Red Sox History: A fan's all-time Red Sox defensive team

First Base - George Scott

First base is easy for me with no second guessing, meaning George Scott or "The Boomer." Scott was an integral part of the 1967 team and a natural anchor for the infield. Scott won the first of many Gold Gloves that season, and watching him was terrific.

Scott could also accumulate some errors, and part of the reason was his range. Scott was big, and at first glance, one would assume he was at first only because he had no other option.

I will digress a bit with Jackie Gleason. Gleason was a well-known actor who had a variety of shows and was famed for the TV series The Honeymooners. Gleason was large and fat by his own admission. But Gleason was a skilled tap dancer and noted pool player extraordinaire. The same applies to Scott, who was nimble and agile around the bag. No Vic Power, but no one else was either.

If you look at FanGraphs' refined metrics, Scott is consistently among the best. If you witnessed 1967, you would say Joe Foy and Rico Petrocelli owed ever-lasting gratitude to Scott's first base play.