Boston Red Sox: Top five starting pitchers of this decade

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SEATTLE, WA – MARCH 28: Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning during their Opening Day game at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Red Sox fans have been lucky enough to witness many great pitchers in Boston. Here are the five greatest individual pitching seasons over the last decade.

It’s no secret that the Boston Red Sox organization has been spoiled over its time in terms of pitching talent. From the years of Cy Young and Smoky Joe Wood to the years of Pedro Martinez, so many all-timers have graced the fields of Fenway Park. The caliber of pitching talent this franchise has possessed has spanned all the way to this past decade. Over the last ten seasons, the Red Sox have seen some special performances take place on the mound. Some of them special games and some of them special individual seasons.

In this article, we’re going to rank the top five pitching seasons that a Red Sox starter has had over the 2010-2019 period. A number of these have had multiple big years, however, each individual will only take up one of the spots – their predominant season will be prioritized and their other seasons who are in contention for the top-five will be noted as well.

The decade has been one to remember for Sox fans, as the team clinched four division titles and ultimately won two World Series’ in 2013 and 2018. The latter will go down as perhaps the greatest season in franchise history, as a team which won a record 108 regular season games went on to drop just three postseason games in a rampant effort which ended with the Commissioner’s Trophy being held aloft for the ninth time in organisation history.

We’ve seen some phenomenal Red Sox teams assembled over the past decade, and they’ve given everybody involved memories that’ll last a lifetime. Now we’ll look into the pitching seasons that have stood out during that time. A number of the players who put them together have been integral in this franchise’s success in that time.

BOSTON, MA – JULY 31: Josh Beckett #19 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the game on July 31, 2012 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /

5. Josh Beckett (2011)

Josh Beckett‘s six season stretch from 2006-2011 was pretty fantastic. The right-hander, who came to Boston in a Thanksgiving Day trade with the Florida Marlins, put on a number of productive pitching seasons while wearing that Red Sox jersey. He earned three All-Star appearances in Boston, as well as being an integral part of the 2007 World Series winning side.

He left the Red Sox in the 2012 season, so hasn’t exactly been a vital part of what’s happened this decade for the team, but nonetheless, his 2011 season was one to remember. In a season which saw him start at least thirty games for the fourth time in his career, Beckett led the Sox in innings pitched, and developed a 2.89 ERA on the year. His WHIP that season was 1.206, which is tied for 29th best over a season-long period in franchise history.

Beckett’s 2011 season was more productive in many ways than his 2007 season was. In 2007, he led the entire majors in wins (20) and came second in Cy Young voting. Apart from that he was much more dominant at times during the 2011 season. It was his best year in terms of not giving up anything from the mound – averaging 6.8 H/9 through his thirty starts.

All in all, Beckett’s six full years with the Sox can be considered as up there with the best from this century. His 2007 and 2011, however, are the ones that made him as a pitcher. The dominance that he brought was a huge part of the Sox winning it all in 2007 and helped a lot carrying the side through the years prior. His stint in Boston will always be a remembered as a special one.

BOSTON, MA – JULY 20: Jon Lester #31 of the Boston Red Sox throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on July 20, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /

4. Jon Lester (2010)

It might not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Jon Lester has been one of the better pitchers in the majors over this past decade. Sure, a lot of this comes from what he’s done with the Chicago Cubs over the past four years, but before that he was a huge part of two World Series wins with the Red Sox.

The 57th overall selection in the 2002 MLB Draft developed into a perennial All-Star through his thirteen years within the Red Sox organisation. Lester worked his way up within the Red Sox farm system before making his major league debut in 2006, and soon became a huge piece for this side.

Looking at the seasons he produced, and there were plenty of great ones, his 2010 season is the defining one, at least in the time he spent with Boston over the past decade. 2008 was Lester’s real breakout year, and he followed that up with more of the same in 2009. In 2010, however, he hit new heights. Finishing 19-9 on the season, Lester led the entire majors with 9.7 K/9, as he dominated hitters with his mean four seam and cutter combo.

Lester had an incredible streak where he pitched at least thirty games a regular season for eleven straight seasons, this only ended this past year, as he remains in Chicago. Lester is now a five-time All-Star, three-time World Champion as well as the 2016 NLCS MVP. He’s got a tremendous resume, and it’s great to say that begun with the Red Sox.

BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 10: Clay Buchholz /

3. Clay Buchholz (2010 and 2013)

In 2005, the Red Sox obtained a compensatory pick after losing Hall of Fame Pedro Martinez to the Mets. This pick turned out to be Clay Buchholz – a scenario which didn’t turn out to be all that bad. Buchholz was a part of the Red Sox organization for twelve years. His ten-year tenure in the majors during that time saw him get two All-Star appearances, two World Series rings, not to mention the fact that he threw an immaculate inning and a no-hitter.

Buchholz was a fan favorite and by all means exceeded his expectations with the Red Sox. Over his career, the two All-Star seasons of 2010 and 2013 stand out the very most. The 2010 season was where Buchholz made his mark on the majors, and became a household name. In a season which saw the guy finish sixth in Cy Young voting, he led the majors in ERA+ with 187.

Now, during the 2013 season, Buchholz endured a number of injury problems which limited him to just 16 starts on the year. But, the innings he did pitch were absolutely lights out. And if it weren’t for his injuries this season would be considered much more highly than it already is.

Over 108.1 innings pitched in his 16 games, Buchholz notched up a 12-1 season from the mound. He had a 1.74 ERA, a 237 ERA+ and a 1.205 WHIP. Because he only pitched about half the season, this won’t get the recognition it deserves, but compared with other Red Sox pitchers in history that ERA+ ranks fourth of all time, behind just Pedro Martinez’s 1999 and 2000 seasons and Dutch Leonard‘s 1914 year.

2013 will be remembered for other reasons, and rightly so, but that just goes to show how special a year 2013 was for Buchholz, and how special the pitching that he displayed over those 16 games really was.

BOSTON, MA – JUNE 23: Rick Porcello #22 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 23, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) /

2. Rick Porcello (2016)

Right now, Rick Porcello is an unrestricted free agent. After five years with the Red Sox his contract ran out this offseason, and with the new front office looking to make cuts to the payroll it looks as though Rick’s time in Boston has sadly come to an end.

He has, however, given a lot to this franchise. He’s been an integral part to this team’s success over the last few years, and was a key player in bringing the ninth World Series title home to Fenway Park, recording 17 wins that season.

1. Chris Sale (2017 and 2018)

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Chris Sale is the most talented pitcher the Red Sox have had over this past decade. His pitching is up there with the very best in franchise history, in terms of how good his stuff actually is.

The only problem there’s been with Sale is his injury woes. These injuries have come frequently and they’ve disgruntled what has otherwise been one of the best pitching displays in Red Sox history.

The other great pitching seasons we’ve seen over the past decade have been great, yes, but Sale is on another level when he’s ready to go and 100% healthy. His performances have been reminiscent of Pedro, and it’s just a real shame that we haven’t been able to see more than we have. Anyway, some of the starts that we have seen are among the most incredible phenomenons in baseball.

Sale came to Boston in a trade which saw a number of prospects sent to the White Sox. His 2017 and 2018 seasons showed him to be the best in the game. His first season with the Red Sox saw him almost break the franchise strikeout record. He finished the year with 308, just five shy of Pedro’s best effort.

Sale finished the 2017 season with a 2.90 ERA and led the league in FIP with 2.45. He was un-hittable during so many outings. A 12.9 K/9 was what opposing hitters had to deal with, a category in which Sale led the entire majors in. Sale finished ninth in MVP voting and second in Cy Young voting to Corey Kluber of the Indians.

From 2012 to 2018, Sale finished in the top six for the Cy Young award every season. He’s been extremely unlucky not to get at least one. He’s more than worthy of it anyway.

What Sale has got though is a World Series title in the bag. He had just as good a season in most aspects the following year, as he was the driving force from the mound in getting the Sox another World Series title.

Sale’s ERA improved to 2.11 on the year and a 0.861 WHIP shows just how dominant his innings were once again.

The iconic moment of this season, for both Sale and the Sox was his sliding strikeout of Manny Machado in the final game of the World Series, which proved to be the decisive out. The image of Sale and catcher Christian Vazquez embracing as the entire bench runs out onto the field will live long in the memories of Sox fans everywhere.

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Sale is among the best of the best. Let’s just pray that his injuries troubles can stop, and he can get back to his best for this transitional Sox side going forward. He’s an ace, but he’s also a leader and his guidance will go a long way on and off the field in the near future.

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