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Red Sox: Top five most underrated players in team history

By Drew Athans

NEW YORK - CIRCA 1989: Marty Barrett #17 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base against the New York Yankees during a Major League Baseball game circa 1989 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Barrett played for the Red Sox from 1982-90. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - CIRCA 1989: Marty Barrett #17 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base against the New York Yankees during a Major League Baseball game circa 1989 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Barrett played for the Red Sox from 1982-90. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 1, 1967: Members of the Boston Red Sox celebrate by lifting pitcher Jim Lonborg after defeating the Minnesota Twins to clinch the American League Pennant at Fenway Park on October 1, 1967 in Boston, Massachusetts.(Photo by Dennis Brearley/Boston Red Sox)
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 1, 1967: Members of the Boston Red Sox celebrate by lifting pitcher Jim Lonborg after defeating the Minnesota Twins to clinch the American League Pennant at Fenway Park on October 1, 1967 in Boston, Massachusetts.(Photo by Dennis Brearley/Boston Red Sox) /

In addition to the all time greats who have played for the Red Sox are many players who were great but underrated. Here are five of the best.

Any team that’s been around for as long as the Boston Red Sox has had plenty of great players pass through, players who have become legends and franchise icons. Many of them transcended the team and became all time greats who ended up in Cooperstown. The names are known by Sox fans old and young alike and will be forever.

Beyond those greats is a sub-tier of players who were excellent in their own right; perhaps not good enough to merit induction into the Hall of Fame, but still worthy of praise and remembrance. However, being around for as long as the Red Sox have, there’s yet another sub-classification within this tier of players: those who were really good but are underrated.

The passage of time tends to diminish the talents and contributions of these underrated, underappreciated players, but fans with a deep appreciation of Red Sox history fondly remember these players. This article will is an appreciation of five of the best and most underrated players in franchise history.

(If you feel like some deserving players have been left off, don’t worry…there will be a second part of this article in the future!)

In no particular order, let’s begin.

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