Making a lineup of the best forgotten Red Sox players of all-time
Williams. Ortiz. Martinez. Yastrzemski. These names dominate the discussions of the greatest Red Sox player ever. Every franchise in the MLB has their own club legends and all-time greats, the guys who wear their hats on their Hall of Fame plaques in Cooperstown.
That is not who this article is going to be about. This article is an exploration into the deep depths of Red Sox history, sifting through rosters and stumbling upon names that make you do a double take at the Baseball Reference page and think, "Wait, when did he play for the Red Sox?".
I've set up my roster with three "Outfield" spots instead of trying to specify by the outfield positions. I've also not included a DH spot because a lot of these players that I picked also had some at-bats at DH during their Red Sox tenure. There's one player at each position, along with honorable mentions because there are some guys I couldn't resist leaving completely out of this piece (looking at you, Byung-Hyun Kim). So, without further ado, follow me as we take a deep dive into the annals of Red Sox history, and make some friends along the way.
Wait, he was a Red Sox catcher?
A.J. Pierzynski (2014)
Starting things off behind the dish, we have a man best known for playing in socks of a different color: A.J. Pierzynski. Pierzynski enjoyed a decent career in the Majors, playing from 1998 to 2016 with seven teams, the bulk of his career coming with the Twins and the White Sox.
Pierzynski joined the Red Sox for 72 games in 2014 after the departure of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, helping the team in the case that he served as a decent enough player while a young Christian Vazquez worked his way up through the minor leagues. Pierzynski's time with the Red Sox came to an abrupt end in July of 2014, being designated for assignment to make room for Vazquez on the roster, ending an unspectacular stint behind the plate.
Honorable Mentions: This position was the hardest for me, as Red Sox history is littered with catchers who have long stints with the team and wouldn't qualify, in my mind, for this team. One interesting name to note is current Rays manager Kevin Cash, who played 102 games for the Red Sox across three years, before retiring and eventually joining Tampa Bay.
Wait, he was a Red Sox first baseman?
Tony Perez (1980-1982)
The first Hall of Famer on the team, Tony Perez is best remembered as the first baseman of the Big Red Machine, winning two World Series with the Reds in 1975 and 1976. After spending three years up north with the Montreal Expos, Perez was signed by the Red Sox heading into the 1980 season.
Perez would perform well for the Red Sox, hitting to the tune of a .266 batting average and a 105 OPS+ in 304 games with the Red Sox, even receiving MVP votes in 1980. Perez would have a stint in Philadelphia before returning to Cincinnati and retiring at age 44 in 1986.
Honorable Mentions: First base kind of ran into the same lack of selection as catcher, but I will use this space to mention the first ever Red Sox player to win American League Rookie of the Year, Walt Dropo. In all honesty, no pick for this position would have been better than Tony Perez, so he was an easy choice.
Wait, he was a Red Sox second baseman?
Brandon Phillips (2018)
The guy that inspired this entire article, Brandon Phillips not only continues the Reds-Red Sox crossover from Tony Perez, he also represents the shortest Red Sox tenure out of anyone on this list. Phillips was a stalwart for the Reds, racking up multiple All Star Game appearances and Gold Gloves during his 11 years in the Queen City.
Phillips played all of 9 games with the 2018 Red Sox, but gave fans a great memory in his game-winning home run against the Braves that capped a 6-run Red Sox comeback. This Red Sox stint would be his last games in the Majors, hanging up his cleats after the 2018 season. While his time with the Red Sox was very short-lived, Phillips gave us a moment to cherish for that extremely dominant 2018 team.
Honorable Mentions: My dad was from just outside of Cincinnati, and I still have family out there, so any Reds-Red Sox connection will hold a special place in my heart. With that being said, there are plenty of options that could have taken this spot.
You can look back to the 2018 Red Sox and take Ian Kinsler for this slot. You could also take the man who was the final piece in the Adrian Gonzalez-Josh Beckett-Carl Crawford trade with the Dodgers in Nick Punto, but the answer in my heart was always going to be Dat Dude BP.
Wait, he was a Red Sox third baseman?
Adrian Beltre (2010)
This selection is the closest I straddle the line of "I forgot he played for the Sox" and "Who doesn't remember him in a Red Sox uniform", but in the grand scheme of things, Adrian Beltre is not going to be wearing a Red Sox hat when he gets inducted into Cooperstown. Beltre was one of the best third basemen of his generation, and I will always remember being upset when the Red Sox let Beltre walk in free agency after the 2010 season.
Beltre raked in 2010 for the Red Sox, leading the league in doubles (49), while ending the season with a .321 batting average, an OPS of .919, and an OPS+ of 141, leading him to a 9th place finish in MVP voting that season. Beltre signed with the Rangers after the season, ending his Red Sox stint far too soon, and making the Red Sox stand out like a sore thumb on his Baseball Reference page.
Honorable Mentions: Much like catcher and first base, third basemen in Red Sox history are a lot of guys who stuck around in Boston for a little while, if not always playing at third base during their tenures. The next best choice I had was Pinky Higgins, a solid third baseman who played on the 1946 AL pennant-winning team, but Beltre is the clear choice here.
Wait, he was a Red Sox shortstop?
Edgar Renteria (2005)
Picture this: you've just snapped an 86-year long curse, the feelings around the team have never been better, and... you don't have a shortstop for the next season. No worries! All you need to do is go out and sign the star shortstop of the team you just beat in the World Series the previous year!
Edgar Renteria came to Boston for the 2005 season with fans hoping he could hold down the position for a little while, but that's not what fans received. What fans got was a below-average season at the plate, Renteria's worst fielding season of his career (which earned him the affectionate nickname Rent-a-Wreck), and a sweep at the hands of the eventual-champion Chicago White Sox in that year's ALDS. Probably the most disappointing entry in this lineup, Renteria never reached the same production he had in St. Louis, and the Sox were smart to trade him after the 2005 season.
Honorable Mentions: Another position with consistent stretches of stalwarts, the only one-off type seasons that I feel could have also worked would have been guys like Mike Aviles, Alex Gonzalez, current manager Alex Cora, but Renteria was the best overall player that I felt fit this team.
Wait, he was Red Sox outfielder?
Rickey Henderson (2002), Kevin Mitchell (1996), Grady Sizemore (2014)
This hypothetical team really hits the jackpot with the outfield with two former MVPs and, when healthy, a perennial All Star. All three of these guys played all over the outfield for the Red Sox, so it was easier to just give the three blanket outfield spots to give this trio its time in the sun.
Rickey Henderson had the best career of anyone on this team, and is, in my mind, one of the most underrated legends of baseball. The man could just do it all, arguably deserved more than just one MVP award, and his stolen bases record will most likely never be beat. He spent 72 games with the Red Sox at age 43, and while he wasn't near the player he once was, it was still exciting to see Rickey Henderson representing the Red Sox.
Kevin Mitchell, despite his injury troubles, had a very strong peak with the Giants in the late 1980s, culminating in winning MVP in 1989. He made his way to the Red Sox in 1996 for 27 games, before being traded to Cincinnati as his last attempts to end his career on a positive note marched on. While Mitchell was solid for the Red Sox (.304 average, 102 OPS+), his injuries hampered what could have been a helpful piece to the Red Sox.
I remember being more excited for Grady Sizemore joining the Red Sox than I should have been. I was extremely hopeful that the Grady Sizemore that only missed 5 games in 4 seasons from 2005 to 2008 for Cleveland would show up for the Red Sox, but we got another case of the injury bug leading to Sizemore being designated for assignment after just 52 games with the Red Sox. Sizemore is a great case of a "what could have been?" career, and I wish the Sox could have gotten a little bit of Sizemore's star ability.
Honorable Mentions: I would like to take this space to sincerely apologize to Mike Cameron and Scott Podsednik for not including them in the outfield for this team, but the star power of Henderson, Mitchell, and Sizemore was too good to break up.
Wait, he was a Red Sox pitcher?
Starting Pitcher: John Smoltz (2009)
It doesn't feel right that John Smoltz qualifies for this team, but I assure you it happened. I vividly remember being down in Aruba in 2009, watching a Red Sox-Orioles game at Smokey Joe's where the Sox blew a 10-1 lead, and John Smoltz had gotten the start that night. It's the lasting memory I have of the 2009 Red Sox, mainly because I got a really cool Smokey Joe's t-shirt that night.
Back to Smoltz, the first-ballot Hall of Famer made 8 appearances for the Red Sox in 2009, embarking on his lone year outside of Atlanta in his career (Smoltz would join the Cardinals for the rest of the 2009 season after being released in August). Honestly, Smoltz should have been a Brave for life, but for the purposes of best team possible, I'll take him as the ace any day.
Honorable Mentions: Picture this as the rest of the rotation behind Smoltz: David Cone, Bartolo Colon, Bret Saberhagen, and either one of David Wells or Brad Penny. I often wish that some of these 5 would be a part of the current Red Sox rotation over some of our current options, but these ghosts shall mingle together forever in this dream scenario.
Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner (2009)
This is by far the toughest decision I've had to make for this team, but I am going to take the guy that may end up in Cooperstown next year: Billy Wagner. It's hard to go wrong with a member of the 400 save club as the key relief option for this team (shoutout Kenley Jansen), even if you realize for the first time that Wagner was ever a member of the Red Sox.
Wagner made 15 appearances for the Red Sox in 2009, posting an ERA+ of 241(!) in this stretch, working as a setup option with Daniel Bard for Jonathan Papelbon at the back end of the bullpen (I can't believe I've just written those names in 2023). Wagner will almost certainly go into Cooperstown as a Houston Astro, but his one year with the Red Sox will forever stand out on his plaque.
Honorable Mentions: The reason that this was a difficult choice was because it means I had to pass up, at one time, the most dominant reliever in the Majors in Eric Gagne. Gagne's 84 consecutive saves will hold as an MLB record for generations, but when comparing the two careers, I'll take Wagner's 16 consistent years over Gagne's short peak for my team.
Creating a team of the best forgotten Red Sox players of all-time
C: A.J. Pierzynski, 1B: Tony Perez, 2B: Brandon Phillips, 3B: Adrian Beltre, SS: Edgar Renteria, OF: Rickey Henderson, Kevin Mitchell, Grady Sizemore, SP: John Smoltz, RP: Billy Wagner
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