Boston Sports Extra

The uniform numbers 41-45 feature another retired number from the Red Sox. Yes, 42 is retired, but that is for all of baseball, not a Red Sox retired number. The Red Sox’ 42 brought some serious clout to the plate though. The series continues and starts with a current Red Sox.

Number 41 – Chris Sale

Chris Sale has only been with the team for two years, but he has already accomplished so much. Most important, he was on the mound for the final out of the 2018 baseball season, striking out Manny Machado to clinch the World Series victory. Beyond that, Sale has struck out 545 batters over the two seasons, good for a whopping 13.2 batters per nine innings. He is 29-12 with a 2.56 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.

Sale had an excellent chance of taking home the Cy Young Award this season before he was placed on the disabled list and barely pitched over the final two months. He had 13.5 strike outs per nine and a 0.86 WHIP. It’s almost hard to believe he has yet to win a Cy Young and feels like only a matter of time. The Red Sox need to lock him up so he can keep adding to his Red Sox legacy.

Honorable Mentions: Dick Drago, Jeff Reardon, Victor Martinez

Chris Sale makes Manny Machado look foolish as he strikes him out to end the World Series.

Number 42 – Mo Vaughn

Without a doubt, “the Hit Dog” is the all-time best Red Sox player to wear number 42. Big Mo is from Connecticut and came up through the Red Sox farm system. After a couple Major League seasons finding his way, Mo broke out in 1993 and never stopped clubbing the ball. He hit 29 home runs and drove in 101 runs that season. His .297 batting average would be the last time he would hit under .300 as a Red Sox.

Vaughn hit .310 with a .984 OPS in the strike-shortened season of 1994. He then won his MVP Award in 1995, hitting 39 home runs and driving in an American League best 126 runners. His 1996 season was even better, batting .326/.420/.583/1.003 with 44 home runs and 143 runs batted in. Vaughn surpassed 200 hits for the first time that season, picking up 207. After a stellar 1997, Vaughn finished out his Red Sox career with another 200 hit season in 1998 while batting a career high .337. He hit 40 homers for the second time and posted a .993 OPS.

From 1995-98, Vaughn averaged 40 home runs and 120 runs batted in per season. His batting average was .320 during that time with a .986 OPS. Stretching those numbers out to 1994 only lessens them because of the strike, as his OPS would remain .986. Big Mo is a Red Sox legend.

Honorable Mention: Sonny Siebert

Number 43 – Dennis Eckersley

Before he was a lovable commentator for the team with all his funny sayings, Dennis Eckersley was a Hall of Fame pitcher. Eight of those seasons were spent in Boston. Eck was traded to the Red Sox before the 1978 season, when he enjoyed perhaps his finest season as a starting pitcher. Eckersley won 20 games that season, going 20-8 with a 2.99 ERA. He posted a 2.99 ERA again the following season, going 17-10.

The early eighties weren’t as kind to Eckersley, and he developed some bad habits which led to poorer performance on the field. He still had his use though, posting numbers worthy of a rotation spot for most of the time. Eckersley in fact made the All-Star Game in 1982, his first since his time in Cleveland. Over his first five seasons in Boston, he was 71-53 with a 3.56 ERA.

Eckersley returned to Boston for the final season of his career in 1998. He had a 4-1 record for the team in his final hurrah. Although his ERA was a little high, Eckersley pitched well for most of the season. Lit up in April, Eckersley settled down and had things straightened out by the middle of May. From May 11th onward he posted a 2.48 ERA

Honorable Mention: Alan Embree

Number 44 – Jason Bay

There isn’t a lot of competition at the number 44. Gabe Kapler was a likable guy and won a World Series with the team, but he was a reserve outfielder. Orlando Cabrera was a key component to winning the 2004 World Series, but they let him walk at the end of the season. Danny Darwin had a couple nice years with the Red Sox, but also had a couple poor ones. Jason Bay gets my vote for his work over the final two months of the 2008 season and his excellent 2009 campaign.

Bay came to the Red Sox at the trade deadline in 2008 in a deal that swept Manny Ramirez out of town. He scored the winning run in the 12th inning of his first game with the team. The next day he homered and drove in three. Bay would hit nine home runs and post an .897 OPS over the season’s final two months. He then tore the cover off the ball in the postseason, homering three times and driving in nine runs. He batted .341 with an 1.105 OPS that October.

Bay got to play one full season with the Red Sox, and he made it count. Bay made the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger for his work as he bashed 36 home runs and drove in 119 runs. His .921 OPS was second on the team to Kevin Youkilis and he led the team in both home runs and RBI. He got a nice contract in the offseason from the Mets and never produced that much again, but that has no effect on his standing here.

Honorable Mentions: Danny Darwin, Gabe Kapler, Orlando Cabrera

Number 45 – Pedro Martinez

Pedro Martinez is the greatest pitcher I have ever watched. Every game he pitched at Fenway was a can’t-miss event. He threw in the upper-nineties, had a wicked curveball and those weren’t even his best pitches. Pedro had a change-up that was described as unhittable even if the batter knew it was coming.

After a 1998 season that saw him win 19 games and place second in the Cy Young vote, Pedro went on perhaps the most dominant two year stretch in baseball history. Pitching in the height of the steroid era, in the American League East, Pedro was 41-10 with a 1.90 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 12.5 strike outs per nine innings and 8.65 strike outs for every one batter walked. He led the league in ERA, WHIP and strike outs in both seasons and won the pitching triple crown in 1999.

His 2.07 ERA that season was even inflated by his post-All-Star break start. After dominating the All-Star Game in front of his home crowd, Pedro wasn’t right and was hit hard by the Marlins. After a disabled list stint, he was back to his dominant ways. His ERA was still almost a run and a half better than the second-place finisher. The next season his 1.74 ERA was almost two full runs better than Roger Clemens’ second place 3.70 ERA! He was unreal.

Pedro missed much of 2001 with injury, but returned to lead the league in ERA, WHIP and K/9 in each of the next two seasons. He was a combined 34-8 with a 2.24 ERA and 0.98 WHIP those years. In 2004, he accomplished his goal of winning the World Series in Boston. Pedro pitched seven shutout innings to win game three of the World Series. His number 45 is forever immortalized at Fenway Park.

On Friday night, J.D. Martinez singled through the hole between short and third to drive in two runs. In doing so, J.D. Martinez surpassed the 100 RBI mark on the season. With a month and a half still to play, J.D. Martinez already has 37 home runs and 104 runs batted in on the season. In surpassing both the 30 home run plateau and 100 RBI mark in his first season as a Red Sox, Martinez has accomplished what only nine before him had ever done.

Jimmie Foxx

Jimmie Foxx was already the most powerful right-handed bat the baseball world had ever seen by the time he arrived in Boston. Foxx had led the league in home runs in three of his final four seasons in Philadelphia. Sold by the Athletics to the Red Sox during the Great Depression, Foxx was one of several stars brought in my new club owner Tom Yawkey.

1936 was Foxx’ first season in Boston and he clubbed 41 home runs and drove in 143 runners. This was the first time somebody eclipsed 30/100 in his first season with the team. Foxx would accomplish the feat during each of his first five seasons with Boston, averaging 40 home runs and 134 RBI during that stretch. Foxx also won the MVP Award in 1938.

Ted Williams

Williams was a 20-year-old rookie when he joined the Red Sox in 1939 and reached the marks. Told in spring, ”Wait until you see this guy Jimmie Foxx hit,” Williams famously replied “Wait until Foxx sees me hit”. Williams became the first rookie in franchise history to surpass 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in. He hit 31 home runs that year and drove in a league best 145 runners. Williams also hit 44 doubles and 11 triples in that rookie season.

Ted Williams is greeted by Jimmie Foxx as he crosses home plate.

Walt Dropo

Dropo was the third Red Sox to accomplish those numbers in his first season with the team, and second rookie. Dropo wasn’t supposed to be a star, he was already 27 years old when the Sox called him up early in 1950. The 27-year-old rookie went on to hit 34 home runs, drive in a league best 144 runs and lead the league with 326 total bases. Dropo easily won Rookie of the Year and made his one and only All-Star Game.

After a bad season in 1951, Dropo bounced back to hit 29 home runs in 1952. However, after that season he never again reached 20 homers. He spent the second half of his career as a part-time player.

Dick Stuart

Dr. Strangeglove, as he was called, had a big bat and no glove. Another nickname of his was “stonefingers”. His porous defense didn’t help his career, as he played only parts of 10 seasons. Stuart could hit though. He came to the Red Sox in 1963, having made an All-Star Game in Pittsburgh in 1961 after batting .301 with 35 home runs and 117 runs batted in.

In his first season in Boston, Stuart crushed 42 home runs and drove in 118 runs, which led the American League. The 42 home runs were the most hit by any Red Sox player since Ted Williams hit 43 in 1949. Stuart hit 33 home runs and drove in 114 runs the next year before being shipped out of Boston after just two seasons.

Tony Armas

In 1983, Tony Armas became the first Red Sox since Dick Stuart two decades prior to accomplish a 30/100 season in his first year with the team. Armas didn’t actually play well, but still managed to hit 36 home runs and drive in 107 runs. He batted just .218 and posted a .707 OPS despite all the home runs.

Armas was much better in year two for the Sox, batting .268, which was higher than his on-base percentage was the year before. Armas also led the league in home runs and runs batted in with 43 and 123.

Nick Esasky

Just five years after Armas achieved these marks, Nick Esasky did in his lone season with the team. The Red Sox acquired Nick Esasky along with left-handed pitcher Rob Murphy from the Reds in December of 1988. In 1989, Esasky hit 30 home runs and drove in 108 runs for the Red Sox. The Red Sox let Esasky walk in the offseason, leaving him with one (very good) season in a Red Sox uniform. Esasky barely played again, suffering from severe vertigo after signing with the Atlanta Braves.

Nick Esasky of the Red Sox bats during a game against the Rangers on May 1, 1989 at Fenway Park. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Carl Everett

The Red Sox acquired Carl Everett from the Houston Astros for Adam Everett and Greg Miller. Adam Everett was an all glove shortstop and Greg Miller never made the Majors. Meanwhile, Carl Everett beasted in Boston during the 2000 season. He made the all-star team, batted .300 and hit 34 home runs with 108 RBI. He also got a 10 game suspension that year for head butting an umpire and said dinosaurs weren’t real, but his play in 2000 was no joke.

Manny Ramirez

When the Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez, he was handed largest contract in baseball history at the time. He didn’t disappoint either. That first season with the Sox, Manny blasted 41 home runs and drove in 125 runs. Nomar missed most of the season with a wrist injury and Carl Everett slumped badly from the previous season though. Without the lineup protection, Manny’s numbers fell as the year wore on, batting .258 from May 27th on after batting .400 to that point. His first season was still impressive nonetheless.

Manny would make eight All-Star Games, have four top six MVP finishes, win a batting title and a home run crown while in Boston. He also added World Series MVP to his résumé in 2004. In his first six seasons with the club, Manny averaged 39 home runs and 119 RBI per season while posting a .316/.416/.610/1.026 line.

Manny Ramirez follows through during the Red Sox 7-6 victory over the Angels at Fenway Park.

David Ortiz

After being released by the Twins in the offseason despite hitting 20 home runs the previous season, the Red Sox signed David Ortiz for just 1.25 million. It then took Grady Little forever to realize Ortiz was a lot better than Jeremy Giambi. Once finally given a spot in the lineup, David Ortiz raked. From July 1st on, David Ortiz hit 27 home runs and posted a 1.022 OPS. Ortiz homered twice in back-to-back games at Yankee Stadium on July 4th and 5th, games the Red Sox won 10-3 and 10-2.

Everyone knows what happened from there. Ortiz is arguably the most clutch player to ever put on a baseball uniform and arguably the greatest designated hitter. The city of Boston will be descending down upon the small town of Cooperstown, New York in a few years.

J.D. Martinez

These are the names Martinez has joined with his first season performance in Boston. With over 40 games left in the season, Martinez is leading the league with 37 home runs and 104 RBI while batting .332/.400/.666/1.066 as of this writing. He has a legitimate shot at the triple crown.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few guys who came very close to achieving a 30/100 season their first year in Boston. Others accomplished the feat in their first full season in Boston, but had spent a partial season with the team prior.

Vern Stephens hit 29 home runs and drove in 137 runs in 1948, his first year with the Red Sox. He then hit 39 and 30 home runs the next two seasons while leading the league in RBI both years.

Ken “Hawk” Harrelson was acquired in late 1967 to replace the injured Tony Conigliaro. His 80 at-bats that year preclude him from this list. However, 1968 was his only full season with the Red Sox. The year he hit 35 home runs while driving in a league best 109 runs.

Don Baylor was part of the Red Sox team that went to the World Series in 1986. He hit 31 home runs that year but fell six RBI shy of the 100 mark.

Nomar Garciaparra was a September call-up in 1996. In his rookie season of 1997, he fell two RBI shy of becoming the first Red Sox rookie since Walt Dropo in 1950 to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs.

Jason Bay falls in the same boat as Hawk Harrelson. Bay was acquired at the trade deadline in 2008 and posted an .897 OPS over the season’s final two months. 2009 was his only full season with the team, and he hit 36 home runs and drove in 119 runs.

Featured picture from overthemonster.com