Frederick Alfred Makes History
Frederick Alfred (Rick) Porcello had a career in Boston that kind of mirrored Clay Buchholz’. Now, before you get out the tar and feathers, hear me out. As mentioned early, Buchholz had his ups and downs, and so did Porcello. A year after winning the Cy Young Award in 2016, Porcello led the league in losses.
He won 17 games in 2008 and had a plus-five ERA last season. Woof. We all know that Clay Buchholz was made of glass, going on the DL 659 times during his ten-year Red Sox career (hyperbole).
Porcello, on the other hand, has taken numerous line drives to the torso and head and literally laughed them off. No one can argue Porcello’s heart and toughness. That’s why I was happy to see his name appear on this list for immaculate innings.
On August 9, 2017, the Sox had a commanding 6-0 lead against the Rays, when Porcello got Trevor Plouffe, Wilson Ramos, and Mallex Smith to help him make history. Despite his strong tenure in Boston, Pretty Ricky will most likely never get the credit he deserves for what he did with the Red Sox.
He now has a chance to rehab his career with the Mets before becoming a free agent again in 2021.