BoSox Injection
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
General view of the infield and leftfield bleachers crowded with fans at Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the American League baseball team the Boston Red Sox, 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
General view of the infield and leftfield bleachers crowded with fans at Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the American League baseball team the Boston Red Sox, 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) /

Jackie Jensen

The Red Sox of the 1950s were terrible, finishing near the middle or bottom of the American League almost every year that decade. Apart from Ted Williams, there wasn’t much for a fan to come see at Fenway Park, but one notable exception was Jackie Jensen.

A slugging right fielder who played for the Yankees from 1950 to 1952 and the Washington Senators (after being traded partway through the season) from 1952 to 1953, Jensen spent the remainder of his career (1954-1961) with the Red Sox.

During his years in Boston, he won the AL MVP award in 1958, a Gold Glove in 1959, made two All-Star teams, and led the league in stolen bases (22 in 1954) and RBI (in 1955, 1958, and 1959).

For his Red Sox career, Jensen hit .282 with 170 home runs, 733 RBI, 1089 hits, 597 runs scored, a .374 OBP, and an OPS of .850. In his MVP season of 1958, he put up a line of a .286 average, 35 home runs, 122 RBI, 157 hits, 83 runs scored, a .396 OBP, and an OPS of .931. He retired at the end of the 1959 season due to an intense fear of flying.

Next. Top Red Sox players of the 1970s. dark

This fear was exacerbated by MLB expanding westward at the end of the 1950s when the Dodgers and Giants left New York City for California in 1958 (prior to that, the westernmost team in the league had been the St. Lois Cardinals). Jensen came back to the Red Sox in 1961 after undergoing hypnotherapy to help with his fear, but it wasn’t enough and he retired for good after the season at the age of 34.

Home/Red Sox History