The Boston Red Sox Greatest Players in Franchise History – by Position

Who are the best all time Boston Red Sox, by position?

By position, I mean the symbols shared by almost all baseball scorekeeping systems. Scorekeeping systems involve designating a player by the player’s position, regardless of his uniform number or actual name.

I have two rules when choosing the best all time players by position: 1) the player must be in his prime when playing for the team, and, 2) he played for the team at least five years. For example, I could put center fielder Willie Mays, who played for the Mets at the tail-end of his career, as the greatest Met center fielder. But Willie played for the Mets for only a short period, and was in his 40s and way past his prime when he was on the team.

Some symbols and abbreviations are shared by nearly all scorekeeping systems. For example, the position of each player is indicated by a number. According to Wikipedia, here are the numbers for each baseball position:

Pitcher Catcher First Baseman Second Baseman Third Baseman Shortstop Left Field Center Field Right Field

Ok, Roger Clemens’ haters, I’m not going to pick “The Rocket,” although I should. However, there was another player on the Red Sox during the early part of the last century. Pitcher Cy Young. Young has one of the most recognizable awards in the US named after him. Does Clemens? In addition, Clemens Hall of Fame (HofF) induction may be in jeopardy due to controversy over his supposed steriod use.

Young pitched for the Sox (then known as the “Pilgrims”) for eight years (1901-1908). He also toiled in Cleveland and St.Louis. He won a World Championship with the Sox in 1903. He was elected to the Hall of Fame (HoF) in 1937. Durning his career, he appeared in certain years in every pitching seasons’ top 25 major pitching categories, including saves!

Wikipedia points out that “The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. The award was originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, but in 1967, after the retirement of Frick, the award was given to one pitcher in each league.

Each league’s award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, with two representatives from each team, which means 28 ballots are cast for the American League winner, and 32 ballots are cast for the National League. Each voter places a vote for first, second, and third place among the pitchers of each league. The formula used to calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes. The pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award. If two pitchers receive the same number of votes, the award is shared The current formula started in the 1970 season.”

Catcher Carlton “Pudge” Fisk played four decades in the majors (1969-1993). Eleven of these years were spent with the Sox. Fisk was elected to the HofF in 2000 as a Red Sox. His number 72 was retired by the White Sox, whom he played for 13 years, in 1997. The Red Sox retired his number 27 in 2000. Fisk is an 11-time all-star, seven of which were with the Sox. He was Rookie of the Year (RoY) in 1972, the year in which he won his only Gold Glove. During his career, he was in the leading 25 top major offensive categories at different times. Fisk even came in 17th in stolen bases (17) in 1982. He was nicknamed Pudge due to his 6’2″ height, and 220 pound weight.

Overall, Fisk’s batting average (BA) was .269, with 376 home runs (HRs) and 1,330 runs batted in (RBI). He also had 2,356 hits.

He is best known by Sox fans for his dramatic World Series (WS) home run. According to Wikipedia, “The defining moment of Fisk’s illustrious career came in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park. He hit Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy’s’s second pitch down the left field line that appeared to be heading into foul territory. The enduring image of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair as he made his way to first base is considered by many to be one of baseball’s greatest moments. The ball struck the foul pole, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 win and forcing a seventh and deciding game of the fall classic.”

First Baseman Jimmy Foxx split much of his major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Sox. He went into the HofF as a Red Sox. Known as “The Beast,” and “Double XX,” Fox, points out Wikipedia,”played six years for Boston, including a spectacular 1938 season in which he hit 50 home runs, drove in 175 runs, batted .349, won his third MVP award, and again narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown.

In 1939,he hit .360, his second-best all-time season batting average. His 50 home runs would remain the single-season record for the Red Sox until David Ortiz hit 54 in 2006.”

I’d like to include David Ortiz here, but he played first only 34 games in 2004, and just seven games in 2007, the two years in this century that the team has won the WS. Let’s make Ortiz the number one Red Sox DH of all time.

Second Basemen Bobby Doerr. Doerr spent his entire career (1937-1944, 1946-1951) with Boston. It would be nice to add Jason Ellsbury to the list, but, as a rookie, he played only sparingly in the Sox 2007 WS Champ season. Doerr was elected to the HoF in 1986, and his number one was retired by the Sox in 1988. Doerr made the all-star team nine times. He led the league in slugging percentage in 1944. He had a lifetime BA of .288, and stole 608 bases.

Wikipedia reports that Doerr, “led American League (AL) second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and in assists three times. He held the major league record for career double plays at second base (1,507) until Nellie Fox surpassed his mark in 1963, and his career fielding percentage (.980) was a major league record until Red Schoendienst passed him in 1953; Fox broke his AL mark in 1956. Doerr also ended his career ranking fifth in career games (1,852), putouts (4,928) and total chances (10,852) at second base, and sixth in assists (5,710). He set Red Sox records for career games (1,865), at bats (7,093), hits (2,042), doubles (381), total bases (3,270) and runs batted in (1,247), all of which were later broken by his longtime teammate Ted Williams. His 223 home runs were then the third most by a major league second baseman, with his 1,247 RBI ranking fifth.”

OK, he defected to the Yanks in 1993, but third baseman Wade Boggs spent the first 11 years in the league as a Sox. He was elected to the HoF as a Red Sox in 2005. He won the Silver Slugger Award eight times, all with Boston. Boggs won two Gold Gloves. He garnered five batting titles. He led the league in on base percentage (OBP) six times. He was an all-star a dozen times, eight times with Boston.

Boggs number 12 was retired (believe it or not!) by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2000.

Naming the best shortstop in Boston Red Sox history is probably the toughest call of all the great starting nine players. I’m going to go with shortstop Vern Stephens, who played for the Sox for seven years, switching time from third and short. However, he did play 155 games at short in 1948 and 1949, and 146 games in 1950. Nicknamed “Junior,” Stephens was the model for the hard hitting shortstops that came some 60 years later. He hit 39 HRs in1949, to go with 159 RBI. In ’51, he slammed 34 HRs, with 144 RBI. These totals made him a league leader in RBI in both years. Stephens was an all-star eight times, four times with the Sox.

Vern started his career with the St. Louis Browns, and finished up with the Baltimore Orioles. (A team that used to be the St. Louis Browns!).

Sorry Carl. Sorry Jim. In the very long line of excellent Sox left fielders, only one is a true legend. Left fielder Ted Williams. Wikipedia points out that “Theodore Samuel “Ted” Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002)… He played his entire 21-year MLB career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox (1939-1942 and 1946-1960). Williams was a two-time American League Most Valuable Player Most Valuable Player (MVP) winner, led the league in batting six times, and won the Triple Crown twice. A nineteen-time All-Star, he had a career batting of .344, with 521 home runs, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

Williams was the last player in Major League Baseball to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941). He holds the highest career batting average of anyone with 500 or more home runs. His career year was 1941, when he hit .406 with 37 HR, 120 RBI, and 135 runs scored. His .551 on base percentage set a record that stood for 61 years. Nicknamed “The Kid”, “The Splendid Splinter”, “Teddy Ballgame”, “The Thumper” and, because of his hitting prowess, “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived”, Williams’s career was twice interrupted by service as a U.S. Marine Corps fighter-bomber pilot.”

When Williams received a call up from the Sox in 1939, all he did was lead the league in RBI (145) and come in fourth in MVP voting. He was 20 years old. If Williams played in 130 games or more per season, he had over 100 walks.

Williams published “The Science of Hitting,” which is still being used as a bible of sorts for batters.

He was a first ballot HoFer in 1966, garnering over 93 percent of the vote. His number nine was retired by the Red Sox in 1984.

Center Fielder Tris Speaker played for the Red Sox for nine years before being dealt to the Cleveland Indians. Speaker also made stops in Washington and Philadelphia at the tail end of his career. According to Wikipedia, “Tristram E. Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed “Spoke” and “The Grey Eagle…Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, , he compiled a career batting average of .345 (fourth all-time), and still holds the record of 792 career doubles. Defensively, his career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder still stand as well. His fielding glove was known as the place “where triples go to die.” Speaker led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series championships”

He played 22 seasons overall. He led the AL in doubles eight times, twice with the Red Sox. Speaker also led the AL as a Sox in HRs in 1912 with 10, along with a league leading 53 doubles and an OBP of .464. He was elected to the HofF in 1937.

Right fielder Dwight “Dewey” Evans spent 17 of his 18-year career (1972-1991) with the Sox. He won eight gold gloves, two Silver Slugger Awards, and appeared in three all-star games as a Red Sox.

According to Wikipedia, “From 1980 through 1989, Evans hit more home runs (256) than any other player in the American League. He also led the A.L. in extra base hits over the same period of time. He is the only player to hit 20 or more home runs during every season of the 80’s (1980-1989).” And, “In 2000, Dwight Evans was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.”

Sources:

Explanation of scorekeepinng:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_scorekeeping

Tris Speaker’s statistics:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/speaktr01.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tris_Speaker

Ted Williams Statistics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Williams

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/28096/ted-williams

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/bio/_/id/28096/ted-williams

Carlton Fisk statistics:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=114182

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Fisk

Cy Young statistics:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=124692

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Young_Award

Bobby Doerr’s statistics:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/doerrbo01.shtml

Dwight Evans statistics:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=113936

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Evans

Jimmy Foxx’s statistics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Foxx

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=114367

David Ortiz’s statistics:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=120074#statType=3§ionType=career&season=2011&gameType=’R’

Jason Ellsbury statistics, as of September 23, 2011:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=453056

Vern Stephens’ statistics:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=122749

Bobby Doerr’s statistics:

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=113419

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Doerr


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