BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox all-time washed up player All-Star team (part two)

By Drew Athans

Boston Red Sox outfielder Rickey Henderson scores on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning as New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada (L) catches the ball too late, 2 June 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. AFP PHOTO/Matt CAMPBELL (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL / AFP) (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox outfielder Rickey Henderson scores on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning as New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada (L) catches the ball too late, 2 June 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. AFP PHOTO/Matt CAMPBELL (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL / AFP) (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 10
Next
Boston Red Sox starter David Wells pitches during 13-6 loss to the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. Wells (2-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs and nine hits. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox starter David Wells pitches during 13-6 loss to the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. Wells (2-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs and nine hits. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images) /

David Wells

The 2005 Red Sox were the defending World Series champions but suffered a fair amount of roster turnover in the wake of the magical October of 2004. Chief among those issues was the starting rotation which lost both Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe to free agency. Looking to fill the void, one of the pitchers the team brought in was the “Hefty Lefty,” David Wells.

Wells had been a productive pitcher over the first seventeen years of his career, winning over 200 games while playing for seven different teams (including two separate stints each with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees). He had won two World Series (one each with the Jays and Yankees) and thrown a perfect game. He was also known for his rubber arm and ability to eat innings (among other things).

More from Red Sox History

However, by the time the Red Sox signed him to a two-year contract in the winter of 2004, he was forty-two years old and seriously overweight and out of shape. Still, he was actually pretty good in 2005, posting a 15-7 record (in 30 starts) although his ERA was high at 4.45 and he only struck out 107 batters. He also pitched pretty well in a loss to the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 ALDS.

Even so, having your rotation anchored by an overweight forty-two year old (remember, Curt Schilling was still feeling the effects of his ankle injury during the 2005 season) is never a recipe for success. Wells came back late in 2006 after having knee surgery in the offseason and made only 8 starts, going 2-3 with a 4.98 ERA and only 24 strikeouts.

At the tail end of August 2006, he was traded to the Padres, ending his short stint with the Red Sox.

Home/Red Sox History