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The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 1-5

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One of my projects for the MLB offseason this year will be a series of articles covering the greatest Red Sox to wear each uniform number. My plan is to cover five uniform numbers at a time starting here with one through five. Right off the bat, we dig into a couple retired numbers. Before I begin, I would like to mention that Brandon Phillips became the first player in franchise history to wear the number zero this September. He didn’t play much, but he did pimp out this game-winning home run against the Braves.

Number 1 – Bobby Doerr

The greatest second baseman in franchise history, Bobby Doerr made the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 and has his number one retired by the Red Sox. Doerr played on some great teams in the forties with pals Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio. He had a smooth glove at second base and was one of the finest offensive players at the keystone position the game had seen.

Doerr batted .318 in 1939, his third season in the big leagues. By the next season, he had surpassed 20 home runs and 100 runs batted in for the first time. He would make four straight All-Star Games from 1941-44 before joining the fight overseas in World War II and missing the 1945 season. After returning, Doerr made three straight All-Star Games and five times in six seasons to close out his career. He drove in more than 100 runs in four of the five seasons following World War II, finishing with 95 the season he fell short.

Unfortunately, Doerr was forced into early retirement due to a bad back. He had actually become more consistent at the plate later in his career, posting an OPS between .886 and .891 each year between 1948 and 1950. He still finished with a very solid .826 OPS in his final season. From his first full season in 1938 through his last in 1951, Bobby Doerr averaged a season of .289 with 17 home runs and 95 RBI.

Honorable Mentions: George Kell, Bernie Carbo, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Foy

BOBBY DOERR from the Boston Red Sox. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images)

Number 2 – Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury’s career has spiraled, but that’s a good thing since he’s eating up the Yankees payroll to do nothing. With the Red Sox, he was a good player when healthy and helped the Red Sox win two World Series. Ellsbury came up that year and was so successful down the stretch that he was put on the postseason roster. He then batted .438 in the World Series. Ellsbury was solid again in the 2013 postseason, winning a second World Series with the Red Sox.

Ellsbury spent parts of seven seasons with the Red Sox, but only had four relatively full seasons. He led the league in stolen bases in three of his four healthy seasons. He batted .300 twice and stole 50 bases three times. In 2011, Ellsbury had a career season, finishing second in the MVP vote, winning a Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger. While the rest of the team collapsed down the stretch, Ellsbury was white hot and would have won the MVP if the team hadn’t fallen apart and missed the playoffs.

Honorable Mentions: Rick Ferrell, Xander Bogaerts, Jerry Remy, Mike Andrews

Number 3 – Jimmie Foxx

Foxx is one of the most powerful right-handed bats of all-time. The greatest first baseman in Red Sox history, Foxx won one of his three MVP Awards with the Red Sox and finished second in another season. He homered 35 or more times in each of his first five seasons with the team, averaging 40 home runs and 134 runs batted in per season. There is a reason Foxx was referred to as “The Beast.”

In 1938, his third season in Boston, Foxx won the MVP Award. That season he hit 50 home runs and drove in a league high 175 runs. His slash line that season was .349/.462/.704/1.166, leading the league in each category. The next season he batted .360 and led the league in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and home runs. Cumulatively, Foxx batted .320 with the Red Sox and is second in franchise history in on-base percentage and slugging percentage behind only Ted Williams.

Honorable Mentions: Pete Runnels, Jody Reed, Jeff Frye, Walt Dropo

Number 4 – Joe Cronin

Another retired number, as the Sox retired the number four in honor of Cronin. Cronin spent seven seasons as a full-time player before he started focusing more on managing the club and being limited to mostly pinch-hitting. Despite this role, Cronin batted over .300 with an OPS over .900 each of his first two seasons doing so.

Cronin made five all-star teams with the Red Sox and had two top ten MVP finishes. From 1937-41 he batted over .300 four times, posting a .307/.404/.504/.909 line during that time period. He averaged 19 home runs and 103 runs batted in during that time. He was the Red Sox manager from 1935-47. After, Cronin went on to become general manager, president and treasurer of the team before moving on to the role of American League president.

As a close second, Jackie Jensen deserves a few words. Jensen hit 20+ home runs in each of his first six seasons with the Red Sox, averaging a season of .285 with 26 home runs and 111 RBI. He was the 1958 MVP and won a Gold Glove the following season.

Honorable Mentions: Jackie Jensen, Butch Hobson, Tommy Harper, Carney Lansford

Number 5 – Nomar Garciaparra

During his time in Boston, Nomar was one of the most popular players the franchise had ever seen. Around Fenway Park, around the city, you could hear people yell “Nomaaahhh!” Arguably the greatest shortstop in franchise history, the uniform number five is synonymous with Nomar for an entire generation of fans.

Nomar came up with much fanfare and won the Rookie of the Year in 1997. He hit 30 home runs and led the league in hits that season. In year two, Nomar finished runner-up for the MVP Award. The following two seasons he was batting champion, hitting .357 and .372. Nomar was getting better and better, before an Al Reyes pitch hit him on the wrist, requiring surgery the following season. Nomar was still an excellent player when he came back, but wasn’t quite the same. His averages fell to .310 and .301 his next two full seasons. However, he did hit 52 home runs and drove in 225 runs over those two seasons. He also led the league with an astounding 56 doubles in 2002.

Things didn’t end on the best terms in Boston for Nomar, but he should be remembered for what he did with the team and for how much the fans loved him. He batted .323 with a .923 OPS during his time in Boston. Nomar hit 50 doubles twice and eclipsed 40 two other seasons. In his six full seasons with the Sox, Nomar hit over 20 home runs in all six. He is truly a Red Sox legend.

Honorable Mentions: George Scott, Vern Stephens, Jim Tabor

 

Featured picture from NBC News

 

Red Sox Greatest Second Basemen

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Red Sox Greatest Second Basemen

The keystone position is next on the agenda for my series of Red Sox articles. Unfortunately, the top player has just passed away. At the age of 99, Bobby Doerr passed away on Tuesday. He was the oldest living Hall of Famer. Doerr played against Lou Gehrig, and faced A’s teams managed by Connie Mack, who was born in 1862. RIP to the great Bobby Doerr.

Bobby Doerr

Doerr spent 14 seasons with the Red Sox, which spanned his entire career. He missed the 1945 season, while serving his country in the war. He then was forced into an early retirement at the age of 33, due to a bad back. Even still, Doerr managed to collect over 2000 base hits, and swat 223 home runs. His 1247 runs batted in are far and away the tops at the position. About the only category he doesn’t lead in is stolen bases. He was a career .288 hitter, and posted an .823 OPS.

Doerr was just as good in the field as he was at the plate. In 1948, he set a record for second basemen, by handling 414 consecutive chances without making an error. This record lasted for nearly 60 years, until it was broken in 2007. He also turned more double plays than any second baseman in Major League history, until 1963. His .980 fielding percentage came at a time when gloves were rudimentary. His fielding percentage only dipped below .980 once over the final eight seasons of his career.

Bobby Doerr was also known as a clutch hitter, driving in over 100 runs, in six different seasons. He accomplished this feat in three straight seasons, before his final season. Doerr also batted .409 during the 1946 World Series. It’s unfortunate he had to retire when he did, Doerr was still a very good ballplayer. In fact, he had been improving. Over his final four seasons, Doerr batted .294, while averaging 21 home runs, and 103 RBI per season. Doerr made nine All-Star Games during his career.

Bobby Doerr’s glove, which he managed to post a .980 career fielding % with and set records which stood for decades.

Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia has been aiming for Doerr’s mantle, but isn’t there yet. If he can put together a couple more good seasons, maybe. Pedroia is a career .300 hitter, banging out 1802 base hits at this point in his career. Over a 162 game schedule, Pedroia has averaged 15 home runs, 15 stolen bases and 42 doubles during his career.

Pedroia, of course, is an excellent fielder as well. He is routinely going all out in the field, making diving stops, and throwing out the runner. This has helped him net four Gold Glove Awards thus far. His .991 fielding percentage shows how steady he is in the field, but you’d have to watch him to know how much he flashes his leather around.

Pedroia started off his career by winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2007. He followed that up by leading the league in hits (213), doubles (54) and winning the MVP Award in 2008. He used to be sneaky on the base paths too, stealing 20 bags that year while only being caught once. Pedroia might not steal many bags anymore, but this was the first of four seasons in which he stole 20 bases. Pedroia has made four All-Star Games, in addition to his previously mentioned accolades.

Pete Runnels

Pete Runnels wasn’t with the Red Sox nearly as long as the guys above him on this list, but he sure made an impact while in Boston. Runnels spent five seasons with the team, and batted over .300 in all five. He had a cumulative batting average of .320, and an on-base percentage of .408. He didn’t hit for power, only totaling 29 home runs over those five seasons. But with a .320 average, who cares? Second basemen were rarely power hitters in those days.

Runnels did play primarily first base his final two years with the Red Sox, but he played more games at second during his tenure with the Sox. According to Baseball Reference, Runnels had a 20.3 WAR over his five seasons in Boston. In his first season with the Red Sox, in 1958, he finished runner up for the batting title, losing to teammate Ted Williams. After finishing third in 1959, Runnels won his first batting title in 1960. He would go on to win his second batting title in his final season with the team in 1962. Runnels also made three all-star teams while with the Red Sox.

Billy Goodman

Goodman was a valuable utility man for the Red Sox. He had some years he played exclusively at second, some entirely at first, and others where he played all over the diamond. That versatility made him even more valuable than just his numbers. He played second more than anywhere though, and was usually at the keystone position over the final five seasons he was with the team.

Goodman didn’t have power, topping out with a career high of four home runs, but he was a fine hitter. Goodman batted over .300 five times, and never finished below .293 during a full season (he had a combined 27 at-bats between his first and last seasons). His .354 batting average in 1950 led the Major Leagues, and he finished runner-up for the MVP Award. A player mostly forgotten by time, Goodman deserves to be remembered with all of these accomplishments. He could easily be ahead of Runnels for third on this list. Goodman made two All-Star Games.

September 1950: Boston Red Sox player Billy Goodman watching the action of a game from the dugout. (Photo by Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Jody Reed

Standing at a listed height of 5’9″, Jody Reed was well liked for his scrappy, all out style of play. Despite his small stature, Jody Reed was a doubles machine in Boston. He was very adept at using the Green Monster to his advantage, and averaged 41 doubles per 162 games played with the Red Sox. His lifetime average of .280 as a Red Sox is good, but is a little misleading since he only batted below that number once. Reed was a career .288 hitter, before falling off at the plate in 1992.

Reed came up with the Red Sox as a shortstop, replacing Spike Owen at the position when Joe Morgan took the helm in 1988. He was one of the new guys inserted into the lineup by Morgan that led to their magical run in the second half of the season. By the next season, Reed was splitting his time between the middle infield positions, and eventually became the starting second baseman. He was a fine defender at the position too, though he did get better at it after leaving Boston. It was a tough call for the fifth place Second Basemen position, between Reed and Marty Barrett, but I gave Reed the nod due to his better ratios.

Hey, I think this guy used to deliver Schwan’s ice cream to my house.

Honorable Mentions:

Marty Barrett, Jerry Remy, Mike Andrews, Jeff Frye