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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) /
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Koji Uehara #19 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after giving up a game tying homerun to Mark Teixeira #25 of the New York Yankees who round first base during the ninth inning in a MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on September 4, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 04: Koji Uehara #19 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after giving up a game tying homerun to Mark Teixeira #25 of the New York Yankees who round first base during the ninth inning in a MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on September 4, 2014 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

No. 20: 2014 Red Sox (71-91)

One similarity between every Red Sox team this century was that they all had elite offenses. The one exception may have been the 2014 Red Sox, which scored a measly 634 runs and hit just 123 home runs, both by far the fewest of any Red Sox team since 2000. Most of that production came from David Ortiz, who hit 35 home runs and drove in 104.

Other than Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Xander Bogaerts were the only players to hit ten home runs. The team had hoped that their young players could step in and replace free agent departures Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Drew, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but each one struggled mightily.

Jackie Bradley Jr. (.531 OPS) was the league’s worst hitter, while Bogaerts hit just .203 from June 1 on and was terrible defensively in his first full season at shortstop. 2012 standout Will Middlebrooks, meanwhile, was so bad that the Red Sox dumped the 26-year-old to the Padres in the offseason.

Even in a year where the offense was suppressed around the league, the Red Sox didn’t have a chance of competing. Starters Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Jake Peavy were traded at midseason, and the Red Sox entered into a rebuild (at least until Pablo Sandoval was available in free agency).

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