Boston Red Sox: My all-time favorite short-tenured players

At second base is Mark Loretta. The Sox have been stable at the second base position over the years thanks to Dustin Pedroia, so it was slim pickings when it came to the second base position.

Loretta was on the Sox for just one year in ’06, but he made significant contributions. I liked Loretta because he seemed just like an average guy who did his job productively and went under the radar while doing so.

Loretta typically batted second, the guy who you could count on to get on base. Loretta slashed for .285/.345/.361 in ’06, his average being 3rd on the team. He was a steady player who hit for mostly singles, and was in fact 5th in the American League with 143 singles. His short Red Sox campaign also notched him his second All-Star Game, and a start at that.

Loretta hit an awesome walk-off home run on Patriots day that year against the Mariners that Don Orsillo passionately narrates right here. It was his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, and it came at the perfect time, sending Fenway into a frenzy on a day that is so important to the Red Sox faithful. Loretta was good in his short time in Boston, a meaningful contributor for the ’06 Sox.