BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox History: Ranking every squad of the 21st century

By Daniel Fox

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 31: The Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series Championship banner hangs outside Fenway Park on October 31, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 31: The Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series Championship banner hangs outside Fenway Park on October 31, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
14 of 23
Next
BOSTON, UNITED STATES: Members of the Boston Red Sox pay tribute to Ted Williams beneath a large number 9, Williams’ uniform number, during a ceremony prior to their game with the Detroit Tigers 05 July 2002 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Red Sox Hall of Famer legend Williams died 05 July 2002 at the age of 83. AFP PHOTO/JESSICA RINALDI (Photo credit should read JESSICA RINALDI/AFP via Getty Images)
BOSTON, UNITED STATES: Members of the Boston Red Sox pay tribute to Ted Williams beneath a large number 9, Williams’ uniform number, during a ceremony prior to their game with the Detroit Tigers 05 July 2002 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Red Sox Hall of Famer legend Williams died 05 July 2002 at the age of 83. AFP PHOTO/JESSICA RINALDI (Photo credit should read JESSICA RINALDI/AFP via Getty Images) /

No.10: 2002 Red Sox (93-69)

The 2002 Red Sox deserved a better fate. Their offense and pitching were both top 10 in the majors, and their Pythagorean win total showed they should have had seven more wins than they actually had.

The offense was led by Manny Ramirez, who slashed a ridiculous .349/.450/.647 to go along with 33 home runs. Right there with him was Nomar Garciaparra, who bounced back from an injury-shortened 2001 season to post a 127 OPS+ and drive in 120 runs, and new edition Johnny Damon, who batted .286 and stole 31 bases.

On the pitching side, Pedro Martinez had a 2.26 ERA and struck out 239, and he finally got some support in the rotation in the form of Derek Lowe, who won 21 games and had a 2.58 ERA. Closer Ugeth Urbina made the All-Star team while saving 40 games, while swing-man knuckleballer Tim Wakefield had a career-low 2.81 ERA.

Like many Red Sox teams at the beginning of the ’00s, they started quickly and cooled off even quicker, going a perfectly mediocre 53-52 after a 40-17 start. This team was awesome, but with the Yankees winning 103 games and the Angels grabbing the wild card with 99 wins, they just weren’t awesome enough.

Home/Red Sox History