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The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 61-68

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As the numbers extend higher, the pickings continue to thin. Fewer and fewer players have worn the numbers as they climb into the sixties and beyond. The numbers have also generally been worn for shorter amounts of time, assigned to rookies just making the Majors. If the rookie succeeds, they usually change their number the following season. If they don’t make it, well, they aren’t wearing the number long. Therefore, I am going to do more than just five players at a time and close out this series of articles with just two more articles. Unfortunately, no Red Sox player has ever worn the number 69, so here are the greatest to wear the numbers 61-68.

Number 61 – Bronson Arroyo

Bronson Arroyo is one of the few players who stuck with his high number, wearing 61 for his entire career. The Red Sox grabbed Arroyo off waivers before the 2003 season, and what a find it was.

Arroyo pitched in Pawtucket for almost the entire first season and threw a perfect game down there, just the fourth in International League history. He pitched 17.1 innings for the Red Sox out of the bullpen, allowing just four earned runs. This earned him a spot on the postseason roster, where he performed well.

Arroyo earned himself a rotation spot in 2004, making 29 starts. He finished the year 10-9 with a solid 4.03 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He made a good start in the ALDS, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings. In the ALCS, he was involved in the famous Alex Rodriguez “slap” play at first base.

In 2005, Arroyo made 32 starts and pitched over 200 innings, starting a streak of nine straight seasons with 199 innings or more thrown. He went 14-10 with a 4.51 ERA in the regular season.

The Red Sox mistakenly traded Arroyo in the offseason for Wily Mo Pena, but he left his mark on Boston.

Honorable Mentions: Brian Johnson, Felix Doubront, Clay Buchholz (2007-09)

Alex Rodriguez illegally slaps the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove as he went to tag him out running to first base in game 6 of the ALCS.

Number 62 – Jon Lester

This is the second number Lester has been chosen for, as he was the winner for his typical number 31. Jon Lester wore the number 62 during his rookie season of 2006. Once he was an established Major Leaguer following the season, he changed to the lower number.

A highly touted prospect, Lester was rated as the 22nd best prospect in all of baseball entering 2006. The former second round pick was coming off an excellent season in AA Portland. He began the year in Pawtucket and posted a 2.70 ERA over 11 starts before being called up to Boston.

Lester would go 7-2 for the big club that season, although with a mediocre ERA. However, he pitched very well for the first half of his time with the Red Sox before possibly hitting a wall. Young pitchers don’t generally throw many innings, so the amount of innings and the impact of the innings being pitched may have caught up to him. Through his first eight starts he was 6-2 with a 2.38 ERA. In that eighth start he allowed just one hit over eight shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals.

Although he faded later in the year, Lester was still 7-2 and helped add another reliable starter for over a month.

Honorable Mention: Rich Hill (2015)

Number 63 – Junichi Tazawa

Tazawa was given an honorable mention at the number 36 for his work from 2013-2016. However, before that he was wearing the number 63 from 2009-2012. He is here for his work in 2012 alone.

Junichi Tazawa at one time was a pretty decent prospect for the Red Sox as a starting pitcher. He made his debut in 2009 and got the loss against the Yankees in his first game. He did not fare much better after that either, making four starts and two relief appearances total.

In 2010, he blew out his arm in April and missed the whole season. When he came back in 2011 it was as a reliever. He only made three appearances for the Red Sox that season. With the slim pickings at the number, Tazawa earns the top spot on the strength of 2012 alone.

Tazawa pitched 37 games in 2012, allowing just seven runs over 44 innings. He struck out 45 batters while posting a 1.43 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He was arguably the best reliever on that mess of a team.

Honorable Mentions: Justin Masterson, Robby Scott

Number 64 – Will Middlebrooks

Will Middlebrooks arrived in 2012 as the Red Sox best hitting prospect. He was ranked number 51 by Baseball America at the start of the year and only improved his standing as the year wore on. After raking at Pawtucket for a month, Middlebrooks was called up and made his Major League debut on May 2nd.

Middlebrooks hit all season for the Red Sox, bashing 15 home runs over 267 at-bats. He batted .288 and posted a slugging percentage of .509 at the big league level that rookie season. This would be the only season he wore the number 64, and it was easily the best season of his career. However, he did win a World Series ring with the club the following season.

Number 65 – Steven Wright

Wright might be the unlikeliest winner of two different numbers, having gotten the nod at number 35. There was little competition at that number, and there is zero competition at this one. The only other player I noticed who contributed anything pitched 3.1 shutout innings in 1998.

Steven Wright wore the number 65 for the 2014 season. That year he threw 21 innings, mostly in relief, and had his first Major League success. Even with the knuckleball, Wright struck out 22 batters against just four walks. He posted a 2.57 ERA and 1.19 WHIP that season for the Red Sox. He has worn the number 35 ever since.

Honorable Mention: Carlos Valdez

Sep 7, 2014 Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Steven Wright (65) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Number 66 – Bobby Poyner

As you can see, there isn’t a lot to choose from at some of these numbers. Not to take away from Poyner, he did a good job for the Red Sox this past season, but he has only thrown 22.1 innings. Only five players have ever donned the uniform 66 for the Red Sox.

A left-handed reliever, Poyner had a fantastic spring and surprisingly pitched his way onto the ballclub. He pitched effectively over 20 appearances, going 1-0 with a 3.22 ERA. His WHIP was an excellent 1.12 and he struck out 24 batters against only three walks. The low walks are an excellent total for a lefty reliever, as they generally walk a fair amount of guys.

Honorable Mention: Daniel Nava (2012 only), Drake Britton

Number 67 – Brandon Workman

Workman is one of four Red Sox to ever wear the number, and the only one to play in more than 11 games. He has had his positives for the club though, this past postseason aside.

Workman first appeared with the big club in 2013. He struck out 47 batters over 41.2 innings that season, making three starts and 17 relief appearances. He had a 6-3 record despite a 4.97 ERA. Workman did make three straight good starts to close out July. A few rough outings skewed his overall solid body of work. Workman then pitched 8.2 innings without an earned run over seven postseason appearances. His work out of the bullpen certainly helped the Red Sox as they won their third World Series in nine years.

The next season, Workman had a 3.27 ERA at the end of June before the wheels came off. He finished 1-10 with a 5.17 ERA. Workman wound up hurting his arm and it was a long road back to the Majors.

He found his way back in 2017 and had a 3.18 ERA over 33 relief appearances. This past season he wore the number 67 for a bit and the number 44, going 6-1 with a 3.27 ERA in the regular season. This gives him a 3.22 ERA over 81 innings since making it back to the big leagues.

Number 68 – Matt Barnes

Barnes wore the number 68 for his first four seasons before switching numbers for the 2018 season. Of course, 2018 is his best season to date, but he did enough prior to this season. He is the only player worth mentioning at the number.

Barnes debuted late in 2014, then struggled as a rookie in 2015. He had an up and down 2016, but showed some promise as he struck out over a batter per inning. He finished 4-3 with a 4.05 ERA.

In 2017 he took another step forward, leading into this past season. Barnes was 7-3 with a 3.88 ERA in 2017, posting a career best 1.22 WHIP. He struck out 10.7 batters per nine innings, surpassed only by this past seasons 14 strike outs per nine.

Jul 6, 2016 Matt Barnes (68) throws a pitch against the Rangers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Greatest Red Sox Legends by Uniform Number: 51-55

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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

Nathan Eovaldi Is Back

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The Red Sox have re-signed Nathan Eovaldi to a 4 year, $67.5 Million deal.  The postseason horse is back in the barn.  Because of the lack of home grown talent, and a shallow free agent pool, this was a move the Red Sox needed to make.

Overpaid?

Well respected and knowledgeable baseball minds are trumpeting how bad a deal this is.  To whit:

Framingham’s own Lou Merloni was on the airwaves of WEEI and NBCSN last night saying essentially the same thing.  Because of Eovaldi’s injury history, this is an over-pay.

It is true that Eovaldi has not been consistent in his career.  Therefore, the Red Sox could paying for only potential.  But where does this deal stack up against a different set of peers than the esteemed Mr. Massarotti put forth:

  • Yu Darvish $21 Million
  • Jeff Samardzija $18 Million
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu $17.9 Million
  • Nathan Eovaldi $16.875 Million
  • Mike Leake $16 Million
  • Wei-Yin Chen $16 Million
  • Rich Hill $16 Million

In this context, Eovaldi almost looks like a bargain.

October Performance

Songs have been sung about Eovaldi’s guts in Game 3 of the World Series alone, because these numbers are positively Schilling-esk:

22.1 Innings, 2-1 record, 15 Hits, 3 Walks, 16 Strikeouts, 1.61 ERA

He pitched in three of the five World Series games, and was the hard-luck looser in the longest game in World Series history.  Because of his 6 innings of extra innings work in Game 3, the bullpen was saved, as well as the other starters.  This ultimately resulted in a World Series Championship.

Nathan Eovaldi Is Necessary 

The Red Sox have almost no starting pitcher talent in the minor leagues.  Their best prospect, Jay Groome, underwent Tommy John Surgery in May of this year.  Beyond Groome, there is no one to speak of who could help the Red Sox in 2019.

If not Eovaldi, then what?  J.A. Happ: A 36 year old pitcher who pitched a grand total of 2 innings in the Yankees Game 1 loss to the Red Sox in the Divisional Round.  Dallas Keuchel: A 31 year old pitcher who has already had his best days.  Eovaldi’s best days are ahead.

Perhaps the Eovaldi signing leads to a bigger deal.  At the very least, the Red Sox have a solid #3 or #4 starter.  And he has the potential to be more, at a reasonable cost.

 

The Red Sox Dodgers Preview Extravaganza

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The Dodgers just dispatched the upstart Brewers and move on to face the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.  Cue the grainy black and white photos of The Babe in a Red Sox uniform. Let us see the Dropkick Murphy’s grinding rendition of Tessie. 

Cue fans using the Brooklyn Robins in barroom and water cooler talk, and a million google searches for ‘Red Sox-Dodgers world series history’ hitting the 1916 World Series page on Wikipedia.  Cue every old Brooklyn Dodger fan coming out of the woodwork, and the slightly less grainy photos and videos of Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese. A mountain of content on the 1988 LA Dodgers World Series winners will come out.

Cue Fever Pitch where the old guy counts off the string of Red Sox world series wins in 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918. Prompt Dave Roberts making his fateful steal in the bottom of the 9th in game 4 against Mariano Rivera.  Cue pictures of Alex Cora in an LA Dodgers uniform. The rating of this series is through the roof! 

It’s an old-school, original 6 type of World Series that will be chock full of intrigue and potential controversy.

Detroit Public Library

THE RED SOX

With a resounding thud, all the doubting and putting down of the 2018 Red Sox has been pushed off the desks of commentators nationwide.  This team is an absolute wagon with a horseshoe, four-leafed clover, and all the baseball gods in their back pocket. 

All the beautiful poignant vignettes of warm feelings are still cascading around the Red Sox: The Alex Cora birthday serenade in the clubhouse after beating the Houston Astros in 5 games.  David Price’s moment with friends and family that choked everyone up.  Alex Cora talking about the Red Sox sending supplies to his storm-ravaged homeland.  Alex Cora is the first manager from Puerto Rico to take his team to the World Series.  

Yes, changing managers can make a world of difference in the day to day operations clubhouse and team.  It doesn’t hurt that Cora is batting, oh, around .800 with his in-game and lineup decisions so far in the playoffs.

There’s every reason in our provincial New England bubble to expect a romp over the Dodgers in the World Series.  The bats are batting: JBJ! JD! PEARCY! MITCHY!  The gloves are catching: BENNY! MOOKIE! The pitchers pitching: PRICE! BRASIER! KELLY! BARNES! PORCELLO! Even maybe SALE!  Possibly KIMBREL!

THE DODGERS

PITCHING

And yet, there is a reason to pause.  

When it comes to the match-ups there’s not much, but what there is tends to favor the Dodgers.  Of the four starting pitchers on LA (Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, local boy made good Rich Hill, Walker Buehler), there’s only one player on the Red Sox who have any history. That’s JD Martinez against Kershaw.  It’s a minuscule 8 at-bats, but JD has managed a home run, double and .375 average against the talented lefty.

HITTING

On the other side are two individuals that show up again and again.  

We’ll start with Brian Dozier. He may not be what he once was, but he has a boatload of experience against the suddenly vaunted Red Sox staff. Dozier’s batting average doesn’t jump off the page, but the power does: Against Chris Sale, David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, and Rick Porcello, Dozier has 9 doubles and 9 home runs in 146 at-bats.  If we push those to a full season that’s a 36 double and 36 homer pace.

And he’s the appetizer.

The main man, the designated villain of Red Sox fans and now most of Baseball, is none other than Manny Machado. The side stepper, the slide stabber, the very very bad man.

https://twitter.com/tosa_tina_/status/1052522276766273536

And he’s a force against the Red Sox pitchers: 4 doubles, 9 homers, 108 at-bats.  That’s a projected 18 doubles and, gulp, 41 home runs, and also hits a combined .298 against the Boston starters. 

Throw in the fact that the Sox batters haven’t seen the Dodgers pitchers and it could be an edge for the boys in blue.

We finish with one more subtle note on Alex Cora’s staff.  The hitting coach of the Red Sox is Tim Hyers.  If that name doesn’t leap off the page, it’s not your fault.  Hyers does what the best coaches do, he lets the players shine and stays in the shadows. 

It turns out Mr. Hyers was the Dodgers assistant hitting coach last year.  That means he has the inside track on the Dodgers best hitters, including Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, and Yasiel Puig among others. 

It’s going to be a fun series, why do we have to wait until Tuesday?