Boston Red Sox: Ranking the top 10 players from the 2000s

Honorable Mentions

These are the players who spent significant time with the Red Sox in the 2000s, contributed to their two World Series wins, but just barely didn’t make the cut for the top ten. In no particular order, first up is Trot Nixon who spent all but the final two years of his career with the Red Sox. After debuting in 1996, he became the team’s everyday right fielder in 1999 and personified the Dirt Dog mentality of those late 1990s/early 2000s teams.

Hie best season was 2003 when he hit .306 with 28 home runs and 87 RBI. A teammate of his from 2002 to 2005 was Johnny Damon who has already been discussed in the best free agents article. Damon was the team’s leadoff hitter and center fielder during those years and was crucial to the team winning in 2004 both on the field with his play and in the clubhouse with his personality.

The 2004 season was also his best in Boston as he hit .304 with 20 home runs and 94 RBI. Derek Lowe came over with Jason Varitek when then-GM Dan Duquette swindled the Mariners in 1997. Lowe was a solid reliever for the Red Sox before he became a starter in 2002. From 2001 to 2004 he won 57 games (including a 21 win season in 2002) while eating up innings and providing clutch performances.

Perhaps nothing defined how clutch he was than his pitching in the 2004 postseason when he won the clinching games in the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series. The final member of the 2004 team to make this list is Tim Wakefield, who reliably did whatever the Red Sox needed him to do from 1995 to 2011. His greatest contributions came in the 2000s when he helped them win it all in 2004 and 2007.

His versatility as a starter or reliever and his ability to eat up a ton of innings with his knuckleball in order to give other pitchers rest was hugely underrated but definitely appreciated by Sox fans. Finally, two members of the 2007 team who came over together in another excellent trade in 2006 merit mention here. Josh Beckett anchored the new-look pitching staff and in 2007 he went 20-7 with a 3.27 ERA and 194 strikeouts.

He was also lights out in the postseason, going 4-0 across the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series. He continued to pitch well for the Red Sox to the end of the decade before injuries and attitude forced his trade to the Dodgers in 2012. Last but not least is the player who was a salary dump throw-in in the Beckett trade, Mike Lowell.

All he did was hit .324 with 21 home runs and 120 RBI in 2007 before winning World Series MVP by hitting .400 with a home run and four RBI. Lowell spent the final five seasons of his career in Boston before retiring after the 2010 season. Not bad for a guy who the Marlins threw in just to get rid of his contract, wouldn’t you say?