Tag Archives: Reggie Smith

The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 6-10

Number 6 – Johnny Pesky

Pesky was nearly a Red Sox lifer, spending parts of eight seasons with the team during his ten-year Major League career. He then did some announcing for the team, coached and hung around the team throughout his life. As recently as 2012, when Fenway Park celebrated its 100th anniversary, Pesky was wheeled out onto the field to partake in the ceremony.

Pesky is underrated as a player. I feel like a lot of Sox fans know him for Pesky Pole and hanging around the team forever, but might not be sure about how good a player he was. Nationally he was very underrated as well. If not for spending three years fighting in World War II, Pesky may have been a Hall of Fame player. In his rookie season of 1942, Pesky set a rookie record with 205 base hits, which led the league. He batted .331 that season.

After missing three years of baseball, Pesky returned from war to belt over 200 base hits each of the next two seasons, again leading the league both years. He batted .335 and .324 in those seasons. His first three years in the MLB he led the league in base hits all three. If Pesky had reached 200 hits in all three seasons he missed, not a stretch given what he accomplished surrounding those years, he would have gone over 200 hits in six straight years to begin his career. This also would have given him over 2000 hits and easily a .300 average while playing mostly shortstop, a premium position.

Pesky had his number six retired by the Red Sox in 2008, after spending decades with the franchise in some sort of role.

Honorable Mentions: Rico Petrocelli, Harry Agganis

Number 7 – Dom DiMaggio

Another of the group of friends from the forties teams, DiMaggio was also underrated as a player. Ted Williams repeatedly went to bat for DiMaggio to make the Hall of Fame before his death. He was a fantastic fielder in center and was the table setter at the top of the lineup for some very good offenses. Unfortunately, Dom was overshadowed by both his older brother Joe and sharing an outfield with Ted.

Most people nationwide would know Dom DiMaggio as Joe’s little brother. Dom DiMaggio, however, made seven all-star teams, and likely would have received a nice collection of Gold Gloves for his work in center field had the award existed back then. He got great reads, had a lot of range and one of the strongest arms in the league. In addition, DiMaggio batted .298 for his career with a stellar .383 on-base percentage. He averaged 195 base hits per 162 games with 87 walks.

Ted Williams knew what he was talking about when it came to baseball, so who’s to argue with him over DiMaggio? Dominic certainly has a case for the Hall. He also missed three years of playing time due to fighting in World War II, hurting his cumulative statistics.

Honorable Mentions: Reggie Smith, Trot Nixon, JD Drew, Rick Burleson, Dick Stuart

Despite being an excellent ballplayer himself, Dom DiMaggio was always in the shadow of his older brother Joe. (AP Photo/file)

Number 8 – Carl Yastrzemski

Yaz is, of course, the recipient of the greatest ballplayer to wear the number eight for the Red Sox. Can you name anyone else who wore the number for the team? Number eight is synonymous with Yaz around here.

Everyone knows about Carl Yastrzemski, so here are some quick hits. Yaz made 18 All-Star Games and won an All-Star Game MVP. Yaz was a fantastic fielder, leading to seven Gold Glove Awards. He won the triple crown in 1967 and was named the American League MVP that season. Yaz won three batting titles and led the league in on-base percentage five times, slugging percentage three times and OPS four times. He also led the league in hits twice, walks twice, runs scored three times, doubles three times, and home runs and runs batted in once apiece.

For Red Sox records, Yastrzemski is number one in franchise history in games played, at-bats, hits, total bases, runs scored, runs batted in and doubles, in addition to a few others. The man who played 23 seasons and got on base 5304 times is all over the franchise record books.

Number 9 – Ted Williams

Again, who doesn’t know Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived? The retired number nine is Ted Williams, and Ted Williams alone. There’s not much to say that isn’t known about the man who made 19 All-Star Games and missed three years to fight in World War II and two more for the Korean War. Without those military stints, Williams may have threatened Babe Ruth’s all-time home run mark of 714 at the time. Williams won two Triple Crowns and two MVPs and was robbed of at least three other MVP Awards by vengeful sports writers.

Williams led the league in hitting six times, including back-to-back years at the ages of 38 and 39. His .388 batting average in 1957 at the age of 38 is one of, if not his finest accomplishment, up there with batting .406 in 1941. He only had an OPS under 1.000 once, his 40-year-old season when he played injured. He came back the next year to have his best HR/AB ratio of his entire career.

People once wondered if Ted Williams would still be able to hit after returning from a second stint at war. He had nearly died in the Korean War and was coming back at nearly 35 years old. In addition to this, he had not swung a bat in 16 months while flying fighter jets. All he did was bat over .400 and swatted 13 home runs in 91 at-bats over the rest of the 1953 season. From his return from Korea through the 1958 season, ages 35 to 39, Williams batted an unheard of .355/.496/.661/1.157! These are just several stats about the greatest hitter of all-time, I could go on for hours about what he accomplished just at the plate.

Number 10 – Billy Goodman

The least well known of the group for numbers 1-10, Goodman was a good player for the Sox. He spent a decade with the team from the late forties through the mid-fifties. Goodman played all over the field but was mostly a first and second baseman. He batted .310 as a rookie in 1948, then made the all-star team in year two. By year three, Goodman led the league in hitting with a .354 batting average, finishing second in the MVP vote.

During his nine full seasons with the Red Sox, Goodman batted above .300 five times. The other four seasons he was in the .290’s. He was a .306 hitter with the team and posted an excellent .386 on-base percentage. His versatility only added to his value on the field. Goodman made two All-Star Games and garnered MVP votes in six different seasons with the Red Sox.

Honorable Mentions: Rich Gedman, Bob Montgomery, Scott Hatteberg

On This Day in Red Sox History: April 6, 1973

Opening Day Lineups

This game is famous for being the start of the designated hitter. The American League had just adopted the designated hitter for the season, and Ron Blomberg of the Yankees was the first player to step into a batter’s box while playing the “position.” Newly signed Orlando Cepeda was the first designated hitter for the Red Sox and batted 5th. The Red Sox were headlined by mainstays Carl Yastrzemski and Reggie Smith, along with reigning Rookie of the Year Carlton Fisk. They pitted their ace on the mound, Luis Tiant, against the Yankees Mel Stottlemyre.

Baseball-reference.com

Rough First Inning

Luis Tiant got off to a shaky start to begin the season. After giving up a lead-off hit, the Sox got a strike em’ out, throw em’ out double play when Carlton Fisk cut Horace Clarke down attempting to steal second base. A double and two walks later though loaded the bases for the first designated hitter at-bat in baseball history. Ron Blomberg worked a bases loaded walk to score the game’s first run. Felipe Alou followed with a 2-run double, making two doubles for Alou brothers in the inning as Matty Alou had started the 2-out rally with a double. Tiant got out of the inning trailing 3-0.

The Sox half of the first saw only one hit; but that hit was a home run by Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz took a Mel Stottlemyre offering out to straightaway center field for the season’s first home run.

April 6, 1973: Ed Folger of Lancaster threw out the first ball on Opening Day. Folger, who had been a minor leaguer in the Red Sox system, had his leg amputated in a farm accident the previous September. (The Boston Globe)

Sox Take the Lead

Tiant enjoyed a 1-2-3 second inning, rebounding from a rough first. The Red Sox gave him some support in the bottom of the inning, taking a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Rico Petrocelli singled with 1 out, one of three hits on the afternoon for him. This brought up Carlton Fisk, who had batted .293 with 22 home runs and a league leading 9 triples the previous season when he won the Rookie of the Year Award. Fisk promptly tied the game by putting one up over the Green Monster in left field. This would be just the beginning of the damage he would do to the Yankees that afternoon. The Red Sox would add two unearned runs following a throwing error by Graig Nettles before the inning was over.

Nettles would gain a little bit of redemption the next half inning when he hit a 2-out home run to center field off Luis Tiant, pulling the Yankees back within a run. Mel Stottlemyre had nothing on the mound though and the Red Sox fortified their lead in the bottom of the third. A hit by Reggie Smith and a double by Carlton Fisk put two in scoring position for Doug Griffin. Griffin singled them both home, chasing Stottlemyre from the game. Griffin then scored on a hit by Dwight Evans and the Sox led 8-4 after three innings.

Red Sox Pull Away

With Lindy McDaniel on the mound for New York, the Red Sox did not let up in the fourth. A single by Yaz followed by a double for Reggie Smith put two in scoring position for the Sox with no one out. After striking out designated hitter Orlando Cepeda, McDaniel put Rico Petrocelli on intentionally; bad decision. Carlton Fisk had already homered and doubled on the day, and he wasn’t done yet. Fisk took a McDaniel offering deep to right-center field and over the wall for a grand slam. Fisk now had 10 total bases and six runs batted in and it was only the fourth inning. The Sox threatened with two more in scoring position before the inning finally ended; 12-4 Red Sox lead.

From there the Red Sox cruised to victory. The Yankees got one in the 5th, but Tiant shut them down over the final four innings for the complete game victory. This was Tiant’s first of 20 wins that season for the Red Sox. Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense tacked on three more runs in the 6th inning before calling it quits.

Red Sox 15 Yankees 5

Red Sox 1973 team photo (Bostonredsox.com)

The Greatest Center Fielders in Red Sox History

Tris Speaker

Tris Speaker is not only the greatest center fielder in Red Sox history, he is one of the very best of all-time. Although he put up better numbers after being traded to Cleveland, Speaker was already one of the best players in baseball with the Red Sox. From his first full season in 1909 until he was traded following the 1915 season, Speaker batted .342 with a .909 OPS. During this time he averaged 34 doubles, 15 triples and 38 stolen bases per season.

Speaker’s best season with the Sox came in 1912, when he won the MVP Award. That season he batted .383, leading the league with 10 home runs and 53 doubles. Speaker had 222 base hits and stole 52 bases that season while scoring 136 runs. Always a huge extra base guy, Speaker followed that season with a .363 average and 22 triples in 1913. He put up a 55.5 WAR over his seven full seasons.

Rookie outfielder Tris Speaker of the Boston Red Sox poses for a photo in 1908. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)

Dom DiMaggio

My choice for the second spot on the list goes to the underrated Dominic DiMaggio. Overshadowed his entire career by his big brother Joe, Dom was a great ballplayer. He was widely considered the best defensive center fielder in the game, running balls down 460 feet from home plate. In addition to his great reads off the bat and his range, DiMaggio had a cannon for an arm for such a small guy. DiMaggio averaged over 13 assists per season.

Overshadowed some by Ted Williams during his career as well, Williams realized how important DiMaggio was to the team. Williams trumpeted Dom DiMaggio’s Hall of Fame case until he died, even having a pamphlet available at his museum covering why he believed Dom should be in the Hall. When the greatest hitter of all-time believes so strongly in that, who is anyone else to argue? Part of what hurt DiMaggio’s case is that he missed three seasons to the war. He finished with just 1680 base hits, but if the war hadn’t happened that number would easily surpass 2000. Couple that with his great fielding and his .298 batting average, he certainly has a case.

DiMaggio was the catalyst atop some vaunted Red Sox lineups, scoring over 100 runs six times and leading the league in that category twice. He also led the league in triples and stolen bases in 1950, in what was an outstanding season. His career 162 game average came out to .298 with 10 home runs, 36 doubles, 195 base hits and a .383/.419/.802 triple slash. He made seven all-star teams in 10 seasons.

Year	Tm	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1940	BOS	418	81	126	32	6	8	46	7	41	46	.301	.367	.464	.831
1941	BOS	584	117	165	37	6	8	58	13	90	57	.283	.385	.408	.792
1942	BOS	622	110	178	36	8	14	48	16	70	52	.286	.364	.437	.801
1943
1944
1945
1946	BOS	534	85	169	24	7	7	73	10	66	58	.316	.393	.427	.820
1947	BOS	513	75	145	21	5	8	71	10	74	62	.283	.376	.390	.766
1948	BOS	*648*	127	185	40	4	9	87	10	101	58	.285	.383	.401	.785
1949	BOS	605	126	186	34	5	8	60	9	96	55	.307	.404	.420	.824
1950	BOS	588	*131*	193	30	11	7	70	15	82	68	.328	.414	.452	.866
1951	BOS	639	113	189	34	4	12	72	4	73	53	.296	.370	.418	.788
1952	BOS	486	81	143	20	1	6	33	6	57	61	.294	.371	.377	.747
1953	BOS	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
11 Y	11 Y	5640	1046	1680	308	57	87	618	100	750	571	.298	.383	.419	.802
162	162	653	121	195	36	7	10	72	12	87	66	.298	.383	.419	.802

Fred Lynn

Lynn should never have left the Red Sox. Fred Lynn spent the first six full seasons of his career in Boston and was on a Hall of Fame path. Fenway Park suited him perfectly. After leaving his production dropped off considerably. He was still a solid player, but no longer the potential Hall of Famer he had been.

Lynn came up late in 1974 and hinted at what was to come. He batted .419 with a 1.188 OPS in 43 at-bats. The next season he became the first player to ever win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards in the same season. Lynn batted .331 that season and led the league with 47 doubles and a .967 OPS. His best season however was arguably in 1979. Lynn was a monster that season, leading the league in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. In addition to that he hit 39 home runs and won the Gold Glove Award.

Fred Lynn batted .308 as a member of the Red Sox, hitting 124 home runs. He had 944 base hits and a slash line of .383/.520/.902. In addition to his Rookie of the Year and MVP, Lynn won four Gold Gloves and made six All-Star Games.

Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox bats against the New York Yankees during an MLB baseball game circa 1976 at Yankee Stadium. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Reggie Smith

Another player who had his best seasons after leaving the Red Sox. The Red Sox made a mistake trading him as Smith went on to have two top five MVP finishes. Smith had plenty of good seasons in Boston though, hitting over 20 home runs in five consecutive seasons and batting over .300 during three of them. An underrated player, I have Smith as a top 20 center fielder of all-time.

While with the Red Sox, Smith batted .281 and hit 149 home runs out of 1064 base hits. Over his final five seasons with the team, Smith averaged a season of .294 with 24 home runs, 81 RBI and an .867 OPS. He also led the league in doubles in both 1968 and 1971. Smith made two All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove Award with the Red Sox.

Reggie Smith of the Boston Red Sox.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury was always good with the Sox when he was healthy. Since leaving, he has continued to do a wonderful job by eating up a bunch of the Yankees money to be a below average player. What a guy! Ellsbury came up late in 2007 and showed very well down the stretch. He earned his way onto the playoff roster and batted .438 during the World Series. It was the first of two World Series he would win with the team.

2011 was far and away his best offensive season. Ellsbury had a huge second half of the year and probably would have won the MVP had the team not collapsed in September. He had 212 base hits that season, batting .321 with 32 home runs, 46 doubles and 39 stolen bases. He ended up the runner-up to Justin Verlander for the MVP Award.

Ellsbury was always a huge threat on the base paths, leading the league in steals three times. He had a career high 70 stolen bases in 2009. In 2013, his final year with the team, Ellsbury stole 52 bases while only being caught four times. Ellsbury made one all-star team, won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award.

Ellsbury slices a line drive the other way.

Honorable Mentions:

Ellis Burks, Johnny Damon, Chick Stahl, Ira Flagstead, Tony Armas, Jimmy Piersall

Boston Sports Extra

By Boston Fans, For Boston Fans