Tag Archives: Green Monster

Nathan Eovaldi Should Be Top Priority

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2018 was a fun ride for fans and players, now it’s time to get down to business. For the Red Sox, I think they need to find a way to keep Eovaldi in Boston. Reports on the situation are that Boston does indeed want to re-sign him. If they are unable to make that happen, they want to sign another proven Major League starter to replace him. I think that it is imperative to keep him.

Here’s Why Eovaldi Needs To Stay

With Nathan Eovaldi re-signed Boston’s starting rotation would be unreal with Sale, Price, Porcello, and Rodriguez all staying put. Suring up that rotation with Nathan would be smart. Boston has their key offensive pieces in place. Boston doesn’t have to worry about Mookie Betts or JD Martinez this year, so instead of signing another veteran pitcher, this is why Eovaldi is the answer.

Game 4 of the ALDS against the rival Yankees, Eovaldi dominated, pitching 7 plus innings with 1 run allowed. New York is also one of the teams that could be in on him. As the Red Sox continued into the ALCS, Eovaldi was great again. 6 plus innings with just 2 runs as the Sox won Game 3 using his arm again. As we all know by now the Red Sox beat the Houston Astros, and we were introduced to the rover. Alex Cora used Eovaldi as his rover in game 5 of the ALCS and in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. In those 3 games, he came into each game and threw fire allowing 0 runs, while making it look easy. Even with short rest, Boston was going to have him start Game 4 of the World Series, but Game 3 changed that plan.

Eovaldi Turns in Heroic Performance Showing His Selflessness

Rover

Eovaldi was perfect for the Red Sox and should stay in Boston

Once again, Eovaldi was called on as Game 3 of the World Series turned into a marathon of a game. Still tied in the 12th inning, Nathan Eovaldi came out of the pen. In one of the greatest performances I’ve ever witnessed, he turned in a heroic 6 inning relief appearance. He knew that he was putting his future in jeopardy, by pitching so often. Anything could have happened and he could’ve lost a lot of money. As a free-agent-to-be, he risked his health along with future contracts, but he just wanted to help his team. Putting all of that aside, he went deep into the 18th inning, hitting triple digits on the radar gun like it was nothing.

Eovaldi pitched a gem and kept the Sox in the game as long as he could. In the bottom of the 18th, he gave up a solo shot to end the longest game in history. His teammates were all amazed at what he just did, some brought to tears as they realized how much Nathan just gave for his team. I believe it galvanized an already very close clubhouse. Eovaldi was a huge reason for Boston’s Championship.

 Closing Thoughts on Nathan Eovaldi

Boston should do what they can to keep Eovaldi. He’s 28 years old, extremely dominant and the way he pitched since arriving in Boston is all I need to know about him. For what it’s worth he threw 16 scoreless innings against the Yankees in the regular season. Also, his 1.35 ERA in September combined with what he did in the postseason, I believe he’s worth the $15 million range. He himself said he’d love to stay in Boston. While many teams will be fighting for him, I believe he wants to be here enough that he and Boston will work something out.

The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 11-15

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Following up probably the easiest portion of these articles, numbers one through ten comes the third installment in this series of articles. This set of numbers, 11 through 15, won’t be quite so obvious. This grouping, however, does include one retired number and one current player.

Number 11 – Frank Malzone

Frank Malzone was an eight-time All-Star, spending 11 of his 12 seasons in Boston. Malzone made two All-Star Games in both 1959 and 1960, when Major League Baseball temporarily held two per season. Malzone was an excellent fielder, winning three consecutive Gold Gloves to begin his career. He also drove in 103 runners his rookie season, placing second in the Rookie of the Year vote.

During his nine full seasons with the Red Sox, Malzone batted .278 in addition to his All-Star Games and Gold Gloves. He hit 131 home runs during his time in Boston. From 1957-64, he was the cream of the crop at the hot corner. During that time he made eight All-Star Games in eight seasons. His average season was .281 with 16 home runs and 84 runs batted in during that timeframe.

Honorable Mentions: Tim Naehring, Bill Mueller, Clay Buchholz, Dave Stapleton

Number 12 – Ellis Burks

After a brief stint in Pawtucket, Burks came up to the Red Sox in 1987 and put up a 20-20 season as a rookie. He kept putting up results all over the field his entire career. With the Sox, he stole over 20 bases each of his first three seasons. In his first four years, he batted .291 with a .820 OPS. In that fourth season, he made the All-Star Game, won a Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger Award.

Burks’ play fell off his final two seasons in Boston, missing more than half the season in 1992. He battled injuries periodically throughout his career but was stellar when on the field. His biggest competition at the number 12 comes in the form of players who were good fewer years in Boston than he was, although several of them were postseason heroes.

Honorable Mentions: Wes Ferrell, Mark Bellhorn, Todd Walker, Mike Napoli

(Photo by Robert Beck/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Number 13 – John Valentin

John Valentin was an underrated star of the Red Sox in the nineties. Valentin was good both offensively and defensively and was a clutch hitter. During his time in Boston, he turned the tenth unassisted triple play in Major League history, hit for the cycle and posted the highest WAR in the American League in 1995. In the postseason, Valentin batted .347/.407/.639/1.046, hitting five home runs and driving in 19 runs over 72 at-bats.

Unfortunately, Valentin experienced severe knee problems that shortened his career. His knees bothered him in the late-nineties, then he blew out his knee and only played 30 games over his final two seasons with the Red Sox. However, from 1994-97 Valentin averaged 17 home runs and 35 doubles per season while batting .303/.384/.492/.876.

Honorable Mentions: Alex Cora, Hanley Ramirez

 

John Valentin homers off Roger Clemens in the 1st inning of game 3 of the ALCS in 1999.

Number 14 – Jim Rice

Jim Rice is the lone Hall of Famer in this group and has his number 14 retired by the Red Sox. He was quite possibly the most feared hitter in baseball for a decade. His rookie season he placed 2nd in the Rookie of the Year vote and third in the MVP vote. Things only went up from there.

From 1977-79, Rice put up one of the most dominant three-year stretches baseball has seen. Rice went over 200 hits each of those seasons and led the league in home runs twice. His 406 total bases in 1978 are a franchise record to this day. During that stretch, his average season was .320 with 41 home runs, 128 runs batted in, 207 base hits, 386 total bases, and a .972 OPS. He wasn’t all home runs as you can see by his hit total and the fact he hit 36 triples in those three seasons.

After a few good seasons, Rice had another monster season left in him in 1984. That year he led the league with 39 home runs and 126 runs batted in. His final top five MVP finish came in 1986 when he placed in third. In addition to his 1978 MVP Award, this was Rice’s fifth top-five MVP finish. His career tailed off in a hurry after that 86 season or he would have made the Hall of Fame much sooner. He still finished with nearly 2500 lifetime hits and a .298 batting average.

Number 15 – Dustin Pedroia

Who else at number 15 but our beloved leader at the keystone position. Pedroia has fallen on hard times lately with his knee problems, but he has had a wonderful career. Defying the odds of his small stature, Pedroia has won a Rookie of the Year, an MVP Award, a Silver Slugger, four Gold Gloves and made four all-star teams.

Pedroia followed up his Rookie of the Year campaign by leading the league in hits, runs scored and doubles in 2008. He even added some home run pop to his repertoire, hitting 17 out that season. In 2010 he was on pace for 20 when he broke his leg with a foul ball. He followed through on that pace the next season, smashing 21 “lasers” over the fence.

In his career, Pedroia has averaged 194 base hits per 162 games played. He is a career .300 hitter with extra-base power. In addition to that, he is a team leader and one of the best fielding second basemen in the game. Pedroia has never made more than seven errors in any season. The only season his fielding percentage dipped below .990 was when he was a September call-up in 2006; remarkable.

Honorable Mentions: Joe Dobson, Kevin Millar, Dennis Lamp, Earl Webb

 

Featured picture from the Baseball Hall of Fame

On This Day In Red Sox History: Nomar’s Birthday Bash

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Tuesday, July 23, 2002, the Devil Rays and Red Sox were set to play two at Fenway Park. The day happened to be fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra’s 29th birthday. Nomar and Manny Ramirez were both coming off two home run games in a loss the previous day. The Red Sox still stood at 57-39 on the season, 27 games ahead of the Devil Rays.

Red Sox Slip Out of the Gate

Tim Wakefield was on the mound for the Red Sox, making his first start in three weeks. Wakefield had mostly pitched out of the pen so far on the season to good success, coming in at 3-3 with a 2.99 ERA. He was opposed on the mound by Worcester, Massachusetts native Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze was an unenviable 1-9 on the year despite an okay 4.39 ERA. Wakefield started out the game right, striking out Randy Winn swinging. However, he hit the second batter of the game, quickly demonstrating the fickle nature of his knuckleball. The next batter was Steve Cox, who was putting together a solid season. Cox took a 1-0 pitch out to right field for his 12th home run of the season, and just like that the Sox were behind 2-0.

Wakefield encountered some more troubles in the second; a single and a walk were followed by a passed ball and the Devil Rays had men on the corners with no one out. A fly ball brought home the runner from third and Tampa Bay’s lead grew to 3-0. Two batters later Randy Winn doubled home another run and it just didn’t seem to be Wakefield’s day. He got the next batter to lineout but trailed 4-0 after two.

Red Sox Offense Explodes

The Red Sox trailed 4-0 entering the home half of the third inning, but were sending the top of the order to the plate. With the count full, Johnny Damon homered off Sturtze to right to put the Sox on the board. Lou Merloni followed with a single to put a man aboard. Sturtze fell behind Nomar Garciaparra 3-0. Nomar may have surprised him when he jumped on a 3-0 pitch and homered to left. Two pitches later Manny Ramirez homered to the opposite field and the game was tied. The Red Sox had homered three times in four at-bats to kick off the third inning and it was 4-4.

A walk and an error put two more men aboard with one out for Trot Nixon. Nixon doubled to left to score one and the Red Sox suddenly had the lead. Wakefield’s catcher Doug Mirabelli followed with a double of his own to plate two more runs. The Red Sox had batted around and were still threatening. Johnny Damon, batting for the second time in the inning, lined a base hit to right-center to score Mirabelli and chase Sturtze from the ballgame.

Long man Brandon Backe replaced Sturtze, but he wouldn’t have any more success. After getting a pop out, he faced Nomar with a man aboard. Nomar jumped on the first pitch, as he so often did, and homered to left for his second two-run homer of the inning. The birthday boy had put the Sox ahead 10-4 in the third.

Nomar Hits a Birthday Slam

Wakefield settled in after the 10 run uprising, enjoying a 1-2-3 fourth inning with two strike outs. But the Sox weren’t so content with their six run lead. After back to back popups, the flood gates reopened. Trot Nixon followed a Jose Offerman single with a run scoring double. Doug Mirabelli then drove in Trot for the second straight inning with a base hit. A Johnny Damon double was followed by a walk to Lou Merloni. The bases were loaded and up strode the birthday boy. Nomar, with two home runs the previous inning, was up with the bases loaded, they had to pitch to him. On a 2-2 count Nomar deposited yet another baseball over the Green Monster for his third home run in two innings, a Major League record. The Red Sox now led 16-4 following the grand slam.

Sox Cruise to Victory

Tim Wakefield pitched three shutout following the rough start to go the necessary five for the win. Willie Banks replaced him and cruised through the Tampa Bay lineup. Banks allowed just two baserunners and needed only 39 pitches to finish off the game. He earned the save with his four shutout innings of relief, lowering his ERA to 2.84.

The Sox offense wasn’t quite done. The Red Sox scored two in the sixth, one on a double from Manny Ramirez. In the seventh, Trot Nixon homered off Travis Phelps to make it a 19-4 game. Close to 20, the Red Sox still had work to do. In the eighth, Johnny Damon singled followed by a walk to Lou Merloni to bring up Nomar with two men on. With a chance at a four home run game, Garciaparra flew out. However, Manny Ramirez wanted in on some more action. Manny homered to left for his second of the game, giving the Red Sox a 22-4 lead. When Banks cruised through the ninth, that was the final score.

Wrapping It Up

The Red Sox had several members with huge performances, but Nomar took center stage. With three home runs and eight runs batted in, Nomar had possibly the finest birthday performance ever. He also tied a record by hitting five home runs over a two game span. This, coupled with Manny Ramirez’ four home runs over the same two games made the teammates the first pair of teammates to combine for nine home runs over two games. Nomar had also hit three home runs and driven in 10 runs on May 10, 1999, making him the fourth Red Sox ever to have multiple three homer games. He joined Ted Williams, Jim Rice and Mo Vaughn in accomplishing this. Nomar and Mo were the only two to have done them both at Fenway Park.

On top of Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez’ big nights, Johnny Damon and Trot Nixon both collected four hits and homered. Damon scored four runs while Trot drove in three runs and scored three. The Red Sox had 19 hits and seven walks on their way to the 22-4 victory. Watch video of Nomar’s monster performance here.

 

Featured picture from the Boston Globe.

Find me on Twitter: @thefrizz87.

The Worst Left Fielders in Red Sox History

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The history of Red Sox left fielders has been a long and storied one. The team’s five greatest left fielders practically all played in succession, with Williams, Yaz, Rice, Greenwell and Manny, spanning nearly the entire length of seven decades. That might be the most remarkable run of players at one position, in the history of the game. With all those years taken up by good players, it doesn’t leave much for poor play.

Carl Crawford

Let’s start with the easy one. Crawford was one of the biggest free agent busts the game has ever seen. Over the eight years prior to joining the Red Sox, Crawford had batted .299, and averaged 50 stolen bases per season, for the division rival Devil Rays. Crawford made four all-star teams in that span, and was coming off a season in which he won the Gold Glove Award. The Red Sox rewarded Crawford with a seven-year deal, worth 142 million dollars.

The Red Sox entered 2011 as huge favorites, having added Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. However, Crawford was not the weapon he was expected to be near the top of the lineup. He rewarded the Red Sox faith in him with the worst season of his career, up to that point. Crawford would bat .255 that season, a meager 23 walks, and finished with an ugly .289 on-base percentage. He stole just 18 bases in 24 tries, the fewest steals during a full season for his career. In the outfield, he managed just 1 assist. Playing in front of the Monster usually aids in a left fielder’s assists, as they can play shallow and get the ball back in to the infield quickly following ricochets off the wall.

In 2012, Crawford missed a good chunk of the season. He fared better, batting .282 over 117 at-bats, but still wasn’t the weapon he was supposed to be. Crawford was also miserable in Boston, later admitting to hating the city. Luckily, the Red Sox were able to get out from the remainder of his contract, and they shipped him to Los Angeles in August of that season.

Carl Crawford reacts to striking out during the second inning at Fenway Park Sept. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Hanley Ramirez

This is a selection for the one season in which Hanley played left field. The Red Sox’ misguided attempt to put Hanley Ramirez in left field, so they could disastrously sign Pablo Sandoval, was an embarrassment before it started. Hanley made four errors in 92 games, and it seemed so much worse. Whenever a ball was hit to left, it seemed to be an adventure for Ramirez. In less than 100 games, he managed to put up a -2.5 dWAR.

Ramirez was also a disappointment at the plate in that season. Some of it could possibly be attributed to trying to learn a new position, but he only batted .249. He hit 19 home runs, and only doubled 12 times. Hanley’s .717 OPS was lower than many others on the team, including over 100 points lower than outfield fill-in, Alejandro De Aza. Hanley bounced back in a big way the following season, after moving to first base, but his time in left field was a mess.

Davis/Globe Staff

Heinie Manush

This final spot gets even harder, as the Red Sox just haven’t had many bad left fielders. Manush was actually a Hall of Fame player, but for what he did prior to his time in Boston. Manush batted .330 for his career, and averaged 205 base hits, per 162 games played. He won a batting title in Detroit, and led the league in hits for both the St. Louis Browns, and the Washington Senators. From when he broke in during the 1923 season, up through 1934, he hit .337 with an .878 OPS.

Manush came to the Red Sox in 1936, coming off a down season. He was 34 years old, and would turn 35 during the season. However, as recently as 1934  Manush had batted .349, with a .915 OPS. That season he had 64 extra base hits, leading to a slugging percentage of .523. The Red Sox traded for him from the Senators hoping for a bounce back season. It turned out he was just in the decline stage of his career. His defense wasn’t great, he committed more errors than he had assists. At the plate, he did bat .291, but failed to homer, and only totaled 20 extra base hits for the year. His .700 OPS that season, was the lowest of his career.

Typically, this one season from Manush that wasn’t good, but wasn’t terrible, wouldn’t land him on one of these lists. Since the Red Sox have had such great left fielders over a long period of time though, the pickings are slim.

Leslie Jones/ Boston Public Library

Dishonorable Mentions:

Billy Hatcher (His one season in left field was poor; played better in center)

Ivan Calderon

 

Featured picture courtesy of 12up.com

http://www.12up.com/posts/4317717-7-biggest-free-agent-busts-in-mlb-history

The Greatest Left Fielders in Red Sox History

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With the pitchers and infielders all covered, it’s time to head to the outfield. Who are the greatest players to ever roam left field in front of the Green Monster?

Ted Williams

The greatest hitter who ever lived. I could go on and on writing about his statistics, they are mind-boggling. The last player to ever hit .400, Williams batted .356 over his first four seasons. He then went to war and missed the next three seasons. Where many guys return from war and have a hard time readjusting, Williams came back and won the MVP Award in his first year back.

Williams was called back to service for the Korean War. He left early in 1952 and returned in August 1953. After over a year fighting overseas, Williams did one of the most superhuman feats in sports history. Over 91 at-bats, having not played baseball in over a year and fighting a war during that time, Williams batted .410 and hit 13 home runs! That’s one home run every seven at-bats. He then never batted lower than .345 over the next four years, topping out with a .388 batting average during his age 38 season in 1957. In 1960, at the age of 41, Williams posted his best HR/AB ratio of his career, hitting 29 home runs in only 310 at-bats. If the DH existed back then, he could have kept going for several years.

Williams had an OPS over 1.000 every year of his career except 1959, when he played injured at age 40. He rebounded to a 1.096 OPS the following season and retired. If he had not missed time to the war, Williams would have hit close to 700 home runs, at which point he may have kept going to try to surpass Babe Ruth. He would likely have 3500 hits coupled with somewhere north of 2500 walks. His career 162 game average was .344 with 37 home runs, 130 RBI, 188 hits, 143 walks and a .482/.634/1.116 slash line.

Williams won two MVP Awards and was robbed of three others thanks to biased media members. He finished 2nd in four MVP votes and had three other top five finishes. Williams won two Triple Crowns, leading the league in average six times, home runs four times and RBI four times. Williams also led the league in on base percentage 12 times, slugging nine times and OPS 10 times.

Carl Yastrzemski

Yaz would rank first for almost any team, but in Boston he has to contend with the greatest ever for that honor. He did an admirable job following in Williams’ footsteps though, having a Hall of Fame career and holding several franchise records. Yastrzemski batted .285 with 452 home runs and 1844 runs batted in. He banged out 3419 base hits, 646 of which were doubles. Yaz of course played some first base and designated hitter, but he made his hay as a left fielder. He had over 2000 hits and 1000 RBI while playing left field.

Yaz’ 1967 season was historic, and he was the last player to win the Triple Crown Award for years before Miguel Cabrera accomplished the feat in 2012. Yaz led the Red Sox from a 9th place finish in 1966 to the 1967 AL pennant by batting .326 with 44 home runs and a 1.040 OPS. He would hit 40+ home runs three times in four seasons. Interestingly, immediately after that stretch he failed to hit even 20 homers in any of the next five seasons.

Yaz won three batting titles and led the league in on-base percentage five times. He made 18 All-Star Games and won the 1967 MVP Award. In addition to his hitting talents, Yaz was just as good with the glove. He won seven Gold Glove Awards as a left fielder, including one after he had been moved to first base for a few years. He returned to left field in 1977 and didn’t make a single error while picking up 16 assists.

Carl Yastrzemski hitting home run as Tim McCarver and umpire Al Barlick watch at Fenway Park. 10/5/1967 CREDIT: (Photo by Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

Jim Rice

Jim Rice is yet another Hall of Famer who spent his entire career with the Red Sox. He only had a stretch of 12 good years, but during that stretch he may have been the best hitter in baseball. Rice had a swift decline in the late 80’s or he would have coasted into the Hall of Fame earlier. After batting .304 with 350 home runs during that 12 year stretch, Rice batted only .263 with 31 home runs over his final three seasons.

Rice batted .298 for his career, hitting 382 home runs out of 2452 base hits, all with the Red Sox. His home runs rank him 4th on the franchise’s all-time list, while his base hits rank third behind Williams and Yaz. Rice hit 39 or more home runs all three seasons from 1977-79, averaging a season of .320 with 41 home runs and a .972 OPS. His 406 total bases in 1978 were the most by a player since Stan Musial in 1948, and the most by an American League player since Joe Dimaggio in 1937. He led the league in hits, home runs, RBI and OPS that season on way to winning the MVP.

In addition to his MVP Award, Jim Rice finished in the top five for the MVP vote five other times. He made eight All-Star Games and won two Silver Sluggers during the eighties. Silver Sluggers were not an award before 1980 or he surely would have won a few more. Rice led the league in home runs three times.

Jim Rice of the Red Sox hitting a home run,

Manny Ramirez

Manny has some of the greatest offensive numbers in history among right-handed batters. About half of that production came in Boston. As a Red Sox, Manny batted .312 with 274 home runs. 868 RBI and 1232 hits. His rate numbers are better than Yaz and Rice, at .411/.588/.999, but his counting stats fall far short as those two spent their entire careers in Boston. Manny also played during a hitter’s era when offensive numbers were much higher.

Of course, Manny had his drawbacks. Although never testing positive as a Red Sox, Manny did fail two drug tests before his career ended. It is hard to know when he first started using performance enhancers. He also asked to be traded on multiple occasions. Manny was known to take stretches off with phantom injuries. Needless to say, Manny wasn’t always good for team camaraderie. In addition to him spending less time here, these are reasons Manny comes in fourth on this list.

Manny’s real strong stretch lasted for six seasons, from when he was signed in 2001 until 2006. His play had dropped off in 2007 and before he was traded in 2008. During that six-year stretch Manny batted .316 with an average of 39 home runs and 119 RBI per season. There is no doubt, he was an offensive force. Manny also won the 2004 World Series MVP. He made eight All-Star Games, won six Silver Sluggers and finished in the top six for MVP three times.

Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after connecting for a three-run home run to defeat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-3, in Game 2 of the ALDS at Fenway Park October 5, 2007 (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Mike Greenwell

“The Gator” wraps up the top five. Unfairly to him, Greenwell pales in comparison to the four above him on this list. The Red Sox have had quite the rich history in left field. Greenwell was no slouch, batting .303 for his career. When a career .300 hitter looks weak after the top four, that says something. Greenwell hit 130 home runs out of his 1400 career hits, all with the Red Sox. He missed a lot of time to injuries in the 90’s, holding back his stats, but Greenwell could hit. He had an excellent slash line of .368/.463/.831 for his career.

Greenwell started off his career hot, homering four times in 31 at-bats in September of 1985. He was one of the best young outfielders in the game during the late 80’s. He hit .328 with 19 home runs and a .956 OPS in 1987. Greenwell would follow that up with a .946 OPS in 1988, batting .325 with 22 home runs and 119 RBI. That season, Greenwell finished second in the MVP vote to Jose Canseco, which turned out to not be a very level playing field. In 1989 he batted .308 and drove in 95 more runs. Quite a stretch to begin his career, injuries are really what held him back later. His 162 game average for his career is a stellar .303 with 17 homers and 93 RBI.

Mike Greenwell of the Boston Red Sox watches the flight of his ball during an MLB game circa 1995 at Fenway Park.(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Honorable Mentions:

Duffy Lewis & Troy O’Leary

Duffy Lewis is buried not far from where I live. I visited his grave last fall.

Greatest Right-Handed Pitchers

Greatest Left-Handed Pitchers

Greatest Relief Pitchers

Greatest Catchers

Greatest First Basemen

Greatest Second Basemen

Greatest Third Basemen

Greatest Shortstops