Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx – No. 40
Jimmie Foxx spent his first 11 seasons with the Philadelphia A’s. He won consecutive MVP awards in 1932-33, winning the Triple Crown in the latter season. When the A’s fell into financial peril, the Red Sox took advantage by purchasing his contract.
The Red Sox had been struggling for the better part of two decades but Foxx’s arrival helped bring the club back to respectability. They never won the pennant during his tenure but finished as the runner-up in consecutive seasons from 1938-39.
Foxx set the Red Sox single-season record with 50 home runs in 1938, a record that stood for nearly 70 years until it was broken by David Ortiz. The Beast captured the MVP award that year while leading the league with 175 RBI, which still stands as a single-season franchise record.
Over a 20 year career, Foxx hit .325/.428/.609. His 534 home runs rank 19th in MLB history. He cracks the top-10 in Red Sox history for home runs and RBI despite spending less than half his career in Boston. His .605 SLG in a Red Sox uniform ranks second in franchise history.
Health issues derailed his career when he was only 34 years old, prompting the Red Sox to trade him to the Chicago Cubs in 1942. His production fell off a cliff and he retired a few years later. While it felt that his career was cut short, Foxx enjoyed a lengthy Hall of Fame career considering he broke into the majors as a 17-year-old.