Matt creates his ultimate Red Sox starting lineup with reserves.
Leading Off: Tris Speaker, CF
Tris Speaker was a somewhat easy pick to be the starting centerfielder for the all-time Red Sox. While the team is loaded with all-time corner-outfield depth, center is a bit more shallow.
Speaker is a Hall of Famer who won two titles with Boston in 1912 and 1915. He has 106 triple in his Red Sox career with a .337 batting average. For a deadball era player, he was considered a power threat with great speed.
In 1916, Speaker was traded to the Indians after refusing to take a pay cut. Yeah, pro sports were weird back then.
The only other real consideration for this spot was Fred Lynn.
Batting Second: Carl Yastrzemski, 1B
Yeah, yeah, I’m putting Yaz at his secondary position, first base. It’s not my fault that the Red Sox have a million good left fielders.
Where do you even begin when it comes to what Yastrzemski means to the Red Sox? He is first in games played by a mile with 3,308, first in runs with 1,816, first in doubles with 646… I could go on forever.
Yaz is best known for winning the Hitting Triple Crown in 1967 and leading an underdog Red Sox team to a World Series appearance against the Cardinals.
Without Yaz, Red Sox history would be unrecognizable. The great number eight was an easy pick to be in the starting lineup.
The elephant in the room is the exclusion of first baseman Jimmie Foxx. Foxx is one of the greatest sluggers ever and will have a place in the reserves later in this article, but with his career split between the Red Sox and Athletics, that was ultimately the deciding factor.
Batting Third: Ted Williams, LF
If you are doing an all-time Red Sox draft, the Splendid Splinter is pick one, round one.
Arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history, Ted revolutionized the sport and was truly the prototype for the modern hitter.
Ted had a career batting average of .344 with 521 home runs, a .634 slugging percentage, and the highest OBP ever at .482. Keep in mind, he did all of this while missing 4 ½ years to military service.
I could write an entire piece just about Ted, but I’ll leave you with this: He was the last man to hit .400 in a season when he hit .406 in 1941. And he did that as a power pull hitter, not a pure contact guy. Oh, and he was 22 years old. Truly incredible stuff.
Other considerations were Jim Rice and Manny Ramirez.
Batting Cleanup: David Ortiz, DH
There may be no professional athlete in Boston sports history than Big Papi.
Perhaps the clutchest hitter in baseball ever, Ortiz not only led the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86, but he was a three-time World Series winner.
The magnum opus of Papi’s career came in the 2013 playoffs, where he was the best player on the planet for all of October. The highlight of that 2013 run came when he hit a game-tying grand slam in game two of the ALCS against the Tigers, which ultimately shifted the momentum of the series.
Batting Fifth: Carlton Fisk, C
Carlton Fisk is one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and is the man with perhaps the most iconic home run in baseball history.
Pudge’s walk-off home run in game 6 of the 1975 World Series will live in the minds of baseball fans for CENTURIES to come. But don’t let that iconic moment distract you from the fact that was a phenomenal player.
A staple of the 1970’s Red Sox, Fisk won AL Rookie of the Year in 1972 and finished in the top ten in MVP voting three times in his Red Sox career.
The other consideration for this position was Jason Veritek.
Batting Sixth: Wade Boggs, 3B
Boggs is one of the best modern contact hitters the game has ever seen. He is second in team history in batting average with .338 and third in OBP with .428.
Boggs was an interesting person, to say the least, but his eight All-Star selections and six Silver Sluggers speak for themselves.
Batting Seventh: Nomar Garciaparra, SS
Shortstop is the weakest position in Red Sox history, but Nomar was a fan favorite and for good reason.
Nomar had one of the greatest rookie seasons ever in 1997, easily winning AL Rookie of the Year honors and finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting.
Nomar’s tenure with the Sox wasn’t as long as some may remember, but during his time with the club, he achieved superstardom and was the face of the team for the late 90s and early 2000s.
I am an enormous Joe Cronin enthusiast, and I wanted to make him the starting shortstop. Ultimately, Nomar was the more complete player and ultimately got the nod.
Batting Eighth: Dwight Evans, RF
If you or someone you know grew up watching the Red Sox in the 70s in 80s, you likely know that Dewey is one of the best defensive outfielders to ever do it.
With a cannon arm, reliable glove, and solid bat at the plate, number 24 is a Red Sox legend who was a key player in the 1975 and 1986 title runs.
Evans has eight Gold Gloves to his name and is second all-time in games played with the Red Sox with 2,505.
Mookie Betts was considered for this spot, but ask Chaim Bloom why he doesn’t have enough games in a Red Sox uniform to surpass Evans.
Batting Ninth: Bobby Doerr, 2B
Second base is a complete toss-up between Bobby Doerr and Dustin Pedroia. Their stats are so similar, that I gave the nod to Doerr simply because he is in the Hall of Fame and has his number retired with the team.
Doerr was one of the most important players to the Red Sox in the 1940s and 50s. His clutch hitting and consistency helped fuel the Red Sox to a 1946 World Series appearance.
Like Ted Williams, Doerr lost a chunk of his prime to military service, and would likely be the clear choice to be the starting second baseman if he didn’t. Doerr was a lifelong Red Sox contributor and is beloved by Red Sox fans of all ages.
Bench:
Dustin Pedroia, INF
Joe Cronin, INF
Jim Rice, OF
Jimmie Foxx, 1B
Jason Varitek, C
Starting Pitcher: Pedro Martinez
Look, does Roger Clemens have slightly better numbers during his Red Sox tenure than Pedro? Yes. But I would also say that some people know him better as a Yankee.
Is Cy Young perhaps the greatest pitcher ever? Yes. But I would also say many people know him better as an Athletic.
Pedro is Red Sox royalty. He is a Hall of Famer with his number 45 retired by the team, and was a key contributor to the 2004 World Series title.
He is first in BAA at .206, and second in WHIP with 0.98. Those are video game numbers.
Despite standing at under six feet, Pedro loomed large against opposing hitters. He is my SP1.
Rest of the Rotation:
2. Roger Clemens
3. Cy Young
4. Lefty Grove
5. Louis Tiant
Bullpen:
LRP: Jim Loungbourne
MRP: Curt Schilling
MRP: Craig Kimbrel
SU: Jonathan Papelbon
SU: Keith Foulke
CP: Dennis Eckersley
