Boston Sports Extra

The higher the numbers get, the less they have been worn. As we enter the fifties, the amount of players to select from, and generally the quality of players lessens. That is not to say these guys did not have their value, but you might not find yourself remembering who wore these numbers.

Number 51 – Daniel Bard

After wearing number 60 as a rookie in 2009, Bard switched to the number 51. He had his best career season in 2010.

Daniel Bard threw easy heat; He didn’t look like he was exerting much effort, but the ball would fly out of his hand at 98-100 miles per hour. He also had a nice slider to go with it, giving him a devastating two-pitch combination out of the pen.

This repertoire was at its best in that 2010 season, as Bard posted a 1.93 ERA and 1.00 WHIP as the Red Sox top setup man to Jonathan Papelbon. Bard was dominating again the next season until September, when he collapsed along with the rest of the team. At the end of August, Bard had a 2.03 ERA with batters hitting .164 against him. That includes an opening day disaster that saw him allow four runs. Between his second game of the season and the end of August, Bard had a fantastic 1.47 ERA. However, September saw him allow more runs than he had allowed from April 5th through the end of August and his ERA finished at 3.33.

The Red Sox decided to try Bard in the rotation in 2012, which made zero sense. Bard had begun his minor league career as a starting pitcher and was a disaster, prompting the move to the bullpen. This time didn’t go any better. Bard had a 6.22 ERA and never recovered. He spent most of the next several years throwing pitches to the backstop and hitting batters in the minor leagues. However, he was still a dominant setup man for a couple seasons wearing number 51.

Honorable Mention: Reid Nichols

Number 52: Mike Boddicker

The Red Sox traded Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling to the Orioles for Boddicker at the trade deadline in 1988 to bolster their rotation for the stretch run. Although Schilling ought to make the Hall of Fame, he wasn’t a starting pitcher until 1992. Brady Anderson was also a fine player, but hadn’t done anything before 1992 as well. That is four years later, had the Red Sox not traded them then, they very well could have moved on later before they amounted to anything anyways.

Mike Boddicker did his job for the Red Sox. Over the rest of the 1988 season he was 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA. He gave the Red Sox three very good starting pitchers and they won the American League East.

Boddicker pitched two more seasons for the Sox, winning 32 games. In 1990, he had his best season since 1984, going 17-8 with a 3.36 ERA. He also won the Gold Glove Award that season. He made a team high 34 starts, throwing 228 innings. In two-plus seasons with the Red Sox, Boddicker finished 39-22 with a 3.49 ERA.

Honorable Mention: Eduardo Rodriguez

Number 53 – Rich Hill

Rich Hill is not someone you would expect to find on a list like this for the Red Sox. He was very successful, but in a limited amount of innings while with the franchise.

Hill wore the number 53 with the Red Sox between 2010 and 2012. During this time he had been transitioned into a relief pitcher after a couple ineffective seasons and a torn labrum. The Red Sox signed Hill at the end of June in 2010 and made him a September callup. He pitched four shutout innings.

The next season Hill was given an opportunity out of the bullpen in May. Using a new sidearm motion, Hill was dominating, throwing eight shutout innings and striking out 12 batters before hurting his arm again. This time he would need Tommy John Surgery.

Back with the club in 2012, Hill recovered quickly enough to pitch for the team before April was over. However, another injury sidetracked his season until September. When the season was over, he had gone 1-0 with a 1.83 ERA 19.2 innings.

In total wearing number 53 for the Red Sox, Rich Hill was dominant in limited innings due to injury. He finished 2-0 with a 1.14 ERA and over a strike out per inning during this time. When he dominated in September of 2015 for the Red Sox, he was wearing a different number.

Honorable Mentions: Tomo Ohka, Brendan Donnelly, Chad Bradford

Number 54 – Darnell McDonald

Darnell McDonald is another surprising addition to this lineup of players. McDonald had one pretty good season as a part-time player for the Red Sox, and that’s enough to make him the best number 54 in team history.

McDonald was a first round pick way back in 1997, but only had 147 career Major League at-bats when the Red Sox signed him for the 2010 season. He would more than double his career at-bats that season. Over 117 games and 319 at-bats, McDonald hit nine home runs and stole nine bases in ten tries. He had a respectable .270/.336/.429/.766 batting line.

McDonald made an immediate impact on that 2010 team. In his first at-bat with the Red Sox, he pinch-hit for Josh Reddick in the bottom of the 8th inning, trailing by two with a runner on base. McDonald hit a two-run homer off Darren Oliver to tie the game at six. The Red Sox would win it the next inning when Darnell McDonald drove home the winning run with a base hit to center field.

McDonald’s stint with the Red Sox wasn’t as successful after that season. He batted .236 with six home runs in 2011 and would be released during the 2012 season after a poor start. His 2010 season was more than any other number 54 had to offer though.

Honorable Mention: Morgan Burkhart

Number 55 – Joe Hesketh

Joe Hesketh was a left-handed pitcher for the Red Sox from 1990-94. He mostly started but also relieved some with the team. He had one good season, a couple alright ones and one poor one, which is enough to get him the spot at 55 without anyone else even putting up a fight.

Hesketh was signed by the Red Sox off waivers on July 31, 1990. By 1991, he was a key member of the pitching staff. That season, Hesketh made 39 appearances, 17 of which were starts. He finished 12-4 for an American League best .750 winning percentage. He entered the starting rotation around midseason and went 10-3 with an ERA of 3.00 in the second half of the 1991 season. Hesketh had a 3.29 ERA on the season.

The next season he was mostly a starter, finishing 8-9 with a 4.36 ERA. After a poor 1993 season that saw him pitch mostly out of the bullpen, Hesketh rebounded for 1994. In that strike-shortened season he was 8-5 with a 4.26 ERA over 20 starts and five relief appearances. In total he was 31-26 with a 4.04 ERA with the Boston Red Sox.

Featured picture from Sports Illustrated

The Super Bowl is just 51 days away. Let’s look at the Super Bowl from 51 years ago to honor this not that significant occasion!

Green Bay Packers 51 Years Ago

Getty Images

Super Bowl I was played in the Los Angeles Coliseum on January 15, 1967. The game pitted the NFL champion Green Bay Packers against the upstart Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League.

Green Bay was a perennial power coached by legendary Vince Lombardi. Lombardi’s offensive philosophy was simple, yet effective. In fact, he may be the greatest offensive coordinator in NFL history. He relied on the great talents of Jim Taylor and his offensive line. They ran lots of traps and power sweeps and said, “Stop us if you can”. Most teams could not.

Their best player may have been quarterback Bart Starr. Starr was unflappable in the big games and he rarely cost his team with poor decisions or errant passes. He was Joe Montana before there was a Joe Montana.

To say the Packers of the 1960’s were strong would be an understatement. They literally had a Hall of Famer at every position. Indeed, six of their 11 starters were eventually enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Packers Path to Super Bowl I

The Packers were the dominant team of the decade. This was their 4th NFL title in six seasons. The 1966 version of the Packers were as good as any team in NFL history and had an incredible midseason stretch of outscoring their opponents 104-10. Their 12-2 record earned them a spot in the NFL championship game against the East Division Champion Dallas Cowboys. Interestingly, Vince Lombardi and Dallas’ Head Coach Tom Landry coached together for the 1958 NFL champion New York Giants. Tom Landry was the defensive coordinator of that squad.

However, coming into the championship game, Dallas had the top-rated offense while Green Bay had the #1 defense. Due to an annual rotation done back then, the title match was played in Dallas.

It truly was a tremendous game. Bart Starr was deservedly named the MVP as he tossed 4 touchdown passes including a 28-yarder to little-used Max McGee in the fourth quarter. Led by “Dandy” Don Meredith, the Cowboys came back to within 34-27 late in the game. Tom Brown, though, picked off Meredith in the end zone with seconds remaining. Hence, the defense preserved the win. The Pack made it to Super Bowl I.

Kansas City Chiefs 51 Years Ago

In the AFL, the Kansas City Chiefs would be the representative. The Chiefs had an amazing offense led by the innovative Hank Stram and Hall of fame QB, Len Dawson. Where the Packers were powerful, the Chiefs were fast and nifty. Tall and lean Otis Taylor was arguably the best wide receiver in the AFL and Mike Garrett and Curtis McClinton gave KC a change of pace from the backfield. Thus, KC was explosive.

Kansas City’s defense was young and improving. They had Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanon and Emmitt Thomas who were in the infant stages of their incredible careers 51 years ago. But, a cornerback nicknamed the “hammer” took hold of the headlines. During his period of playing for the Chiefs, Williamson became one of football’s first self-promoters. He would use his forearm to deliver karate-style blows to the heads of opposing players. Before Super Bowl I, Williamson gathered national headlines by boasting that he would knock out Green Bay’s receivers.

As good as Kansas City was in 1966, oddsmakers did not give them much of a chance labeling the Pack as a 14-point favorite.

A Competitive First Half

Things got off to an ominous beginning for the Pack. First, they lost starting wide receiver Boyd Dowler to a shoulder injury. Then, Starr was sacked on consecutive plays. However, Green Bay marched down the field the next time they had the ball for the first score in Super Bowl history. Starr was 4 for 4 on the drive hitting four different receivers. The last pass went to the veteran, McGee, who made a spectacular one-handed catch and ran untouched for a 37-yard score.

McGee was out partying the entire night before the game. It turns out that worked for him. He had a great game replacing the injured Dowler. Incredibly, McGee had four catches over the entire regular season, but 7 for 138 on Super Bowl Sunday!

The Chiefs were able to move the ball well the rest of the first half. They missed a field goal, scored a touchdown and made a field goal to end the half with ten points. Green Bay added one more touchdown before halftime as Starr continued his hot streak on third down. Once in scoring range, Jim Taylor ran the patented power sweep to the left and scored from the fourteen.

The Pack Attack

While the first half was competitive, the second half went according to script. Willie Wood picked off Dawson on the first series and returned it to the five. Consequently, Green Bay went up 21-10 and the Chiefs never threatened again. Elijah Pitts scored twice, and McGee added one more to give the Packers a resounding 35-10 victory.

The second half was not compelling. However, something interesting happened. Williamson took a knee to the head from Donny Anderson which knocked the big talker from the game.

Both teams would be back. Green Bay won Super Bowl II and Kansas City notched a title in the AFL’s last ever game, winning Super Bowl IV over Minnesota.

Tomorrow, we will be 50 days away from the Super Bowl, so we’ll talk about the game from 50 years ago…Super Bowl II between the Packers and the AFL champion Oakland Raiders.

Brandon Fazzolari is a Super Bowl expert…@spot_bills