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Red Sox History: Analyzing the cases for all nine Hall of Fame hopefuls

By Daniel Fox

BOSTON, MA - MAY 20: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during a Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2016 ceremony before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians on May 20, 2016 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
BOSTON, MA - MAY 20: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during a Red Sox Hall of Fame Class of 2016 ceremony before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians on May 20, 2016 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. /
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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 19: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Carl Crawford #13 of the Boston Red Sox looks on against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 4-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 19: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Carl Crawford #13 of the Boston Red Sox looks on against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 4-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Red Sox OF: Carl Crawford

Career Stats: .290/.330/.435, 105 OPS+, 1931 H, 136 HR, 480 SB, 39.1 WAR

Year on Ballot: 1st

Current Percentage: 0

Carl Crawford’s disastrous tenure with the Red Sox overshadows how great a player he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. During his ten years with the Rays, he led the league in triples four times, had five seasons with over 50 stolen bases, and made four All-Star teams.

He never hit for much power, as his career-high in-home runs were just 19, but he reached the 15-homer plateau four times. He was also a fantastic defender, totaling 68.1 DRS over those ten years.

His 2010 season, his last with the Rays before free agency, was his best. He slashed .307/.356/.495 with 19 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 46 stolen bases, adding up to a career-high 135 OPS+ and 7.7 WAR. He turned that into a seven-year/$142 million contract with the Red Sox. The deal was a disaster from the start, as Crawford’s slash line tumbled all the way down to a measly .255/.289/.405.

He stole 18 bases, had a career-low -9.4 DRS, and was worth 0.0. Crawford played just 38 games in an injury-plagued 2012 season before being dumped to the Dodgers as part of the Nick Punto deal. Though Crawford rebounded somewhat with the Dodgers with two seasons of more than 2.0 WAR, he never again played more than 116 games in a season. He was out of baseball by 2016.

Despite falling off a cliff at age 29, Crawford will go down as one of the most efficient base stealers of all time. He is 43rd all-time with 480 stolen bases, the third-highest total since 2000. Among players with at least 500 stolen base attempts, his 81.5% success rate is fourth all-time behind Tim Raines, Davey Lopes, and Jimmy Rollins.

His low on-base percentage, which limited him to a career 105 OPS+, and combined 4.6 after will kill his Hall of Fame chances, but he should be remembered more for his dominance with the Rays than his injury-plagued final chapter.

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