My favorite Boston Red Sox players all-time at each position

First Base – Mo Vaughn

Mo Vaughn is one of the first Red Sox stars that I remember becoming a fan of in the early 90s. He spent the first eight years of his career in Boston and established himself as one of the most feared sluggers of that decade.

The Hit Dog made three All-Star appearances during his tenure with the Red Sox and finished top-5 on the MVP ballot three times.

He captured the MVP in 1995 when he hit .300 with a .963 OPS, 39 home runs and a league-leading 126 RBI. Despite taking home the hardware that year, ’95 wasn’t even Vaughn’s best season. The following year, he hit .326 with a 1.003 OPS, 44 home runs, and 143 RBI but finished only fifth on the MVP ballot.

Vaughn was outstanding in the 1998 ALDS, hitting .412 with a pair of home runs, but the Red Sox lost to the Cleveland Indians in four games. Vaughn signed with the Angels as a free agent after that season on an $80 million deal that made him the highest paid player in baseball at the time.

His outspoken nature often clashed with the Boston media and a few off-field incidents soured his relationship with the front office. Vaughn didn’t leave town on the best of terms, but as a kid growing up at the time I wasn’t paying any attention to the controversy. All I cared about was watching him bash home runs and Vaughn was the best power threat on the Red Sox during my childhood.