Who are the only Red Sox players to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs in a season?

The Boston Red Sox's 2023 season hasn't been easy to watch for many fans. In many respects, it is easier to take when a team is bad from the get-go and you can just warm your hands next to the dumpster fire. This season, fans had to watch Boston's playoff chances slowly die a painful death with no help in sight until they were in last place in the division.

No one denies that that stinks, but one bright spot for Boston yet again is Rafael Devers. As of today, Devers has slashed .277/.357/.519 with 33 homers and 98 RBI. Not only has he been all-around excellent yet again, but Devers is knocking on the door of a club that only a few Red Sox players in franchise history have been able to join.

Here are the only Red Sox players to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs in a season

While counting stats don't tell us as much as one would like regarding how good a player has been sometimes, there is no denying that a 35 homer/100 RBI season is pretty much always going to be welcome. While Boston does have a fair number of players that have crossed that threshold, it isn't as many as you would think and it is surprising how few times some players managed to pull it off.

Enough with the mystery, here are the Boston Red Sox that have hit 35 or more homers and driven in 100+ runs in a single season.

David Ortiz - 7 times

No surprise here as Big Papi managed to pull the feat off seven times from 2004-2007 and 2014-2016. Ortiz put up some monster seasons including 2006 where he hit 54 homers and drove in 137 runs. For the better part of two decades, Papi was the class of the American League at the plate and rightfully did not have to wait very long to get into Cooperstown.

Jimmie Foxx - 5 times

Another unsurprising addition to the list as Jimmie Foxx is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. His five 35 homer, 100 RBI seasons came consecutively from 1936-1940, but they fail to tell the whole story about Foxx. See, Jimmie only played for Boston from 1936-1942 in the back half of his career. The first 11 seasons of his career were with the Philadelphia Athletics where he accomplished the same feat five additional times.

Manny Ramirez - 5 times

Oh, Manny. Younger Red Sox fans may not be able to fully appreciate how good Manny Ramirez was especially during his time with Boston. Much of that lack of appreciation is self-inflicted as Manny's legacy is tainted by repeated PED usage unfortunately. Ramirez joined Foxx with five 35/100 seasons in 2001 and from 2003-2006 and finished in the top 6 of MVP voting three times during that stretch.

Ted Williams - 4 times

Ted Williams is definitely a name one would expect to see on this list, but it is a little surprising to see that he only managed four 35/100 seasons given all of the other amazing numbers he put up. Williams accomplished the feat in 1941, 1942, 1946, ad 1949, but he also had six other seasons where he got one half of the requirement, but came up just short in the other category (in Williams' case it was usually in homers).

Jim Rice - 4 times

Next up, we have Jim Rice who was an absolute terror at the plate for the Red Sox int he 1970's and 1980's. The 1978 MVP winner reached the threshold four times (1977-1979 and 1983) in his 16 years with Boston and is widely considered to be one of the better players to ever wear a Red Sox uniform.

Mo Vaughn - 3 times

The days of Mo Vaughn hype were fun while they lasted. Few power hitters were feared more that Mo in his day and that fear was justified as Vaughn put up some gaudy offensive numbers when he was healthy. in 1995, 1996, and 1998, Vaughn also joined the 35/100 club with Boston before he moved on to the Angels and Mets and played a handful of seasons after that.

Carl Yastrzemski - 3 times

The Red Sox legends keep popping up on this list as Carl Yastrzemski was another three-time achiever here. Yaz's finest season was 1967 where he got the Triple Crown including 44 home runs and 121 RBI and, unsurprisingly, won MVP that year. The power side of the equation is what normally kept Yaz from doing this more, but three times is still incredibly impressive.

JD Martinez - 2 times

Hopefully fans years down the road appreciate all the good that JD Martinez brought in his time with Boston. Martinez posted back-to-back 35/100 seasons in 2018 and 2019 before seeing his number dip a bit the last few seasons he was with the Red Sox. The guy could just flat out hit.

Tony Armas - 2 times

Tony Armas is not exactly a household name in the game of baseball as he had a pretty short peak, bounced around a little, and turned back into a pumpkin the last third of his career or so. However, his first two years with Boston were great as he averaged 40 homers and 115 RBI in 1983 and 1984. He would never eclipse 23 homers or 64 RBI the rest of his career, but those were a couple fun seasons.

Dick Stuart

We have made it to the one-time entrants on the list starting with Dick Stuart. Stuart's 1963 season with Boston was one of the better offensive seasons in franchise history as he had 42 homers and 118 RBI in 157 games. Sadly, Stuart's career tailed off quickly after that season and he was out of baseball after the 1966 season except for one return attempt with the Angels in 1969.

Fred Lynn

As good as Fred Lynn was, it is mildly surprising that he didn't manage to pull off more 35/100 seasons, but we have to remember that he was only with the Red Sox from 1974-1980 and he never really put up big time power numbers. However, his 1979 season with Boston was astonishing as he hit 39 homers and drove in 122 runs while leading the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging that year.

Vern Stephens

Next up is Vern Stephens whose 1949 season puts his name on this list. Vern hit 39 homers and drove in a whopping 159 runs that year and his three-year peak in 1948-1950 was pretty remarkable. However, he started to decline in 1951 and never came close to being the guy he was before retiring after the 1955 season.