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Boston Red Sox: Ranking the top 10 players from the 1970s

By Drew Athans

NEW YORK - CIRCA 1978: Butch Hobson #4 of the Boston Red Sox in action against the New York Yankees during an Major League Baseball game circa 1978 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Hobson played for the Red Sox from 1975-80. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - CIRCA 1978: Butch Hobson #4 of the Boston Red Sox in action against the New York Yankees during an Major League Baseball game circa 1978 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Hobson played for the Red Sox from 1975-80. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – CIRCA 1970: Rico Petrocelli #6 of the Boston Red Sox bats against the Baltimore Orioles during an Major League Baseball game circa 1970 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Petrocelli played for the Red Sox in 1963 and 1965-76. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – CIRCA 1970: Rico Petrocelli #6 of the Boston Red Sox bats against the Baltimore Orioles during an Major League Baseball game circa 1970 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Petrocelli played for the Red Sox in 1963 and 1965-76. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Rico Petrocelli

Spending his entire thirteen year career with the Red Sox from 1963 to 1976, Rico Petrocelli was a member of the Impossible Dream team in 1967 as well as the 1975 team that almost took down the Big Red Machine. After spending the 1960s as the Red Sox shortstop, he moved to third base in 1971 and played there for the majority of the remainder of his career.

Between 1970 and 1976, Petrocelli had a .245 average (brought down by his injury-plagued final two seasons), 110 home runs, and 471 RBI. He hit 29 home runs in 1970 and 28 in 1971 and drove in a career high 103 RBI in 1970. He was also stellar in the field and in particular in the 1975 postseason when he didn’t commit and error in either the ALCS or the World Series.

He played in 145 or more games from 1970 to 1972 and was on his way to doing that in 1973 before his season ended in August due to elbow surgery. In 1974, he was hit in the head by a pitch in mid-September and was never the same. The beaning led to inner ear problems which plagued Petrocelli’s career and eventually ended it after the 1976 season. After playing in 129 games in 1974, he only appeared in 115 in 1975 and 85 in 1976.

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