Petrocelli struggled in 1976 as he had an adverse reaction to the inner-ear medication and had to stop taking it, bringing back the problems with depth perception and balance. He was released late in spring training in 1977.
Petrocelli managed in the minors for several years and worked as a roving minor-league instructor for the Red Sox before opening the Petrocelli Marketing Group in Nashua, N.H.
In parts of 13 seasons, Petrocelli hit .251/.332/.752 in 1,553 games, with 210 homers, 773 RBI and 653 runs, putting up an OPS+ of 108.
Petrocelli hit .200/.292/.842 in the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, hitting two homers in Game 6, and was 2-for-12 with a homer and two RBI against the Oakland Athletics in the 1975 ALCS.
In the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Petrocelli was solid at .308/.379/.725 with four RBI and three runs scored.
28 May 1995: Shortstop John Valentin of the Boston Red Sox in action during a game against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. /
The Red Sox drafted Seton Hall University infielder John Valentin in the fifth round of the 1988 June Amateur Draft and within four years he was in Boston to stay.
He debuted in July 1992 and did most of the heavy lifting at shortstop the next five seasons, emerging as a power threat in 1995 with 27 home runs and led all American League position players with a WAR of 8.3.
He moved to second base and later third base with the arrival of Nomar Garciaparra, but kept hitting, leading the Amerian League with 47 doubles in 1997.
Valentin missed 49 games in 1999 with nagging injuries before he was felled by a knee injury early in the 2000 season, missing all but 10 games.
Plantar fasciatis in his right foot limited him to 20 games in 2001 and the Red Sox did not pursue him when he became a free agent after the season.
In parts of 11 seasons with the Red Sox, Valentin hit .281/.361/.821, an OPS+ of 110, with 124 homers, 558 RBI and 614 runs.
He played in three postseasons with Boston and hit .347/.407/1.046 with five homers and 19 RBI and 15 runs in 17 games. Valentin had 12 RBI in Boston’s five-game win over the Cleveland Indians in the 1999 ALDS.
Valentin caught on as a part-time player with the New York Mets in 2002, but a shoulder injury effectively ended his career.
He coached with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2013-15 and is currently the minor league fielding coordinator for the Detroit Tigers.
Joe Cronin was an established All-Star shortstop when the Red Sox acquired him from the Washington Senators in an October 1934 trade, with Lyn Lary and $225,000 going to Washington in exchange.
It was a good deal.
Cronin was installed as the Red Sox manager at age 28 and the manager put himself in the lineup at shortstop for most of the next seven seasons, earning five All-Star berths and leading the American League with 51 doubles in 1938.
He became a part-time player in 1942. He played in only three games in 1945 and had not appeared in any in 1946 before being released — as a player only — in June of that year.
In 11 seasons with Boston, Cronin hit .300/.394/.878, an OPS+ of 122, with 119 home runs, 737 RBI and 645 runs.
While he never played in the postseason for the Red Sox, he managed them to the 1946 pennant and is the winningest manager in team history, going 1,071-916 in 13 seasons.
Cronin stepped down as manager after the 1947 season to replace Eddie Collins, who had fallen ill, as Boston’s general manager, a role he held until 1958.
He was named American League president in 1958 and held the job until 1973, resigning because he did not want to move to New York, where Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was moving both league offices.
His No. 4 was retired in May 1984 along with Ted Williams’ No. 9 — the first two numbers officially placed out of service by the Red Sox, per the Society for American Baseball Research. Cronin was selected for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the writers in 1956.
He died Sept. 7, 1984 at the age of 77, following a long bout with cancer. He played two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and seven with the Senators before coming to Boston and hit .301/.390/.857 in his 20-year career.
Dutch Leonard came to the Red Sox after being purchased from the Philadelphia Athletics in the spring of 1912.
Leonard is a fascinating charater from the early 20th century of Major League Baseball — a mix of outstanding performances, run-ins with management and umpires and drew a three-year suspension from organized baseball for just not showing up, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
In the midst of all of that, Leonard put together one of the most spectacular seasons in baseball history in 1914.
In 25 starts and 36 appearances overall, Leonard was 19-5 with a 0.96 ERA — a modern-era record that still stands — and a 0.886 WHIP in 224.2 innings, with 176 strikeouts. Even for the Deadball Era, that was just a ridiculous season — his ERA+ was 279 and he allowed just 5.6 hits per nine innings.
His season was shortened after he broke his wrist in early September and expectations were high for 1915.
Leonard reported out of shape, fueded with the owner and was suspended for two months. He did recover in time to throw a three-hitter in Game 3 of Boston’s World Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing one run and striking out six.
He won his only other World Series start the following October against the Brooklyn Robins, tossing a five-hitter in Game 4 and allowing two runs, one earned, while walking four and fanning three.
Leonard left the Red Sox in July 1918 when he went to work for a Massachusetts shipyard in an effort to duck the military draft for World War I. That December, Leonard was traded to the New York Yankees in a seven-player deal.
Leonard never reported to the Yankees and was sold to the Detroit Tigers. He sat out two years of a three-year suspension for jumping to an independent league and in September 1925 was traded to a Pacific Coast League club.
In six seasons with the Red Sox, Leonard was 90-64 with a 2.13 ERA and 1.136 WHIP, striking out 771 in 1,361.1 innings with an ERA+ of 129.
In 1926, Leonard made more waves when he accused Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker of conspired to throw a game to the Tigers. Cobb and Speaker were eventually cleared and Leonard retired to his California grape ranch.
He died July 11, 1952 at the age of 60 from a cerebral hemorrhage.
The Red Sox signed big right-hander Tex Hughson from the University of (where else?) Texas in June 1937 and he made his big-league debut in April 1941.
He bounced back and forth that season between the Red Sox and their top farm club in Louisville, but earned a rotation spot in 1942 with dominant results.
Hughson led the American League with 22 wins, 22 complete games, 113 strikeouts and 281 innings pitched in 1942 earning the first of his three All-Star nods.
He followed that up by leading the league with 20 complete games in 1943 and in 1944 led the AL with a .783 winning percentage and a 1.048 WHIP.
Hughson missed the 1945 season after being inducted into the Army the previous August, but returned in 1946 to win 20 games and help Boston to its first American League pennant in 28 years.
Arm trouble shortened his career considerably and he was out of baseball at the end of the 1949 season.
In eight seasons with the Red Sox, Hughson was 96-54 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.194 WHIP, an ERA+ of 125, and fanned 693 hitters in 1,375.2 innings.
He made two starts and a relief appearance in the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and was 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.186 WHIP in 14.1 innings, striking out eight.
Sold to the New York Giants before the 1950 season, Hughson refused to report and retired.
Smoky Joe Wood had one magical season as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but the effects of the workload curtailed his career on the mound dramatically.
The Red Sox signed the right-hander in August 1908 from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association and the 18-year-old jumped directly to the bigs after signing, working in six games at the end of the 1908 season.
He was a spot starter the next two seasons before nailing down a spot in the rotation in 1911.
In 1912, Wood was amazingly good, leading the American League with 34 wins, an .872 winning percentage, 35 complete games and 10 shutouts.
Though he led the AL in winning percentage and ERA again in 1915, he was shut down for the World Series and held out the entire 1916 season after refusing to take a cut in pay.
He was sold to the Cleveland Indians in February 1917 and would only make seven more pitching appearances in his career.
In parts of eight seasons with the Red Sox, Wood was 117-56 with a 1.99 ERA and 1.080 WHIP, an ERA+ of 149, and 986 strikeouts in 1,416 innings.
Wood made four appearances in Boston’s eight-game win over the New York Giants in the 1912 World Series, three of them starts, and was 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.364 WHIP in 22 innings, striking out 21.
Finished as a pitcher after the 1917 season, Wood returned to the Indians in 1918 as an outfielder and hit .298/.376/.809 as a part-time player over the next five seasons.
Wood went on to coach baseball at Yale University for 15 seasons, 14 of them as the varsity head coach.
He died on March 25, 1985 at the age of 95, having retired n New Haven, Connecticut in 1960 after making a great deal of money running a golfing range in California with his brother, Pete.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/Allsport /
The Red Sox drafted Mike Greenwell out of North Fort Myers, Florida in the third round of the 1982 June Amateur Draft and he burst onto the scene in 1987 after a couple of cups of coffee the previous two seasons.
Greenwell took over in left field from aging Jim Rice during the 1987 season, also seeing time at DH and in right field, hitting .328/.386/.956 with 19 home runs.
In 1988, he earned the first of his two All-Star nods by hitting .325/.416/.946 with 22 homers and 119 RBI, finishing second in the MVP voting behind Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics and helping Boston to the AL East title.
Greenwell wouldn’t reach those power numbers again, but was an All-Star again in 1989 after hitting .308/.380/.813 with 95 RBI.
Surgery on his right elbow and right knee limited him to 49 games in 1992, but he bounced back with 72 RBI and 38 doubles in 1993.
An injured finger, a bad back and a sore foot sidelined Greenwell for more than half the 1996 season and he rejected a one-year contract for 1997, per the Society for American Baseball Research, and went to Japan.
In his seventh game, he fouled a ball off his right instep, breaking his foot, and retired from the game.
In parts of 12 seasons with the Red Sox, Greenwell hit .303/.368/.831 in 1,269 games, with 130 homers, 726 RBI and 657 runs.
Greenwell coached with the Cincinnati Reds in 2001, spent a little time racing on the NASCAR Truck Series and opened Mike Greenwell’s Bat-A-Ball and Family Fun Park in Cape Coral, Florida in 1992.
Lefty Grove was an established star and had won at least 20 games seven straight seasons when the Red Sox acquired him with Max Bishop and Rube Walberg from the Philadelphia Athletics in December 1933 in exchange for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler and $125,000.
His Boston debut was a rocky one. Hit wih a sore arm in spring training, Grove struggled all season long, going 8-8 with a 6.50 ERA in 22 appearances while being limited to 12 starts.
He bounced back strong, earning the first of five straight All-Star trips in 1935 while leading the American League in ERA and WHIP. He repeated the double in 1936 and won two more ERA titles in 1938 and 1939. Grove also had an AL-best .778 winning percentage in 1938.
He pitched two more seasons and on July 25, 1941, the 41-year-old became baseball’s first 300-game winner since Pete Alexander in 1926 and would be the last until Warren Spahn in 1961.
But he lost his last three decisions and retired in December.
In eight seasons with the Red Sox, Grove was 105-62 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.321 WHIP, an ERA+ of 143, and struck out 743 in 1,539.2 innings, starting 190 of 214 games.
He was selected for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the writers in his first year of eligibility in1947, and coached youth teams around his hometown of Lonaconing, Maryland for many years.
Luis Tiant’s big league career was on the ropes after a 1971 season in which he had been released by two teams and pitched poorly when given a new lease on life by the Red Sox, who signed him in May of that year.
Tiant revived his career in 1972, earning a spot in Boston’s bullpen before joining the rotation in early August where he was dynamite over the final two months, at one point throwing four consecutive shutouts.
After Aug. 5, Tiant was almost unhittable, appearing in 14 games, starting 13, and going 11-2 with a 1.20 ERA and 0.888 WHIP in 112.2 innings, tossing 10 complete games and six shutouts in that span, helping the Red Sox to within ½ game of the American League East title in the strike-shortened season.
For the season, Tiant led the American League in ERA and locked himself into the starting rotation for the next six seasons.
He was an All-Star in 1974 and 1976, winning 20 games three times from 1973-78, and led the AL with a 1.085 WHIP in 1973 and seven shutouts in 1974.
He was fourth in the Cy Young voting in 1974 and fifth in 1976.
Despite a sub-par 1975 season, Tiant had an amazing postseason as the Red Sox won their first AL East title. He was 3-0 in four starts agaisnt the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox, throwing a three-hitter at the A’s in Game 1 of Boston’s three-game ALCS sweep.
He had a 3.60 ERA and 1.320 WHIP in 25 World Series innings, throwing two complete games and shutting out the Reds in Game 1.
In November 1978, Tiant signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
In parts of eight seasons with Boston, Tiant was 122-81 with a 3.36 ERA and 1.201 WHIP in 1,774.2 innings, with an ERA+ of 118 and 1,075 strikeouts to go with 113 complete games and 26 shutouts.
Tiant began his pro career in 1959 with the Mexico City Tigers, per the Society for American Baseball Research, but did not return to his native Cuba after the Fidel Castro government in 1961 banned all travel outside the country.
Tiant was purchased by the Cleveland Indians before the 1962 season and reached the majors in July 1964. He also pitched with the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels until 1982 and played one more season in Mexico before retiring in 1983 at age 42.
Tiant worked as a Yankees scout in Mexico after retiring before coaching in the minors with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in the 1990s. He was also head baseball coach for the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia for four years.
For several years after the turn of the century, Tiant worked for the Red Sox as a minor-league pitching coach and Spanish-language broadcaster.
Young Oregon native Johnny Pesky found the Red Sox before they found him, playing summer baseball with a team named the Red Sox sponsored by a company owned by Boston owner Tom Yawkey, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
After the 1939 season, Pesky turned down a larger bonus from the St. Louis Cardinals to sign with the Red Sox and quickly progressed through the minors, setting the stage for a rookie season for the ages in 1942.
Pesky took over as the Red Sox regular shortstop that season and set a rookie record with 205 hits, leading the American League, and wound up third in the MVP voting after a .331/.375/.791 campaign.
He lost the next three years to service in the Navy during World War II, but returned with his left-handed stroke very much the same, leading the American League with 208 hits in 1946 as the Red Sox won their first American League pennant since 1918.
He earned his only All-Star bid in 1946 and finished fourth in the MVP voting.
Pesky again topped the AL with 207 hits in 1947 before moving to third base the following season to make room for new acquisition Vern Stephens.
He topped the .300 mark every full season but one while with Boston, but struggled out of the gate in 1952.
Pesky was hitting just .149/313/492 in 25 games before he was traded in early June to the Detroit Tigers with Walt Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Don Lenhardt and Bill Wight, with the Red Sox getting Hoot Evers, George Kell, Johnny Lipon and Dizzy Trout in exchange.
A part-time player in his mid-30s, Pesky was traded to the Washington Senators in June 1954 and signed with the Baltimore Orioles after being released in November of that year.
In parts of eight seasons in Boston, Pesky hit .313/.401/.794 with 17 homers and 404 RBI and 867 runs, recording an OPS+ of 107.
In the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Pesky hit .233/.233/.491 and scored two runs.
Released by the Orioles in April 1955, Pesky embarked on his second baseball career as a coach in the New York Yankees organization that year before five seasons as a minor-league manager for the Tigers.
Pesky returned to the Red Sox organization as a minor-league manager in 1961 and managed in Boston in 1963 and 1964. After he was fired by the Red Sox, as much for clashing with Carl Yastrzemski as anything, Pesky spent three years as a coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
From 1969-74, Pesky was a broadcaster for the Red Sox, returning to the field as first-base coach from 1975-84. From 1985 and for the remainder of his life, he held the title of special-assignment instructor.
Pesky’s No. 6 was retired by the club and the right-field foul pole at Fenway Park has been dubbed the “Pesky Pole.”
The remark was initially a joke by former teammate and Red Sox broadcaster Mel Parnell about Pesky’s lack of power — all six of Pesky’s Fenway homers were tucked inside that pole.
Pesky died on Aug. 13, 2012 in Danvers, Massachusetts at the age of 93.
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
The Red Sox selected Oregon State University outfield prospect Jacoby Ellsbury with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 June Amateur Draft and he made his debut in Boston a little more than two years later.
Ellsbury got some playing time in 2007 as a utility outfielder and started all four games of the Red Sox’ sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.
Then he began his official rookie season in 2008, taking over as the regular center fielder and finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting after leading the American League with 50 stolen bases.
In 2009, he topped the AL with 70 steals, shattering Tommy Harper’s team record of 54 set in 1973, and also led the league with 10 triples.
A troublesome broken rib cut Ellsbury’s 2010 season to 18 games, but he returned with a vengeance in 2011. Ellsbury earned his only All-Star berth to date in 2011, adding a Gold Globe and finishing second in the MVP voting behind Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander.
He hit a career-high 32 homers — the only time he’s topped 16 — with 105 RBI and a league-best 364 total bases.
Ellsbury led the AL with 52 steals in 2013, in a sparkling 56 attempts, before signing as a free agent with the New York Yankees in December of that year.
In parts of seven seasons with Boston, Ellsbury hit .297/.350/.789, an OPS+ of 108, with 65 homers, 314 RBI, 476 runs and 241 stolen bases.
In four postseasons with the Red Sox, Ellsbury appeared in 38 games with a .301/.358/.772 slash line and 17 RBI to go with 26 runs and 11 stolen bases. He helped Boston to World Series wins in 2007 and 2013.
Ellsbury remains under contract with the Yankees through 2020, with a team option/buyout for the 2021 season.
Being the younger brother of Joe DiMaggio had to come with some issues. Being the slightly built, bespectacled younger brother of DiMaggio brought with it some real hurdles.
Throw in the fact that Dom DiMaggio shared an outfield with Ted Williams for his career and it’s easy to overlook just how good “The Little Professor” was.
DiMaggio followed older brothers Joe and Vince DiMaggio to the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals and spent three seasons there before the Boston Red Sox purchased his contract for $75,000 following the 1939 season, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
DiMaggio beat out Lou Finney for the job in right field coming out of spring training and later moved to center field, with the Red Sox trading away standout Doc Cramer to make room.
DiMaggio was an All-Star each of the next two seasons before battling his way into the Navy for three years during World War II.
He picked up where he left off in 1946, earning another All-Star trip while helping the Red Sox to the American League pennant.
DiMaggio would go to four more All-Star games, while leading the league in runs scored in 1950 and 1951, as well as in triples and stolen bases in 1950.
In parts of 11 seasons, all with Boston, DiMaggio hit .298/.383/.802, an OPS+ of 110, with 87 homers, 618 RBI, 1,046 runs scored and 100 stolen bases.
He retired in 1953 and launched a successful post-baseball life by founding American Latex Fiber Corporation in Lawrence, Massachusetts which eventually produced seat padding for automobiles. He later purchased the Delaware Valley Corporation, which produced innovations in varied industries.
DiMaggio set up a group of New England businessmen in an attempt to buy the Red Sox after the death of owner Tom Yawkey in 1976, but was rebuffed a number of times and created a rift between the former player and the organization for several years.
Also of note is that DiMaggio was one of the founders of the Boston Patriots in the old American Football League, a franchise known better today as the New England Patriots.
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
The Red Sox acquired young right-hander Derek Lowe in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in baseball lore — the Seattle Mariners sending Lowe and young catcher Jason Varitek to the Red Sox for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.
Whoops.
Lowe had a widely varied eight-year run with the Red Sox, pitching in middle relief, starting a bit and then becoming an All-Star closer in 2000, when he led the American League with 42 saves.
Two seasons later, Lowe was an All-Star starter, winning 21 games and finishing third in the Cy Young voting, throwing a no-hitter for good measure.
He had that sort of versatilty and even though he spent most of the latter part of his career in the rotation, it was that ability to slide into different roles that helped him stick in the bigs.
With the Red Sox, Lowe had an interesting combination of finishing 154 games, starting 111 and saving 85.
It was also Lowe who started and got the win against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the 2004 World Series, when Boston ended its 86-year title drought. Lowe allowed three hits in seven shutout innings, striking out four.
In January 2005, Lowe left the Red Sox to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent.
In parts of eight seasons with Boston, Lowe was 70-55 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.288 WHIP, an ERA+ of 127 and 673 strikeouts in 1,037 innings.
Lowe appeared in four postseasons with the Red Sox, going 4-4 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.097 WHIP in 62 innings. He appeared in 17 games, starting six, and had one save, striking out 37.
He had made 12 appearances with the Mariners in 1997 before the trade and went on to pitch for the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers before he was released in May 2013.
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
Koji Uehara had lived several chapters of a long life in baseball well before he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox in December 2012.
Uehara had been a standout starter and star closer for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2009 as a starter for the Baltimore Orioles.
He soon moved to the bullpen and was a solid setup man, but missed much of the 2012 season with a strained muscle in his right side.
Uehara wound up as the closer for the Red Sox on the way to a World Series title in 2013, earning MVP honors in their ALCS win over the Detroit Tigers for throwing six scoreless innings in five appearances with a win and three saves.
He followed that up with an All-Star appearance in 2014, at age 39, before moving back into a setup role in 2016.
Uehara left to sign with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent in December 2016. A free agent last winter, Uehara returned to Japan to pitch for the Giants once more.
Like many Asian pitchers, Uehara combined a solid fastball with a wide array of off-speed stuff coupled with the ability to throw every pitch from multiple arm slots. Looking at a sidearm slider followed immediately by an overhand curve can be tough on a hitter.
In four seasons with Boston, Uehara was 14-13 with a 2.19 ERA and 0.810 WHIP, an ERA+ of 192 and 291 strikeouts in just 226 innings over 230 appearances. He saved 79 games as well.
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) /
Jon Lester was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2002 June Amateur Draft out of Bellarmine High School in Tacoma, Washington and reached the majors in June 2006.
He suffered a potentially career-altering setback in September 2006 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Lester recovered in time to make 12 appearances and 11 starts for the Red Sox during the second half of the 2007 season and started the World Series-clinching Game 4 against the Colorado Rockies in October.
From there, Lester emerged as one of the top left-handed starters in baseball, earning three All-Star bids with the Red Sox, finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting in 2010 and throwing a no-hitter at Fenway Park in May 2008.
He was traded to the Oakland Athletics at the non-waiver deadline in July 2014 and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs that December.
In parts of nine seasons with Boston, Lester was 110-63 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.287 WHIP in 1,519.1 innings, an ERA+ of 120 and 1,386 strikeouts. He appeared in 242 games, all but one as a starter, and led the American League in strikeouts per nine innings in 2010.
Lester was part of two World Series winners, 2007 and 2013, and in four postseasons for the Red Sox was 6-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 1.050 WHIP in 76.2 innings, striking out 68. He started 11 games and worked in relief twice against the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 ALCS.
Lester is under contract with the Cubs through 2020, with a team option/buyout for 2021 that becomes guaranteed based on innings pitched in 2020 or 2019-20.
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Josh Beckett was already a World Series MVP by the time the Red Sox acquired the right-hander along with Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota from the Florida Marlins for a package of prospects including Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia in November 2005.
Beckett responded with the best season of his career and was even better in 2007.
He led the American League with 20 wins, earned his first All-Star appearance and finished runner-up to CC Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians in the Cy Young voting while helping the Red Sox to their second World Series title in four years.
After an up-and-down 2008, Beckett returned to All-Star form in 2009 and again in 2011, with an injury-shortened 2010 in between, but struggled mightily in 2012 before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a massive nine-player post-waiver deadline deal in August of that year.
The Red Sox shed Beckett, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in the trade, as well as Nick Punto, and got back some young talent in return including Rubby De La Rosa, Ivan De Jesus, Allen Webster, James Loney and Jerry Sands.
In parts of seven seasons with the Red Sox, Beckett was 89-58 with a 4.17 ERA and 1.223 WHIP, a 109 ERA+ and 1,108 strikeouts in 1,240 innings. He made 194 starts for Boston.
In three postseasons, Beckett was 5-1 in eight starts with a 3.94 ERA and 1.093 WHIP, fanning 52 in 50 innings.
He threw a four-hit shutout top open a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in the 2007 ALDS and was MVP of the ALCS victory over the Indians by going 2-0 in two starts, striking out 18 in 14 innings while allowing just three runs on nine hits.
With the Marlins, Beckett was the World Series MVP in 2003. He pitched with the Dodgers through the 2014 season, opting not to sign anywhere after is contract expired.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
The Red Sox found a gem in the fourth round of the 2003 June Amateur Draft when they selected Mississippi State University right-hander Jonathan Papelbon.
Papelbon advanced quickly to the majors, debuting in July 2005, and settled into a setup role while also making three starts.
The following season, he won the closer’s job and was dominant, earning four straight All-Star berths and finishing second to Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 Rookie of the Year balloting.
Papelbon notched six consecutive seasons with 30 or more saves, with a sub-3.00 ERA in all but one of his six years as the Boston closer.
In November 2011, Papelbon left to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent.
In parts of seven seasons with the Red Sox, Papelbon was 23-19 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.018 WHIP, an ERA+ of 197 and 509 strikeouts in 429.1 innings over 396 appearances, three of them starts.
His 219 saves are the most in franchise history, far eclipsing the old mark of 132 set by Bob Stanley.
He appeared in four postseasons for Boston, going 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 0.815 WHIP in 18 appearances, saving seven games and striking out 23 in 27 innings. He saved three of the four Red Sox wins in their sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series.
Papelbon was traded to the Washington Nationals in July 2015 and released by the Nats in August 2016. No offers came after he was released and despite no formal announcement, his career was effective over at age 35.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
A native of Cincinnati and an eighth-round pick by the Red Sox out of the University of Cincinnati in the 2001 June Amateur Draft, Kevin Youkilis emerged as an All-Star and a team leader for a pair of World Series winners.
Youkilis made his debut in May 2004 and was a part-time infielder the next two seasons, appearing in just one game during Boston’s run to the World Series title in 2004.
In 2006, he won the regular job at first base and picked up a Gold Glove in 2007 before a breakout campaign in 2008.
The year Youkilis smashed 29 homers, drove in 115 and was third in the MVP voting as well as an All-Star for the first time.
He would make two more All-Star appearances in 2009 and 2011, the latter coming after a move to third base to make room for Adrian Gonzalez.
But his hitting tailed off dramatically in conjunction with the move and while struggling through the 2012 campaign, he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox in June in exchange for Brent Lillibridge and Zach Stewart.
In parts of nine seasons with the Red Sox, Youkilis hit .287/.388/.875, an OPS+ of 126, with 133 homers, 564 RBI and 594 runs scored.
In four postseasons, he hit .306/.376/.944 with six homers, 17 RBI and 22 runs in 29 games, going 14-for-28 with three bombs and seven RBI in Boston’s seven-game win over the Cleveland Indians in the 2007 ALCS.
Youkilis signed with the New York Yankees in December 2012 and spent one injury-shortened season in the Bronx before getting a shot in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, a shot that ended after just 21 games.
Dwight Evans came to the Red Sox organization as a 17-year-old prospect, a fifth-round pick from Chatsworth (California) High School in the 1969 June Amateur Draft, and traveled a road through many roles in his long career with the club.
Evans got a September callup in 1972, became a platoon player in right field as a rookie in 1973, won an every-day job in 1976, came back from a major knee injury in 1977, emerged as a slugger and an All-Star in 1978 and was an MVP candidate in 1981.
Later on, he played some first base and transitioned into a full-time DH role before joining the Baltmore Orioles as a free agent in December 1990.
Evans became an unexpected power-hitting leadoff hitter as his batting eye evolved, leading the American League in walks in 1981, 1985 and 1987. He was an eight-time Gold Glover for his defensive prowess in right field.
In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Evans helped keep the Red Sox in contention, leading the league in home runs, OPS and total bases while finishing third in the MVP voting.
He led the league in runs scored and OPS in 1984 and in on-base percentage in 1982.
Evans was also one of just two members of Boston’s 1975 American League pennant winner, along with Jim Rice, to remain when the Red Sox next won the AL title in 1986.
In parts of 19 seasons with the Sox, Evans hit .272/.370/.84, an OPS+ of 127, with 385 home runs, 1,384 RBI and 1,470 runs scored.
He also played in four postseasons, hitting .239/.333/.758 in 32 games with four homers, 19 RBI and 11 runs.
A three-time All-Star in all, Evans retired after he was released by the Orioles during spring training in 1992.
After retiring, Evans spent two years as a minor-league instructor for the Chicago White Sox before becoming hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies in 1994.
He returned to the Red Sox in 2001 as a roving instructor and became hitting coach in 2002. He remains a player development consultant for the orgaization.
The Red Sox took a shot on outfielder Jackie Jensen, who had been an All-Star a season earlier, sending Mickey McDermott and Tom Umphlett to the Washington Senators in December 1953 to get the former multi-sport star at the University of California.
Jensen’s powerful pull-hitting stroke was a perfect match for the Green Monster in Fenway and he became one of the most productive run producers of the second half of the decade.
Jensen was a two-time All-Star for the Red Sox, winning the MVP award in 1958 after hitting .286/.396/.931 with 35 homers and a league-best 122 RBI. It was one of three RBI crowns for Jensen with Boston, also leading the league in 1955 and 1959.
He also topped the American League in stolen bases in 1954 and won a Gold Glove in 1959
But as teams relied more and more upon air travel, Jensen’s fear of flying became a bigger problem, per the Society for American Baseball Research. It was that fear, along with marital troubles, that prompted Jensen to retire after the 1959 season at age 32.
He sat out a season, but returned to the Red Sox in 1961. However, his power stroke was gone and he fought more with the fear factor as well, with the AL adding an expansion team in Los Angeles and the old Senators moving to Minnesota,
Jensen left the team for several days after hitting just .130 in April, and sought treatment from a hypnotist at a Las Vegas nightclub as a last resort. He did return to the club and played well until fading in September.
But there were still problems — he drove 650 miles from Boston to Cleveland instead of joining the team on the flight and skipped their next series in Los Angeles, instead driving to Kansas City and rejoining the team there.
He retired for good at the end of the season. In seven seasons for Boston, Jensen hit .282/.374/.852, an OPS+ of 120, with 199 homers, 929 RBI, 810 runs scored and 143 stolen bases.
In retirement, Jensen divorced his wife, Zoe Ann, re-married her, and then divorced again, with the two splits wiping out most of his wealth. He worked in radio in Reno for a spell and did some college football commentary for ABC.
In 1968, he was named head baseball coach at the University of Nevada, but a heart attack in March 1969 forced him to quit. He later coached baseball at the University of California for four years before retiring to Virginia in 1977.
He died July 14, 1982 from a heart attack at the age of 55.
Cy Young was thought to be in his decline when he, along with several of his St. Louis Cardinals teammates, jumped to the new American League, joining the Boston Americans.
Those who thought he was declining were right. After just 11 more seasons in the majors, Young was in fact done
Young did bring instant credibility to the new league. along with Philadelphia Phillies jumper Nap Lajoie, who went to the Philadelphia Athletics in the new circuit.
Young had already won 286 games in the National League before making the jump and the milestones continued to mount in his new league.
He led the AL in wins in each of the league’s first three seaasons, also topping the circuit in ERA and WHIP in 1901. He was the AL leaders in innings and complete games in 1902 and 1903, led the league in WHIP three more times, and in shutouts three seasons.
He remained with Boston — by then known as the Red Sox — until February 1909, when he was traded to the Cleveland Naps for Charlie Chech, Jack Ryan and $12,500.
In eight seasons with Boston, Young was 192-112 with a 2.00 ERA and 0.970 WHIP, an ERA+ of 147, and 1,341 strikeouts in 2,728.1 innings. He started 297 of his 327 appearanced with 275 complete games, 38 shutouts and threw in nine saves for good measure.
He began his career with the Cleveland Spiders in the National League in 1890 and ended it with the Boston Rustlers (later the Braves) in 1911 and in 22 seasons set major league marks with 511 wins, 815 starts, 749 complete games and 7,356 innings. They may have named an award for him.
He also pitched in the first World Series for the Americans in 1903, going 2-1 in four appearances, three of them starts (completing all three), with a 1.85 ERA and 1.029 WHIP in 34 innings with 17 strikeouts in the eight-game win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In retirement, Young returned to his Ohio farm, per the Society for American Baseball Research, which he sold after his wife’s death in 1933. He was inducted with the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1939 and died of a coronary occlusion on Nov. 4, 1955 at the age of 88.
In the winter of 1934, the Red Sox signed young infielder Bobby Doerr, who at 16 was already playing in the Pacific Coast League, and he became one of the keys to Boston’s return to American League relevance in the 1940s.
He debuted for the Red Sox in April 1937, just after his 19th birthday, and took over as their regular second baseman the following year. He grew into the job, earning the first of nine All-Star selections in 1941.
After missing the 1945 season while serving in the Army during World War II, Doerr returned to the Red Sox and helped lead them to the American League pennant in 1946, finishing third in the MVP voting.
Teammate and friend Ted Williams dubbed Doerr “the silent captain of the Red Sox,” per the Society for American Baseball Research and Doerr continued his high level of play until he was forced to retire after the 1951 season due to back problems.
In 14 seasons, Doerr hit .288/.362/.823, an OPS+ of 115, with 223 homers, 1,247 RBI and 1,094 runs scored. He led the league in slugging in 1944 and in sacrifice hits in his first full season in 1938. in 1950, he topped the AL in triples.
He topped the 100 RBI mark six times in his career and had a monster World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946, hitting .409/.458/1.049 with a homer and three RBI, missing Game 5 with an injury.
Also an outstanding defensive second baseman, Doerr led his position in fielding percentage and range factor four times.
He worked as a roving instructor and scout for the Red Sox from 1957-66 and joined the coaching staff for the big club from 1967-69.
Doerr later served as the first batting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977-81 and managed their rookie league team in Medicine Hat, Alberta, in 1982 and 1983.
He entered the Hall of Fame in 1986 after being selected by the Veteran’s Committee. At the time of his death on Nov. 13, 2017, was the oldest living Hall of Famer at age 99.
The Red Sox signed Stanford University standout right-hander Jim Lonborg in the summer of 1963 and by April 1965, he was in the majors.
He took some early lumps, but was 10-10 for the ninth-place Red Sox in 1966. No one knew what was on the horizon.
Lonborg emerged as the ace of the staff in 1967, leading the American League with 22 wins and 246 strikeouts, cruising to the AL Cy Young Award while leading Boston to its first pennant in 21 years.
In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lonborg won Games 2 and 5 before coming back on short rest in Game 7 to match up with Bob Gibson. He didn’t have his best stuff, giving up seven runs, six earned, in six innings and the Cardinals cruised to the title.
For the series, Lonborg was 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 0.667 WHIP in 24 innings, having completed his first two starts while allowing just one run.
After the season, Lonborg took a trip to Lake Tahoe, California for some skiing, a decison that would change his career.
He wiped out while attempting to stop, per the Society for American Baseball Research, and tore ligaments in his left knee. He returned in May, as he had set his goal to do so, but compensating for the bad knee led to shoulder problems, problems that plagued him the remainder of his career.
By 1970, Lonborg had been exiled to Triple-A Louisville before being sent home for the season in August.
In October 1971, after something of a bounce-back season, Lonborgwas dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers in a 10-player blockbuster, along with George Scott, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich, with Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse and Patrick Skrable coming to the Sox.
In seven seasons with Boston, Lonborg was 68-65 wth a 3.94 ERA and 1.305 WHIP, striking out 784 in 1,099 innings. He started 163 of his 204 appearances with 38 complete games.
Lonborg would end his career with a seven-year stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, retiring after his release in 1979.
After retirement, he completed his education and became a practicing dentist in Hanover, Massachusetts.
(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) /
The Red Sox took Arizona State University infielder Dustin Pedroia in the second round of the June Amateur Draft in 2004 and by August 2006, he was with the big club.
He took over the second base job in 2007 and was named Rookie of the Year after hitting .317/.380/.823 with eight homers, 50 RBI and 86 runs scored, but that was just scratching the surface.
In 2008, Pedroia broke out in a big way, leading the American League in runs, hits and doubles while winning the AL MVP award, throwing in the first of his four Gold Gloves and his initial All-Star appearance (he has four) along the way.
He missed more than half of the 2010 season after fouling a ball off his left foot and needing surgery to repair the fracture, but came back strong in 2011 and returned to All-Star form in 2013.
A hamstring problem cost him almost half a season in 2015 and he missed 57 games with a knee injury in 2017 (an injury that has sidelined him for most of 2018 as well).
Through the 2017 season, Pedroia had hit .300/366/.807 in parts of 12 seasons, with 140 homers, 724 RBI, 920 runs and 138 stolen bases, while notching an OPS+ of 114.
He has been part of World Series winners in 2007 and 2013 and in six postseasons, has hit .233/.313/.687 with five homers, 25 RBI and 32 runs in 51 games.
Pedroia is the only active member of the Red Sox on this list.
There were many who thought the career of Red Sox All-Star catcher Carlton Fisk was over on June 28, 1974, when his left knee was shredded in a collision with Cleveland Indians baserunner Leron Lee.
A little more than a year later, Fisk had proved those doomsayers wrong and clubbed one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 World Series, staving off elimination with his walk-off shot against Pat Darcy off the foul pole atop the Green Monster.
It had been a long road back for Fisk, who made it back in time for spring training in 1975 only to have his comeback derailed when his forearm was broken by a pitch in a Grapefruit League game.
Fisk didn’t have a lot of playing experience, growing up in New Hampshire and playing collegiately at Keene State College and the University of New Hampshire, but the Red Sox selected him fourth overall in the regular phase of the January Draft in 1967.
He debuted in the majors briefly in September 1969, got another cup of coffee in 1971 and won the catching job for the 1972 season.
Fisk hit .293/.370/.909 with 22 homers, 61 RBI and a league-leading nine triples en route to the AL Rookie of the Year award, finishing fourth in the MVP voting as well and winning his only Gold Glove in the process.
He was a seven-time All-Star for the Red Sox before leaving to sign as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox in March 1981 after he was granted free agency the previous month, after general manager Haywood Sullivan didn’t mail Fisk his contract in time.
That affair led to some lasting acrimony between Fisk and the Sox, which has since been mended.
In parts of 11 seasons in Boston, Fisk hit .284/.356/.837, an OPS+ of 126, with 162 homers, 568 RBI and 627 runs.
He would play 13 more years in Chicago, retiring after he was released in June 1993.
Fisk was inducted into the Hall of Fame after being voted in by the writers in 2000, a year after rejoining the Red Sox organization in promotions and marketing.
The Red Sox bought the contract of teenage sensation Babe Ruth from the International League’s Baltimore Orioles in the spring of 1914 and in July the 19-year-old pitched seven strong innings while getting the win in his debut.
He joined the rotation in 1915 and put together a terrific season for the eventual World Series champions in 1916, leading the American League in ERA, starts, shutouts and hits per nine innings.
A 20-game winner again in 1917, Ruth led the AL with 35 complete games.
Had he just been a pitcher, based on his three seasons of full-time duty, Ruth could have very well been one of the greatest left-handers of all-time. He was used frequenly as a pinch-hitter and in 1918, the Red Sox started using him in left field and first base when he wasn’t on the mound.
He led the league in home runs, slugging and OPS despite playing in only 95 games, 20 of them as a pitcher.
In 1919, his pitching load was down to 17 appearances and he was primarily the left fielder, leading the league in homers, RBI, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and total bases.
In December 1919, he was sold to the New York Yankees for $100,000 and a legend was born.
As a pitcher, Ruth was 94-46 in parts of six seasons, with a 2.19 ERA and 1.142 WHIP — an ERA+ of 125 — and struck out 425 in 1,190.1 innings. He started 143 of is 158 appearances with 105 complete games and 17 shutouts.
In two World Series appearances in 1916 and 1918, Ruth was 3-0 in three starts with a 0.87 ERA and 0.935 WHIP in 31 innings. That ERA remains the second-lowest among starting pitchers in World Series history with 30 or more innings.
Meanwhile, he did some damage at the plate as well. He hit .308/.413/.981, an OPS+ of 190, with the Red Sox, with 49 homers, 224 RBI and 202 runs in 391 games.
Ruth became the all-time home run king with New York, finishing his career back in Boston with the Braves in 1935 with 714 home runs. One of the members of the Hall of Fame’s first induction class in 1939, Ruth died from cancer on Aug. 16, 1948 at the age of 53.
Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule /Allsport /
The Boston Red Sox took Seton Hall University slugger Mo Vaughn with the 23rd overall pick in the 1989 June Amateur Draft and after a couple of seasons of growing pains, he turned into one of the top power threats in the game.
Vaughn debuted in June 1991 and saw part-time duty at first base the rest of the way, becoming a platoon player in 1992.
By 1993, he was the full-time starter and cracked 29 homers and drove in 101 runs, with more to come.
In the lockout-shortened 1995 season, Vaughn was the American League MVP, hitting 39 homers and leading the AL with 126 RBI while pacing Boston to its first AL East crown in five years.
His encore in 1996 may have been better, with career-highs of 44 homers and 143 RBI while finishing fifth in the MVP voting. He was fourth in the voting after a 40-homer campaign in 1998.
Vaughn left the Red Sox in December 1998 to sign a free-agent deal with the Anaheim Angels.
A three-time All-Star with Boston, Vaughn hit .304/.394/.936 in parts of eight seasons, an OPS+ of 140, and had 230 homers, 752 RBI and 628 runs scored.
He played in the postseason twice with the Red Sox, going 0-for-14 in a three-game sweep by the Cleveland Indians in the 1995 ALDS, but following that up by going 7-for-17 with two homers and seven RBI in 1998, though the Indians won the ALDS in four games.
Vaughn missed the 2001 season with a ruptured biceps tendon and was traded to the New York Mets in December 2001. An arthritic left knee ended his 2003 season after 27 games and he retired that winter.
Jimmie Foxx was a three-time American League home run champ, including topping the circuit in 1935, when the Red Sox acquired the slugger along with Johnny Marcum in December 1935, sending Gordon Rhodes, George Savino and $150,000 to the perennially cash-strapped Philadelphia Athletics.
Foxx was just entering his prime years and continued to mash in Boston, making six straight All-Star appearances. In 1938, Foxx was the AL MVP, missing out on a Triple Crown despite hitting 50 homers and leading the league with 175 RBI and a .349 average.
Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers spoiled Foxx’s bid for a second Triple Crown by hitting 58 home runs.
Foxx was also second in the MVP race the following year behind Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees while leading the AL with 35 homers.
Foxx also led the AL in walks in 1938, as well as twice in slugging, on-base percentage and OPS. But age was catching up to the slugger and after starting the season slowly in 1942, he was waived in late May and claimed by the Chicago Cubs.
In parts of seven seasons with the Red Sox, Foxx hit .320/.429/1.034, an OPS+ of 156, with 222 homers, 788 RBI and 721 runs scored.
He retired in 1945 after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies and was inducted to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1951.
Foxx died from choking on July 21, 1967 at the age of 59. He struggled to find a successful career after baseball, spending a year managing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1952 and serving as hitting coach for the Triple-A Minneapolis Mllers in 1958.
It took Wade Boggs a long time to work his way to the major leagues, but once he got there he quickly became a star.
The Red Sox selected Boggs from Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, in the seventh round of the 1976 June Amateur Draft. Despite a gaudy batting average in the minors, Boggs didn’t make the big leagues until earning a utility spot in 1982.
He struggled as a part-time player, but seizing an opportunity when third baseman Carney Lansford was hurt in late June, Boggs wound up hitting .349 as a rookie, finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting and eventually leading the Red Sox to trade Lansford.
Now entrenched at third base, Boggs won the first of his five batting titles in 1983, going on to win four straight from 1985-88.
The patient Boggs also led the AL in walks in 1986 and 1988, and topped the league with 240 hits in 1985. In 1988 and 1989, Boggs was the AL leader in runs and doubles, led the league in on-base percentage six times and in OPS twice.
He got his first All-Star nod in 1985 and wound up going to eight straight Midsummer Classics as a member of the Red Sox and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 1985.
In 1987, Boggs tapped into a power stroke many believed he didn’t have, clubbing 24 home runs before returning to his previous style of inside-outing the ball off the Green Monster.
Boggs left Boston as a free agent in December 1992, signing with the New York Yankees.
In 11 seasons with the Red Sox, Boggs hit .338/.428/.890, an OPS+ of 142, with 85 homers, 687 RBI and 1,067 runs scored.
In three postseasons with Boston, Boggs hit .311/.375/.797 with a homer and nine RBI to go with nine runs scored.
Boggs went on to win a World Series with the Yankees and picked up his 3,000th career hit as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999, retiring after that season.
He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, inducted in 2005 and settled in Tampa after retiring.
The Boston Americans purchased the contract of young outfielder Tris Speaker from Houston of the Texas League in September 1907 and brought the 19-year-old to the majors, where he didn’t impress right away.
He struggled in a longer audition in 1908, but in 1909 took over as the every-day center fielder in Boston, now known as the Red Sox. He topped the .300 mark at the plate, starting a streak of 10 straight seasons over that mark.
In 1912, Speaker was the MVP after hitting .383/.464/1.031 and leading the AL in doubles, homers and slugging as the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1903.
He was fourth in the MVP race the following season and in 1914 topped the league in hits, doubles and total bases.
Speaker helped Boston to another World Series title in 1915, even as his individual numbers tailed of some, and in April 1916 was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Sad Sam Jones, Fred Thomas and $55,000.
In parts of nine seasons with the franchise, Speaker hit .337/414/.896, an OPS+ of 166, with 39 homers, 542 RBI, 704 runs and 267 stolen bases.
In two World Series appearances with Boston, Speaker hit .298/.400/.847 in 13 games, with two RBI and six runs scored.
Speaker went on to play 11 more years with Cleveland and finished his career with single seasons with the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics, with his career total of 792 doubles still No. 1 all-time.
Speaker was part of the inaugural Hall of Fame induction class in 1939.
After retiring as a player, Speaker as a broadcaster in Chicago for both the Cubs and White Sox and later manager and part-owner of the American Association’s Kansas City Blues, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
He died Dec. 8, 1958 from a heart condition at the age of 70.
Mandatory Credit: David Seelig /Allsport /
Given that his career fell off quickly due to injuries, it’s easy to forget just how dominant Nomar Garciaparra was when he burst into the majors with the Red Sox in August 1996.
Garciaparra’s first full season earned him Rookie of the Year honors, as he led the American League in hits and triples, and he was second in the MVP voting in 1998 after hitting .323/.362/.946 with 35 homers and 122 RBI.
He won back-to-back batting titles in 1999 and 2000, hitting .357 and .372, respectively, and he topped the AL with 56 doubles in 2002, a year after playing in just 21 games after surgery to repair damage in his right wrist.
Garciaparra was still good after the injury, but not the same player, and in July 2004 the Red Sox traded the fading star along with Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs in a four-team extravaganza that brought Boston Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos.
In parts of nine seasons with the Red Sox, Garciaparra hit .323/.370/.9232, an OPS+ of 133, with 178 homers, 690 RBI and 709 runs. He was a five-time All-Star as well.
In three postseasons with Boston, he hit .323/.391/1.016 with seven homers and 21 RBI to go with 16 runs scored in 25 games. He clubbed three homers with 11 RBI in Boston’s four-game loss to the Cleveland Indians in the 1998 ALDS.
He finished his career out with the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics before retiring after the 2009 season, picking up one more All-Star nod as a first baseman for the Dodgers in 2006.
Married to U.S. women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm since 2003, Garciaparra has worked in television since his playing days ended.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
The balance of power in the American League swung dramatically when the Red Sox signed slugging outfielder Manny Ramirez as a free agent from the Cleveland Indians in December 2000.
Ramirez continued to produce at high levels in Boston, even as he was the center of several controversies over his in-game focus and his alleged links to performance-enhancing drug use.
After leaving Boston, Ramirez tested positive twice for banned substances, sitting out a 50-game suspenson in 2009 and retiring when faced with a 100-game ban in 2011.
For the antics — “Manny being Manny” — Ramirez was one of the best ever with a bat in his hands.
After coming to the Red Sox, Ramirez won a batting title in 2002, hitting .349 while also leading the league in on-base percentage. He won the AL home run title in 2004, when he finished third in the MVP voting, and was fourth in the voting in 2005.
He topped the leage in OBP three times with Boston and had the AL’s top OPS in 2004. Ramirez was also an eight-time All-Star in eight seasons with the club.
His exit from Boston was controversial. Unhappy with the team, Ramirez was still hitting .299 when he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team deal that also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Red Sox got Jason Bay from Pittsburgh.
In parts of eight seasons with the Red Sox, Ramirez hit .312/.411/.999, an OPS+ of 155, with 274 homers, 868 RBI and 743 runs scored.
Ramirez was the MVP of Boston’s historic World Series win in 2004, when he was 7-for-17 with a homer and four RBI in the four-game sweep.
In four postseasons with the Red Sox, he hit .321/.422/.980 in 43 games with 11 home runs, 38 RBI and 29 runs scored.
A first-round pick in 1991, Ramirez played parts of eight seasons with the Indians, earning four All-Star berths. He spent parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, finished 2010 with the Chicago White Sox and had signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 before retiring.
He attempted a comeback with the Oakland Athletics, but was released in June without getting to the bigs, and played in Taiwan. Ramirez caught a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers in July 2013, but he was let go after 30 games.
In May 2014, he signed with the Chicago Cubs and was a player-coach at Triple-A Iowa. He joined the Cubs as a hitting consultant in 2015, but made another comeback attempt in Japan in 2017.
Fred Lynn gave himself one heck of an act to follow.
The Red Sox took the USC star in the second round of the 1973 June Amateir Draft and it didn’t take long for Lynn to arrive in Boston, as he got a September callup in 1974, hitting .419 in 51 at-bats.
That set the stage for one of the most ballyhooed rookie seasons in baseball history.
Lynn led the American League in 1975 in runs, doubles, slugging and OPS on his way to becoming the first — and still only — player in Major League Baseball to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year.
He also picked up the first of his six All-Star selections with the Red Sox, won the first of his four Gold Gloves for Boston and led the Red Sox to their first AL East title and first American League pennant since 1967.
Lynn played well the next three seasons, though plagued by nagging injuries and not producing the numbers he did as a rookie, but in 1979 he broke out in a big way, winning the batting title and flirting with a Triple Crown with 39 homers and 122 RBI.
He also led the AL in on-base percentage, slugging (and by extension) OPS that season while finishing fourth in the MVP voting.
After another injury-shortened campaign in 1980, Lynn was traded to the California Angels with Steve Renko in January 1981, with Joe Rudi, Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey coming to the Red Sox.
In parts of seven seasons for the Red Sox, Lynn hit .308/.383/.902, an OPS+ of 141, with 124 homers, 521 RBI and 523 runs scored.
In the 1975 postseason, Lynn hit .306./.341/.786 in 10 games with a homer, eight RBI and four runs scored.
Lynn played 10 more seasons with the Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres before retiring after the 1990 season.
He spent seven years as an analyst for ESPN, also spending time with CBS and FOX, before leaving broadcasting in 1998, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
Jim Rice made a rapid rise through the Boston farm system after they made the outfielder from Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina the 15th overall pick in the 1971 June Amateur Draft.
He debuted in Boston in August 1974 and the following season took over most of the duties in left field from franchise legend Carl Yastrzemski, who spent more time at first base and DH.
Lost in the shadow of teammate Fred Lynn as a rookie, Rice turned in a spectacular season as well, finishing second to Lynn in the Rookie of the Year voting and third in the MVP race while helping power Boston to its first American League pennant since 1967.
Rice was just getting started. He won the AL home run crown in 1977, also leading the league in total bases (something he did four times) and finishing fourth in the MVP voting.
He won an MVP award of his own in 1978, leading the AL in hits, triples, homers, RBI, slugging, OPS, but the Red Sox fell short of the postseason after losing a one-game playoff to the New York Yankees for the AL East title.
Rie added a third home run crown and second RBI title in 1983, while placing fifth in the MVP voting in 1979, fourth in 1983 and third in 1986, as Boston won its first pennant since 1975.
He transitioned to a full-time DH role in 1988 and retired after the 1989 season.
In parts of 16 seasons with the Red Sox, Rice hit .298/.352/.854, an OPS+ of 128, with 382 home runs, 1,451 RBI and 1.259 runs scored.
He missed the 1975 postseason with a broken hand after being hit by a pitch from Detroit Tigers righthander Vern Ruhle in late September and struggled a bit in two postseasons, hitting .225/.313/.679 with two homers seven RBI and 14 runs in 18 games in 1986 and 1988.
Rice was an eight-time All-Star and in his final year on the ballot in 2009, was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rice also spent six years with the Red Sox as their hitting coach from 1995-2000.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
David Ortiz was on baseball’s scrap heap in January 2003, having been released by the Minnesota Twins a month earlier. The Red Sox took a flyer on the left-handed hitting first baseman.
Did that ever pay off.
Ortiz became a 10-time All-Star with the Red Sox and as their full-time DH made significant noise in the MVP voting during his peak years, finishing fifth in 2003 fourth in 2004 and 2007, third in 2006 and runner-up to Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees in 2005 — the closest a full-time DH has come to winning the honor.
He led the American League in home runs in 2006, was a three-time RBI champ — including in his final season in 2016 — and put up gaudy numbers while helping the Red Sox to three World Series titles.
Ortiz retired after the 2016 season, despite leading the AL in doubles and RBI, just shy of his 41st birthday.
In 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Ortiz hit .290/.386/.956 an OPS+ of 148, with 483 homers, 1,530 RBI and 1,204 runs scored.
He played in a record eight postseasons for Boston, earning MVP honors in the historic 2004 ALCS comeback over the New York Yankees after hitting .387 with three homers and 11 RBI and was the World Series MVP in 2013, going a ridiculous 11-for-16 with two home runs and six RBI.
In all, Ortiz put up a slash line in the postseason of .291/.415/.975 in 76 games with 17 homers, 57 RBI and 51 runs.
Ortiz was linked to reports of performance-enhancing drug use and in 2016 spoke about reports he was one of the players who failed an anonymous test in 2003. He continued to deny any involvement and never tested positive after MLB adopted its current program in 2005.
In retirement, Ortiz remains involved with the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which he founded in 2007, and joined UNICEF Kid Power for a mission in Burkina Faso.
Carl Yastrzemski played a season of freshman baseball and basketball at the University of Notre Dame before the Red Sox signed the skinny shortstop from Long Island for a $108,000 bonus in November 1958.
He filled out a bit and eventually settled in left field before making the major league club in spring training in 1961 … as the replacement in left field for legendary Ted Williams.
It took a couple of years for Yaz to get comfortable, but he broke out in 1963, going to his first All-Star Game, winning his first Gold Glove and winning the American League batting title while also leading the league in hits, doubles, walks and on-base percentage.
Yastrzemski topped the 20-homer mark in 1965 while leading the AL in doubles, OBP, slugging and OPS and led the league in doubles again in 1966.
In 1967, everything came together.
Yaz won the AL’s first Triple Crown since Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees in 1966, hitting .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBI, winning the MVP award while driving the Red Sox to their first pennant in 21 years.
He was fourth in the MVP voting in 1970 after hitting 40 home runs and leading the league in runs scored and total bases and continued to be productive right up until the end.
By the time Yaz retired at the end of the 1983 season, he was an 18-time All-Star, a three-time batting champ (he picked up No. 3 in 1968) and a seven-time Gold Glove winner.
He is also the only player in Red Sox history with at least 3,000 hits in their uniform finishing his 23-year run with 3,419.
Yaz hit .285/.379/.841, an OPS+ of 130, with 452 home runs, 1,844 RBI, 1,816 runs scored and 168 stolen bases.
In two postseasons, he hit .369/.447/1.047 with four homers, 11 RBI and 15 runs in 17 games in 1967 and 1975. He had three home runs and was 10-for-25 in Boston’s seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1967 World Series.
Yastrzemski earned induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first time on the ballot in 1989.
Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule/ALLSPORT /
Pedro Martinez was the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner when he was acquired by the Red Sox in November 1997, with young pitchers Carl Pavano and Tony Armas going to the Montreal Expos.
It was one of the most lopsided deals in Red Sox history … in a good way.
Martinez dominated his new surroundings, winning back-to-back Cy Youngs in 1999 and 2000, leading the AL in ERA four times and in strikeouts three years.
He was runner-up for the Cy Young in 1998 (behind Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays) and 2002 (training only Barry Zito of the Oakland Athletics), placed third in 2003 and fourth in 2004.
But in 1999 he also finished second to Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers in the MVP voting and placed fifth in the MVP race in 2000.
His combination of power and control was dominant in an era ruled by the long ball, as he posted 313 strikeouts in 1999 while walking only 37 hitters.
In 2000, Martinez had a 0.737 WHIP and allowed only 5.3 hits per nine innings, while fanning 11.8 per nine. He was a five-time All-Star with the Red Sox and helped them to their first World Series title in 86 years in 2004.
He left after that season to sign as a free agent with the New York Mets in December 2004.
In seven seasons with the Red Sox, Martinez was 117-37 — winning at least 20 games twice — with a 2.52 ERA and 0.978 WHIP, an ERA+ of 190, with 1,683 strikeouts in 1,383.2 innings.
At a time when complete games were becoming very rare, Martinez had 22 with eight shutouts.
In four postseasons with Boston, he was 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.122 WHIP in 79.1 innings, striking out 80 in 11 starts and two relief appearances.
One of those relief outings was epic. Martinez came on to start the fourth inning in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, in a game already tied 8-8 as starters Bret Saberhagen for the Red Sox and Charles Nagy for the Indians were knocked around hard.
Martinez threw six innings of no-hit baseball at Cleveland, walking three and striking out eight, as the Red Sox came from behind to win 12-8, clinching their first postseason series victory since beating the California Angels in the 1986 ALCS.
He originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 1988 at age 16 and was traded to Montreal in 1994. He also pitched in 2009 with the Philadelphia Phillies before retiring.
He was a first-ballot selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame, earning induction in 2015.
Roger Clemens achieved something as a member of the Red Sox that no one else in baseball history has done.
Of the four games in which a pitcher struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, only Clemens did it twice — setting the record with 20 Ks against the Seattle Mariners on April 29, 1986, and then matching the feat more than 10 years later, on Sept, 18, 1996, against the Detroit Tigers.
Since then, Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs joined the club in 1998 and Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals achieved the feat in 2016.
It was that sort of power potential that prompted the Red Sox to select the University of Texas ace with the 19th overall pick in the 1983 June Amateur Draft.
He was in the majors less than a year later, in May 1984, and after missing half of the 1985 season with shoulder problems, turned in one of the most dominant seasons in the modern era in 1986.
Clemens doubled as the Cy Young and MVP winner in 1986, going 24-4 while leading the American League in ERA and WHIP.
He added a second Cy Young the next season and a third in 1991, while finishing second in the voting in 1990 and third in 1992. Clemens added a third-place finish in the MVP voting in 1990 as well.
But the Red Sox let Clemens walk after four relatively mediocre seasons and he signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays in December 1996.
What Clemens did after leaving Boston is still subject to serious scrutiny as he has been dogged by accusations of performance-enhancing drug use, including being tried on charges of making false statements to Congress on the subject.
His first trial in 2011 was declared a mistrial before he was acquitted in July 2012.
The repercussions of the accusations have hampered his Hall of Fame candidacy despite 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts in a 24-year career, while winning seven Cy Young awards.
With the Red Sox over parts of 13 seasons, Clemens was 192-111 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.158 WHIP, an ERA+ of 144, with 2,590 strikeouts in 2,776 innings, completing 100 games with 38 shutouts.
In four postseasons with the Red Sox, Clemens did not fare as well, going just 1-2 in nine starts with a 3.88 ERA and 1.222 WHIP in 55.2 innings, striking out 45.
Ted Williams was introduced after his retirement from the Red Sox in 1960 as “the greatest hitter that ever lived.” It’s fairly easy to make an argument in his favor.
Power? Williams hit 521 career home runs over 19 seasons, missing significant time in 1952 and 1953 while serving in the Marine Corps in Korea. Average? Williams hit .344 lifetime. Bat control? Teddy Ballgame walked 2,021 times in 9,788 career plate appearances and his .482 on-base percentage is the highest of all-time.
The Red Sox signed Williams from the Pacific Coast League’s San Diego Padres in the spring of 1938 and he arrived in the majors the next season with a splash.
Williams was fourth in the MVP voting as a rookie, leading the American League with 145 RBI and also topping the circuit in total bases.
He became the last major leaguer to hit .400 in a qualifying season in 1941, posting a .406 average, and won the Triple Crown in both 1942 and 1949.
Williams was criticized for his approach at the plate, refusing to swing at pitches out of the strike zone and letting strikes go if he didn’t think he could drive the ball. But what he did worked for him, as he was almost maniacal in his approach to hitting.
He homered in his final at-bat at Fenway Park as a 42-year-old in September 1960, won six batting titles — the last in his age 39 season in 1958, led the AL in home runs and RBI four times each and scored the most runs seven times.
Given he lost three full seasons to World War II (1943-45) and most of 1952 and 1953 serving in Korea, playing in a total of 43 games in those campaigns, the question of what his career numbers could have been will always linger.
As it was he played 19 seasons in Boston and hit .344/.482/1.116, an OPS+ of 190, with 521 homers, 1,839 RBI and 1,798 runs scored.
Not loved by the media of the day, Williams won just two MVP awards (1946 and 1959), finishing second four times, third once and fourth once. He was a 19-time All-Star.
Williams played in the postseason just once, the 1946 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and hit just .200/.333/.533 with one RBI and two runs scored.
He was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. In retirement he managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise for four seasons, 1969-72, winning Manager of the Year honors his first year.
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Per the Society for American Baseball Research, Williams got very active in memorabilia in his later years. After a stroke, his health declined and he died July 6, 2002 at the age of 83.
