Tag Archives: Shortstop

Best Deadline Deals in Red Sox History

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As trades begin to happen across baseball with the trade deadline in a few days, I decided to look into some of the best trades the Red Sox have ever made at the deadline. I also plan to do one about the worst trade deadline deals they have made in the next couple days. These articles will include August waiver trades as well.

1. Heathcliff Slocumb for Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe

This is a no-brainer at the top spot. This trade was always baffling, but continually got worse with each passing season as Varitek and Lowe paved their way in the big leagues.

The Mariners were desperate for relief help, as this wasn’t the only move they made for a relief pitcher. One is left to wonder why they thought Heathcliff Slocumb would help shore up a struggling bullpen though. Slocumb had a solid season in 1996, posting a 3.02 ERA and 31 saves, but his saves were often nerve-wracking, as he posted a 1.48 WHIP. In 1997 it all came apart. At the time of the trade he had blown five saves, posted a 5.79 ERA with an unsightly 1.97 WHIP. That means he essentially put on two baserunners each inning! Over the next season and a half in Seattle, Slocumb went 2-9 with a 4.97 ERA and 13 saves.

Meanwhile, Jason Varitek became the first catcher ever to catch four no-hitters. He was the eventual captain of the Red Sox, and is the second best catcher in franchise history. He was a three time all-star, a Silver Slugger winner and a Gold Glove winner.

Derek Lowe made two All-Star Games with the Red Sox. He led the American League with 42 saves in 2000, then two years later went 21-8 with a 2.58 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. He also won the clinching game of the ALDS, ALCS and the World Series in 2004. Without this trade, the Red Sox do not win the World Series in 2004, and who knows where the franchise would be.

As most Red Sox fans probably were at the time, I was just happy to be rid of Heathcliff Slocumb. Getting two important pieces back in return? Trade deadline gold.

2. The Nomar Deal

At the trade deadline in 2004 the Red Sox were in the playoff race, but needed to change things up to really make a run. Franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra was unhappy in Boston by this time, missing games with injury and not playing to his usual standards. The infield defense was sloppy and Theo Epstein decided the defense had to get better.

It wasn’t surprising when the Red Sox traded Nomar, a lot of people knew it was time, but it was bittersweet. The Red Sox sent Nomar and Matt Murton to the Cubs in a four team trade. Coming back to Boston were shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Both were good fielders to help shore up the infield defense.

Although Mientkiewicz couldn’t hit a lick, Orlando Cabrera proved to be a a sparkplug. He batted .294 with six home runs the rest of the season, while playing a steadier shortstop than Nomar . The team went 40-20 over the rest of the regular season. Cabrera then batted .379 in the seven game ALCS with the Yankees. I’ve never understood why the Red Sox let him leave after the season; he seemed to fit right in with the team personality-wise, clearly could handle Boston and the big stage, played a good defense and could hit.

The Red Sox went 40-20 after making the trade for Orlando Cabrera in 2004.

3. Rey Quinones for Dave Henderson & Spike Owen

This is one of those August deals I referred to in the beginning. The Red Sox wound up sending three other players to the Mariners later on as players to be named later, but none did a whole lot. Mike Brown and Mike Trujillo at least pitched some for them at the big league level. Quinones, who had been hitting just .237 for the Red Sox in his rookie season, did even worse over the rest of the season. He actually had a solid season in 1987 before his offense tailed off and he was out of baseball following the 1989 season. His batting register on baseball-reference.com is fascinating, popping up in Independent baseball in 1999 after having nothing listed since 1989.

Dave Henderson actually didn’t do much in the regular season for the Red Sox. He hit .196 with 1 home run over 51 at-bats. However, he hit one of the biggest home runs in franchise history in the 1986 ALCS to avoid a series defeat to the Angels. In the World Series, he would bat .400 with two more home runs. Imagine his status in Boston had they not choked.

As for Spike Owen, he stayed with the team for each of the next two seasons as well, and was their starting shortstop for 1987 and half of 1988. He also had a big postseason in 1986, batting .429 in the ALCS and .300 in the World Series.

Dave Henderson came up huge for the Red Sox in the 1986 postseason.

4. Santiago Espinal for Steve Pearce

I’m going back to just last season for this one. The Red Sox got the eventual World Series MVP for a prospect not on the radar for prospect lists. You never know how someone will develop, but at the moment this one looks like a steal. This trade happened about a month before the deadline, but it counts.

Pearce posted a .901 OPS for the Red Sox following the trade. He went all Jimmie Foxx on the Yankees in early August, hitting three home runs one day and another the next day. In the World Series he batted .333 with three home runs. In game four, he hit a home run off closer Kenley Jansen to tie the game at four in the 8th inning of an eventual 9-6 victory. For the clinching game five, he hit a two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw to open the scoring in the 1st inning, then homered again in the 8th inning, which was the dagger. For his efforts, he won World Series MVP.

Steve Pearce homers in the 8th inning of game 5 of the World Series.

5. Henri Stanley for Dave Roberts

We all know why this one is on the list, and it all comes down to just one play. The Red Sox picked up Dave Roberts on July 31, 2004 for Henri Stanley (who?). The idea with Roberts was to add some speed. He batted .256 with 2 home runs and five stolen bases over the rest of the regular season. In the playoffs, he was on the team to pinch-run. That was it. The rest, as they say, is history.

Honorable Mention: Mike Stanley

Mike Stanley gets an honorable mention for two trades. Stanley posted excellent offensive numbers in 1996 and 1997 for the Red Sox, but the team was well out of the race in 1997 so they moved him in August. In sending him to the Yankees, the Red Sox received Tony Armas Jr. in return.

Why is this trade so notable? Well, that offseason, the Red Sox were battling the Indians to trade for Pedro Martinez from the Expos. The Red Sox won out, sending the Expos two pitching prospects in Carl Pavano and, you guessed it, Tony Armas Jr. This Mike Stanley trade is very underrated in history, as it brought the Red Sox an important trade chip back to get possibly the best pitcher of all-time.

The very next season, in 1998, with the Red Sox back in the race again, they brought Stanley back at the deadline, sending Peter Munro and Jay Yennaco to the Blue Jays for him. Munro made the Majors, but didn’t do much to speak of. Yennaco never made to the show. Mike Stanley batted .288 with an .888 OPS the rest of the 1998 season. In 1999, he was their starting first baseman more often than not, posting a .393 on-base percentage while hitting 19 home runs. Stanley was also an excellent guy in the clubhouse, becoming a bench coach quickly after his retirement.

Mike Stanley was a great trade for the Red Sox both in dealing him (1997) and acquiring him again (1998).

Feature picture from sportsonearth.com

Random Red Sox of the Day: Jody Reed

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Drafted by the Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox selected Jody Reed out of Florida State University in the eighth round of the 1984 draft. Reed had already been through several draft phases, but never signed. He began play immediately in A-Ball at Winter Haven. After spending all of the 1985 season at Winter Haven as well, Reed started to climb the ladder.

In 1986 he played at both AA New Britain and AAA Pawtucket. Even though he had struggled at New Britain, Reed showed his promise in Pawtucket. In 1987 he played the full season at Pawtucket before a September call-up to the big leagues. Reed had batted .296 with seven home runs in AAA, earning his way up.

In 30 Major League at-bats that September he batted .300. He got his first start in a doubleheader on September 18th and collected three hits. Batting leadoff in the game, his first hit came off lefthander Jeff Ballard of the Orioles in the fifth inning.

BOSTON, MA – CIRCA 1988: Jody Reed #3 of the Boston Red Sox looks on prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1988 at Fenway Park. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Morgan’s Magic

Jody Reed struggled to begin the 1988 season, and manager John McNamara threatened to send him down to the minors. When McNamara was fired, with the Red Sox struggling to a 43-42 record, Reed was batting .237 as a part-time player.

Instead of sending him to the minors, new manager Joe Morgan did the opposite; making him his full-time starting shortstop, replacing Spike Owen. One of the big changes Morgan made was benching his older players who were scuffling and going with the younger guys. At short, Jody Reed may have been the biggest part of that.

The Red Sox went on an epic run, dubbed “Morgan’s Magic.” The Red Sox won 12 straight to begin Morgan’s reign, and 19 of 20. They also went on to win a record 24 consecutive home games at Fenway Park. For his part, Reed batted .477 during the 12 game win streak, and .432 during those first 20 games. Getting to play every day and having the confidence of his new manager did wonders for Jody Reed.

Reed finished the season with a .293 batting average and finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote. The Red Sox won the American League East following their huge run under Joe Morgan.

Jody Reed of the Red Sox bats against the Yankees during a game circa 1991 at Fenway Park. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

A Doubles Machine

Reed continued to start for the Red Sox over the remainder of his tenure with the team. In 1989 he split evenly between second base and shortstop, as the Red Sox lost their second baseman Marty Barrett to injury during the season and acquired shortstop Luis Rivera from the Expos.

Reed did his part, batting .288 with 42 doubles. Those doubles placed him third in the American League, as Reed started proving himself as a doubles machine in Fenway Park.

Reed mostly started at second base in 1990, but played his old shortstop position some as well. The position switching didn’t affect his ability to hit doubles, as Reed led the entire Major Leagues with 45 doubles. He batted .289 and hit a career high five home runs. Yes, he didn’t have much for home run power, but all those doubles worked just fine.

1991 saw more success from Reed, as he stayed at second base all season. He matched his five home runs from the previous season, and his 42 doubles from 1989, while batting .283. To this point in his career, Reed had batted .288 and had averaged 43 doubles over the previous three seasons.

The magic went away in 1992 though. The Red Sox mistakenly fired Joe Morgan in the offseason, bringing in Butch Hobson. The whole team’s play declined in 1992, and Reed was not immune. He batted a career low .247, and only hit 27 doubles in his final season with the Red Sox.

Jody Reed #3 of the Boston Red Sox bats against the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a game circa 1990 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Moving On

Reed bounced around over the rest of his Major League career. He played in Los Angeles with the Dodgers in 1993, batting .276 while playing excellent defense at second base, something that would become his thing. He only made five errors, posting a .993 fielding percentage. This fielding percentage was tops in the National League at the position.

He took some flak for turning down a big contract offer from the Dodgers, and then signing for much less elsewhere in the offseason. However, it seems like he wasn’t very happy in Los Angeles, and having to team with shortstop Jose Offerman, who was a disaster at the position. Good for him for prioritizing happiness over money!

Reed played with the Brewers in 1994. He led the league with a .995 fielding percentage at second base while turning the most double plays and making the most assists at second base. Seems like he had a strong case for the Gold Glove Award. In addition, Reed batted a solid .271 for the Brewers.

Reed spent the next two years playing in the lovely weather of San Diego. In 1995 he only made four errors, compiling a .994 fielding percentage. Although he made his most errors since 1992 in ’96, he still had a nice .987 fielding percentage. Reed batted .250 in his two seasons with the Padres.

He closed out his career in 1997 by playing in 52 games with the Detroit Tigers. Reed’s play had clearly declined, as he batted under .200. Still, he had carved out a nice career for himself. He led the league in several fielding categories at second base in the second half of his career, after finishing among the league leaders in doubles during the first half of it.

Random Red Sox of the Day: Tim Naehring

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“Random Red Sox of the Day” is a new series of articles I will be periodically writing. This one is the first installment in the series. Random doesn’t mean they weren’t good, just that they aren’t names you will hear come up often in this day and age. Tim Naehring, for instance, was a good player for the Red Sox who seemingly adding to his game every season until an elbow injury ended his career prematurely. Read about him more below.

The Early Days

Tim Naehring was drafted by the Red Sox in 1988 out of Miami of Ohio as a shortstop. The Red Sox had also selected a shortstop in the 5th round named John Valentin. Naehring jumped ahead of Valentin in development as Valentin battled an injury shortly after being drafted.

By 1989, Naehring had made the leap to AAA Pawtucket, passing over AA during his midseason callup. Naehring held his own and found himself back in Pawtucket for the 1990 season. After swatting 15 home runs, he got the call to the big leagues in July.

By his third Major League start, Naehring had hit his first career home run. Two weeks later he had his first three-hit game, which he followed up with another three-hit game which included a home run and four runs batted in. He added a four-hit game a few days later before an injury ended his season, something he dealt with often in his early playing days.

Naehring would miss almost the entire 1991 season. He would spend most of the 1992 season on the big league team, serving as a utility player for the Red Sox. Naehring didn’t hit much, but played shortstop, second base and third base. He did win a game with a two-run homer in the top of the 19th in Cleveland in April of that season.

Tim Naehring during his early playing days.

The Beginnings of a Breakout

Tim Naehring was back in AAA for much of 1993, but was showing improvement. He batted .307 with an .873 OPS over 55 games at Pawtucket. After a bit of a sluggish start following his callup, Naehring found regular at-bats in September with the team out of the postseason race and picked up where he left off in Pawtucket. From September 10th through the end of the season, Naehring batted .420 with a 1.047 OPS. He had six hits during a doubleheader on the 10th and wound up with five straight multi-hit games.

Naehring was up for good in 1994 and continued showing the promise from his 1993 season. He played his usual infield positions, but was mostly at second base with Scott Fletcher struggling at the plate. Forming a timeshare with Fletcher while filling in periodically around the infield, Naehring batted .276 with 7 home runs over 297 at-bats. He enjoyed his first multi-homer game on April 19th against Oakland, a game in which he went 4-4 at the dish.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Tim Naehring stands at the plate during game against the Oakland Athletics.

Starting Third Baseman

Before the 1995 season, the Red Sox traded away two-time All-Star Scott Cooper. With the move, Tim Naehring would be taking over as their full-time third baseman. Naehring would not let the opportunity go to waste. Naehring was leading the American League in hitting as late as June of 1995.

He was still batting over .320 into early September of that season before fading a bit down the stretch. Still, Naehring batted .307 with a career high .863 OPS. He got on base at a .415 clip, leading the Red Sox and finishing eighth in the American League MVP race. When the Sox bats went cold in the postseason series with the Indians, Naehring picked up four hits and homered.

Naehring would set career highs in a couple more categories in 1996. He had an 18 game hitting streak early in the season. In June, he hit his first career walk-off home run against the Indians. With the game tied in the 15th inning, Naehring hit a 2-run homer off future Red Sox reliever Alan Embree. He would go on to hit 17 home runs that season, a personal best. His 65 runs batted in and 77 runs scored were also career highs. Those highs may not have held up if it weren’t for injury.

Tim Naehring was always giving it his all out on the field. Here he is colliding with Yankees catcher Mike Stanley on a play at the plate.

The Injury

Tim Naehring may have surpassed some of those career highs in 1997 if not for an elbow injury that ended his season, and ultimately, his career. Injured in late June, Naehring had 9 home runs and 40 RBI, and the team had yet to reach the mid-point of the season. He was batting .286 on 74 base hits with an .843 OPS. He likely would have surpassed his personal bests for both hits and RBI, and might have reached 20 home runs for the first time.

On June 23rd, in a win up in Toronto, Tim Naehring collected three base hits and homered. It would be the final game of his career. Naehring blew out his elbow, and with modern medicine probably would have made it back late the next season. As it was, Naehring held out hopes of making a comeback through 1998, but ultimately had to call it quits. He was 30 years old when he played his final game.

Naehring faced many injuries during his playing days, but some of that likely stemmed from his style of play. He was always diving for ground balls and going all out in the field. He was a good fielder and a good hitter. Naehring had only committed three errors on the 1997 season when he got hurt. At the plate, he seemingly kept improving as well, batting .295/.387/.451/.837 over his final three seasons.

Tim Naehring was always sporting a pair of very stylish shades.

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

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Writing about the best players to don uniform numbers six through ten for the Red Sox. This is the second article in this series. If you missed the numbers one through five, check it out here. This set of numbers, six to ten, features three numbers retired by the franchise.

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

An Interview with Red Sox Legend Rico Petrocelli

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I had the privilege of interviewing Red Sox legend Rico Petrocelli the other day. Rico is in the Red Sox Hall of Fame and hit more home runs than any other shortstop in team history when including his work at third base. He was a member of the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team that went to the World Series, and a member of the 1975 Red Sox team that played in the series. Rico has stayed in touch with the game since his retirement and still follows the Red Sox closely today.

BSE: Did you have a nice weekend down in Massachusetts?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, in Falmouth. I have another book out with two other authors and I did a book signing down there. I played against or with 56 Hall of Famers and I got to know them. The book is about some of the things I spoke with them about. There are photos of baseball cards, an explanation about the cards, the worth of the cards and something about the players.

BSE: Sounds interesting, what’s the name of the book?

Rico Petrocelli: “An All-Star’s Cardboard Memories.” I used to collect them as a kid, and like most people of my era, we threw them out. I had a card of 52, Mickey Mantle, rookie card. One of them, in perfect condition of course, went for 2.8 million.

BSE: You used to have it?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, used to put them in the spokes of the bike; flip them, hit them up against the wall. Who knew? The industry hadn’t been born yet.

So, this ball club, what’s the word? I used to use amazing about a month ago, now it’s…

BSE: Historical I think. On pace to threaten the all-time record for wins in a season.

Rico Petrocelli: That’s right, and they can do it, no doubt. They’re just a good hitting team. Everybody, well when I say everybody I mean the talk show guys say “well, wait until they get into the postseason.” But you know, it’s a month and a half away, let’s talk about it when it gets closer. This club right now is having a remarkable year. Mookie, what can you say about him? But Martinez has just turned things around. I don’t think too many people knew what he’d be in the clubhouse and the guys just love him. He helps with hitting, he’s a hard worker and a great example. I tweeted out the other day, I love Mookie Betts and Mike Trout, but JD Martinez has got to be the front-runner for MVP of this league. The guy has a lot of big hits, a la Big Papi.

BSE: What do you think of Xander this year?

Rico Petrocelli: I think he’s improved 100 percent. We know he’s a good hitter, he’s hit some more home runs, but his defense, his range has improved tremendously; I was happy to see that. He was hurt, but I don’t think he was getting to a lot of balls that he’s getting to this year.

BSE: Do you see any areas of concern for the rest of the season?

Rico Petrocelli: Other than major injuries, no. They feel great about themselves. You see other teams waiting to lose, when the Sox get to the late innings they just get tougher at the plate. But there’s no doubt it will be a battle come postseason. If they ran through some of these teams like nothing in the postseason I’d be very surprised.

BSE: Who do you think is their biggest threat come postseason? Any one team stand out?

Rico Petrocelli: I still think Houston. Once Altuve comes back, and their rotation is more settled. The key with them is their bullpen, I don’t know how much they’ve improved that end, but they’ll need it. They’re definitely beatable, they’re a good team but not as good as last year.

BSE: I’d like to talk some about your playing days if that’s alright? You grew up in Brooklyn watching the Yankees and Dodgers.

Rico Petrocelli: The Giants were there too, we had three teams. Willie Mays was the center fielder for the Giants, of course Mickey Mantle for the Yankees and Duke Snider. All three teams had tremendous players. It seemed to me that the World Series was always Yankees-Dodgers. The Dodgers couldn’t win until 1955, the Yankees had some great teams. I’m the youngest of seven and my brothers were all Yankees fans. I used to go see the Dodgers, when I was real young, to Ebbets Field. Then growing up and making the Majors and getting to play against them? It was like being in baseball heaven.

Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.

BSE: You had a brother that worked security at Yankee Stadium right?

Rico Petrocelli: Actually two of them, but the one Dave, he worked there almost all the home games. When we came they’d put him next to the dugout so he could talk to me.

BSE: So was he rooting for the Yankees when you played there?

Rico Petrocelli: Well he said “no, when we play the Red Sox we’ll root for you guys, but our heart isn’t fully in it.”

BSE: What was it like signing with the Red Sox after growing up in New York and having your brothers such big Yankees fans?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, the explanation I was given by the Yankees and the Mets out of high school, the Yankees said they just signed five guys to bonuses. The Mets, I don’t know what they were looking for. But it worked out, the old Yankee Stadium was unbelievably large. 463 feet to center, left-center 400. Right field was short, but man. Then when I came to Boston, it was only 200 miles from home.

BSE: You were actually pitching some in high school right, hurt your elbow?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, the Dodgers were actually looking at me as a pitcher. Playing in a semifinals city game, I threw 12 innings. In the 12th inning, I threw a slider, I used to throw a hard slider too, probably didn’t hold the ball right. All of a sudden I heard a crack, I threw the ball and there was a loud crack in my elbow and my whole arm went numb. I said “Oh my God.” I was really hurting. Since I was a decent hitter, they threw me out in left field. So the next inning, they get a man on second, a couple of guys on. Where do you think the guy hits the ball? They hit it in the hole, out to me. I had no chance, I threw it underhand.

BSE: That affected you in later years too? You changed your diet and workout regimen before the 69 season?

Rico Petrocelli: Yes, I had calcium deposits in my elbow so I had to lay off dairy products. I had a great offseason working out. Got ready to go in Spring Training and felt great, the ball looked like a grapefruit. I was hitting the ball hard, took it into the season, hit the 40 home runs. I think I was just as surprised as everybody else, but it sure was a thrill to be able to do it.

BSE: Yeah, you hit 97 home runs over three years, and as you mentioned the 40 in 1969 which broke Vern Stephens record for American League shortstops. That stood until A-Rod, do you have any thoughts on him being the one to pass you?

Rico Petrocelli: Not at all, most people don’t like him but I thought he was just a great player. He really focused on what he had to do, and also he was a hell of a shortstop.

Rico was a sure-handed infielder, setting franchise records for fielding % in a single season at both shortstop and third base.

BSE: Speaking of fielding at shortstop, you had set a single season franchise mark for fielding percentage at shortstop. Then, you volunteered to move to third base for Luis Aparicio?

Rico Petrocelli: Luis Aparicio, they got him at the winter meetings. They called me and said, “you’re probably going to move over to third eventually, would you do it now because we could get Luis Aparicio and we just couldn’t get a decent third baseman.” I said of course, Aparicio was one of the top shortstops in the league, we all respected him. He had a couple good years left.

BSE: Over at third base you set another fielding percentage franchise record, and a Major League record for errorless games in a row at the position.

Rico Petrocelli: I believe so, 77, I think. I don’t know exactly what it was. I had good hands, but of course at short Aparicio was there and he was a Gold Glove, and rightfully so. And when I moved over to third, Brooks Robinson was there, one of the all-time greats. So, I never really had the chance at getting a Gold Glove, but the main thing was helping the team. Frank Malzone helped me when I moved to third base.

BSE: Anyone else you give a lot of credit to for your successes?

Rico Petrocelli: Eddie Popowski was a manager, I had him for two years in the minors and he really helped develop me at short. Then he came up to be a coach too, he was kind of a father image. I was very close to him.

BSE: You played in two World Series with the Sox. Hit two homers in game six in 1967, batted over .300 in 1975. What was it like playing on the big stage and what was the energy like in Fenway back then?

Rico Petrocelli: The energy was incredible, as soon as they opened the gates, so excited. It happened my third year, the first one in 67, which I was just thrilled to be there. I think me, Yaz and Reggie Smith all hit home runs in one inning. I hit another one, maybe earlier in the game.

BSE: And the season kind of saved baseball in Boston.

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, from what we understand. We didn’t really realize it until later on that Mr. Yawkey was thinking of selling the team or moving the team. We didn’t know that until a year later. A lot of players from the organization came up together, played together as friends, we had a great pennant race between four teams.

BSE: And a lot was done last year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that team. How does it feel to be a part of a team so widely remembered and celebrated?

Rico Petrocelli: It feels great and I appreciate it, I think all the guys do. The fans have been so great to us over the years. John Henry and Tom Werner have been great to us.

BSE: Last year was also the 50th anniversary of Tony C being hit. What do you think his career could have looked like had that beaning not happened?

Rico Petrocelli: You know I really believe Tony could have been a 500 home run guy. He had a home run swing; he was strong, could hit to all fields, and with power and was a clutch hitter. Then with the DH, I think he could have stayed for a long time. But it was a tragedy.

Tony C with a mighty swing.

BSE: When the Sox won finally in 2004, what was that like for you as a former Sox player?

Rico Petrocelli: I was really happy. Really happy for the team, for the fans, it meant so much. The players on the team were great guys, not just as players, but great guys. First of all, coming back from the Yankees, that was just incredible. After they won the World Series, the guys were celebrating and almost every guy they got on said that they were so happy to win, but it wasn’t only for them, it was for the guys who came before them and got so close. That was really classy and very appreciated.

BSE: What are some of your favorite memories from your playing days?

Rico Petrocelli: Certainly the two World Series, Yaz’ great year in ’67 was just phenomenal. I think the game against Vida Blue; Sonny Siebert against Vida Blue at Fenway. Vida was, I think 10-1 and Siebert was 9-0. We were both in first place and they hyped it up like it was a World Series game, it was just incredible. The fans came in to see Vida, he was a phenom. I was fortunate enough to hit two home runs off him and we went on to win the game.

BSE: After your retirement you did a number of things; coaching, broadcasting, radio shows, writing. Did you have a favorite out of those?

Rico Petrocelli: I enjoyed doing the radio in ’79 with Ken Coleman. Ken was a tremendous broadcaster and that was really fun. Since 1977 I’ve been doing some form of broadcasting, including currently. I did pregame and postgame when it was on channel 68, when they had the games for a couple years, and that was fun.

BSE: You worked closely with the Jimmy Fund in the past, do you still do a lot with them?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah I play in their golf tournaments. I worked with them for three years, was involved with their sports fundraisers with Mike Andrews. What an experience. Tough at times, seeing the kids and the young parents, six or seven year olds getting treatments. But the Jimmy Fund was dear to my heart.

BSE: So what are you up to nowadays in addition to the book?

Rico Petrocelli: These past seven years I’ve been doing a show on Sirius XM on the MLB station, myself and my partner Ed Randall. We do a show called “Remember When.” A lot of our guests are players and managers from the past. We talk a lot about what it was like when they played. A lot of them are currently in baseball, we have some guys who just retired five years ago. It’s good to get some insight from them on how their organization is doing. How an organization decides the path they are going to take, whether to sell off their players for kids and take a lot of losses. We’ve had Hall of Famers; Mike Schmidt, Ozzie Smith, we just had Bob Costas on last week. He is one of my favorite broadcasters.

Then I do a collectibles show; it’s called “The Great American Collectibles Show” with a partner. It’s an hour show and we have the experts in that field come on and talk about all these cards, their worth. That’s been a couple years now. I keep busy.

Rico Petrocelli with Tom Zappala recording “The Great American Collectibles Show.”

BSE: That’s all my questions for today, did you have anything you’d like to add?

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, I go out to book signings or whatever. The fans amaze me with how wonderful they have treated me over the years. They’ll talk about their father’s taking them to see me play.

BSE: That is great to hear.

Rico Petrocelli: Yeah, I’ve been very fortunate, blessed. Whatever happens the rest of the way, I have no regrets. My wife and I had four sons and have nine grandkids; seven girls and two boys.

BSE: Well thank you for your time, I really appreciate it.

Rico Petrocelli: You’re welcome Scott, I enjoyed it. Take care and best of luck.

On This Day In Red Sox History: John Valentin Sets Record

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On June 2, 1995, the Seattle Mariners came to Boston for a 7:09 start at Fenway Park. The Red Sox, with their new manager and new team were off to a 20-11 start after three straight disappointing seasons. The Red Sox sent their ace, Roger Clemens to the mound. Clemens was making his first start of the season after spending over a month on the disabled list. He was opposed by Seattle right-hander Chris Bosio, who had thrown a no-hitter against the Red Sox in 1993.

Valentin Starts With a Bang

Clemens looked in fine form to begin his season, striking out the first batter he faced in Joey Cora. After a double he retired dangerous hitters Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner to finish a scoreless inning. John Valentin was the second batter in the Red Sox lineup. On a 1-1 pitch from Bosio, Valentin crushed it to deep left, easily clearing the monster for a home run. The Sox held a 1-0 lead after the first inning thanks to Valentin’s eighth home run of the season.

Clemens retired the first two batters of the second before running into trouble. He hit Darren Bragg with a pitch to put a man on. Bragg, who the Red Sox traded for the following season, then stole second base. Clemens then hit catcher Chad Kreuter as well, giving the Mariners two baserunners on two hit by pitches. Light hitting infielder Felix Fermin made him pay for it with an RBI single to right field and the game was tied.

The Rocket would rebound in the third with a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out both Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner in the inning. In the bottom half of the third, Bosio retired each of the first two batters to bring John Valentin back up to the plate. The count ran full and Valentin fouled off two more pitches. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat Valentin went down to get a low offering and lined it to left, just clearing the monster. The line drive left the yard in a hurry and the Sox had the lead again in the third.

Valentin readies for the 9th pitch of the at-bat just before homering for the 2nd time in the game.

Clemens Runs Into Trouble

There was no scoring in the 4th. Roger Clemens cruised through another 1-2-3 inning and had allowed just the one hit through four innings. The Sox got two men in scoring position in the bottom of the inning but failed to score. However, Clemens seemed to run out of steam in the fifth inning. After hitting Chad Kreuter with a pitch for the second time, Felix Fermin came through with another single. After a bunt moved the runners up Alex Diaz brought home Kreuter with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at two. Edgar Martinez, who would win the batting title that season, singled home Fermin to give the Mariners their first lead of the game. Jay Buhner then hit one of his 40 home runs that season and the inning became a disaster. Two more men reached base before Clemens escaped the inning with a 5-2 deficit.

Roger Clemens’ first start of the season was over. He had pitched well for four innings before running out of steam having not pitched since the previous August. He had hit three batters and allowed five runs over five innings. Derek Lilliquist replaced Clemens on the mound and combined with Mike Maddux for a scoreless sixth inning.

Valentin was due up to lead off the sixth inning to take another crack at Bosio. This time he hit a ground ball into center field for a single to kick-off the inning. Mo Vaughn singled Valentin over to third and Reggie Jefferson followed with another single to give the Sox their first run other than a John Valentin home run.

More Heroics

Mike Maddux, who had recorded the final out of the sixth, stayed on to throw two more scoreless innings for the Red Sox. The older brother of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux allowed just one hit in his 2.1 shutout innings. After a 1-2-3 top half of the eighth, Valentin was again due to leadoff an inning. This time Chris Bosio was out of the game, with left-handed reliever Ron Villone set to face him. With night having fallen, Valentin got a 2-0 pitch out over the middle and annihilated the ball up into the night sky. The home run sailed over the monster, over the screen above the monster and out onto Lansdowne Street. The Red Sox were back within a run.

Valentin hits his third home run of the evening.

Sidearmer Stan Belinda was brought on for the ninth. A new addition to the team, Belinda was already 3-0 on the season. He had an uneventful inning on the mound, allowing just a 2-out single. The Red Sox faced a 1-run deficit with just a half inning to go. The Mariners brought on their closer Bobby Ayala. Ayala had 8 saves and a 1.89 ERA through May as he took the mound. John Valentin wouldn’t be due up unless six men were sent to the plate.

After the lead man was retired, Red Sox catcher Mike Macfarlane came to the plate. Macfarlane had some power for a catcher and showed it first pitch swinging. He homered to left field for his eighth home run of the young season and tied the game at 5-5.

Extra Innings

The Red Sox had to like where they were at entering extra frames. They had come back from down 5-2 to tie the game. A home run had just tied things up and John Valentin was 4-4 with 3 home runs and due up first in the bottom half of the 10th.

Stan Belinda stayed on the mound for a second inning of work. This was nothing new to Belinda, who had worked for more than an inning in five of his twelve appearances so far on the season. He gave up a leadoff single but retired the next three batters to finish off a second scoreless inning.

John Valentin was due at the plate to face Salomon Torres, the third pitcher he would face on the game. They battled a bit, with the count running full. After fouling off three pitches Valentin laced a 3-2 offering down the line and into the left field corner for a double. After Mo Vaughn was intentionally walked Steve Rodriguez was called upon to bunt. He didn’t do his job, falling behind 0-2 while trying to bunt. He then put one in play, but it wasn’t a good one and Valentin was forced out at third base. With two men still on base, Mike Greenwell lined the first pitch he saw from Torres into left field for the game-winning hit as Vaughn lumbered home with the winning run.

John Valentin’s Night

John Valentin had gone 5-5 with three home runs, a single, double, 3 runs batted in and four runs scored. His 15 total bases were one shy of the franchise record, set by Fred Lynn in Detroit back in 1975. They were also a Major League record for a shortstop, as Valentin became the first shortstop in history to accumulate 15 total bases in one game. Here is the video from that night.

 

Xander/Didi is Jeter/Nomar: Part Deux

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The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is a classic that all baseball fans can enjoy. However, in the peak of this rivalry (late 1990s/early 2000s), there was always a rivalry within the rivalry. Both teams were home to two of my generation’s best shortstops (Alex Rodriguez was better than both) in Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra.

ny_g_garciaparra_jeter1x_600

Nomar vs. Jeter

To give the average baseball fan some background on this rivalry, Nomar and Jeter was a closer face-off than their accolades tell. Both being first round draft picks, it seemed that Jeter and Nomar always had something to prove to one another right out of the gate. It didn’t take long, as both won the Rookie of the Year awards in their respective rookie seasons (Jeter in 1996, Nomar in 1997). What followed was another chapter in the storied rivalry.

Both shortstops went on to battle one another throughout many seasons. Nomar had the better stats in an eight year stretch (1996 – 2004). But overall, Jeter was the better player. Maybe Nomar would have taken the bragging rights away from Jeter if he wasn’t plagued by injuries after the 2004 season. However, the latter’s consistency and burning passion to win five World Series would ultimately lead to the victory in the competition. Jeter achieved 14 All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, five Silver Sluggers, and a World Series MVP. But fans of the game will never forget how Nomar was, for a moment in time, the better player.

Bogaerts vs. Gregorius

Fast forward to 2013, Xander Bogaerts debuted for the Red Sox in a championship year. Didi Gregorius exceeded his rookie status in the same season with Arizona. After the 2014 season concluded, Derek Jeter decided to walk away from baseball as a player, and the Yankees searched for his replacement. Alex Rodriguez was clearly way past his time to man the position, and Brian Cashman decided to take a shot on the Arizona short stop from the Netherlands.

Gregorius was known for his fielding prowess, but became a gamble when it came to his offensive abilities. Initially, the plan was to platoon with Brendan Ryan and see if Gregorius could distance himself for a consistent spot on the roster. Didi’s numbers weren’t all that great, but over time he has grown into a top five shortstop, and shows no signs of slowing down. Every season, he has improved in every asset of his offensive abilities while maintaining a steady rate defensively. To start off the 2018 season, Didi has been by far and away one of the best players in the majors with a 1.156 OPS, ten homers and 30 RBIs.

Enter Bogey

Xander Bogaerts, however, has had an arguably better career as of now, but it’s insanely close. Born in Oranjestad, Aruba, Bogaerts took the minor leagues by storm in 2009. He ascended through the ranks of the Red Sox farm system and eventually earned his call-up in 2013. He won a World Series ring in the same season, and never really looked back since. Albeit, he had a dip in performance in 2017 that many attribute to an injury that he never recovered fully from. But Xander is on track in 2018 after smashing two grand slams, a slash of .412/.426/.725 with an OPS of 1.171, all in the month of April.

Rivalry Within the Rivalry

Let the record show that I am not comparing Xander and Didi to two of the best short stops I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. However, it’s interesting that Xander and Didi started breaking out in their own way right around the time of a renewed rivalry. One cannot help but to think back to a time when this sort of battle has been prevalent for the position’s sake. With the surplus of talent at the position, these two players can really be compared with the likes of Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Manny Machado, and Carlos Correa. This fantastic battle is bound to give fans of the game reason to keep close watch on their careers.

@ELJGON

The Top Shortstops Long-Term

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The shortstop position has become increasingly talented in recent seasons. The position is now the best, and deepest, arguably since Nomar, A-Rod, and Jeter were reigning supreme nearly two decades ago. The top five is loaded, and the position has great depth. The shortstops near the bottom of my top ten list would have threatened the top five a few years ago. Shortstops not making the list would have been safely included. With all this competition, it was hard to leave a few guys off.

1. Carlos Correa

Correa is coming off a season with an OPS 65 points higher than Manny Machado has ever posted. With all of Machado’s fanfare and his big home run seasons, this was a surprising revelation. Just 22 years old last season and having posted a .941 OPS, Correa is the top shortstop to own for the long haul in the Majors.

Correa burst onto the scene in 2015, winning Rookie of the Year in a little more than half a season. Over his three seasons, aged 20-22, he has batted .288 with an .863 OPS. There is only room for improvement as he enters his age 23 season. Correa missed time last year, hitting 24 home runs in only 109 games. Assuming he stays healthy, I foresee his first 30 homer, 100 RBI season this year. Correa has also proved himself on the big stage at such a young age, homering five times during the postseason last year.

Correa is also fairly polished at shortstop at his young age. He has a solid .978 fielding percentage in each of the last two seasons and has a positive dWAR in all three. According to baseball reference’s total zone runs, Correa was worth eight defensive runs above average this past season.

2. Manny Machado

Primarily known as a third baseman, and a fine defensive one at that, Machado is moving to shortstop full time for this coming season. He started 43 games at the position last year, performing adequately but posting a negative zone rating. With a full offseason to prepare, maybe he will be a little better in 2018. After all, Machado was a two time Gold Glove winner at third base.

He also needs to rebound at the plate, coming off his worst season since 2014. That’s not to say he was bad, he did hit 33 homers after all. However, Machado’s average fell from .290 over the previous two seasons down to .259. His OPS also dropped nearly 100 points. I would expect a bit of a rebound, he did finish in the top five in back-to-back MVP votes before last season. Machado has also homered 105 times over the past three years. If there is one place where his skill set lags a bit behind, it’s in taking pitches and drawing walks. Machado has drawn a total of 49 walks over the past two seasons and posted a disappointing .310 on-base percentage last year.

3. Corey Seager

Seager was my favorite prospect in baseball after batting .349 with 20 home runs in 2014. He came in 5th in Baseball America’s prospect rankings heading into 2015, and his performance catapulted him to the top of their list for 2016. Two full seasons into his Major League career and he has not disappointed. Seager has batted .305 during his short career while posting an .876 OPS. He already has a Rookie of the Year, two Silver Sluggers and a third place MVP finish.

Seager has a beautiful, level swing, leading to a lot of hard contact. Despite hitting only 22 home runs, Seager had a top 25 average exit velocity in all of baseball last season. His 25% line drive rate was in the top ten. This leads me to believe that Seager will improve upon both his 22 home runs and his 33 doubles from a year ago. Two years ago he had 26 homers and 40 doubles, and it wouldn’t even be a surprise to see him eclipse those. Even if he doesn’t, Seager is an excellent, well-rounded hitter. He has a .374 career on-base percentage with a .502 slugging percentage.

Seager made some strides in the field last year, which makes sense given he was still only 23 years old. He cut his errors down from 18 to 11 while improving his fielding percentage to .979. Seager also went from two runs saved below average in 2016 to 11 runs above average last year. He might not wow in any one category, but Seager looks like an across the board producer for years to come.

4. Francisco Lindor

Lindor turned into a very different player from the one that he was expected to be last year. Coming through the minors, he was projected to be a high contact hitter who would play excellent defense. That’s exactly what happened his first two years, batting over .300 both seasons with moderate pop. Last year, his average dropped down to .273 while his home runs more than doubled to 33. His doubles also skyrocketed, going from 30 to 44. Lindor seemed to sell out a bit for power, which wasn’t necessary given his excellent performance to that point. It leaves me curious to find out which Lindor we will see moving forward. Either way, both are excellent players.

Lindor is an excellent defender, posting a 5.7 dWAR in less than three full seasons. He has posted a 49 defensive runs saved above average during that time and has a .981 fielding percentage. His glove work netted him the Gold Glove in 2016.

5. Trea Turner

After being a top prospect, Trea Turner has been electric since getting the call to the big leagues. After getting a chance in 2016, Turner was one of the very best hitters in baseball. He batted .342 with a .937 OPS. Trea Turner is also a burner on the basepaths and stole 33 bases that season. Last year, his numbers dropped off a bit, as they almost had to. Turner batted .284 with a .789 OPS while missing some time with injury. He again showed off his wheels, stealing 46 bases in only 98 games.

I don’t think Turner is as good as he was two years ago, but is probably better than last year. When you combine the two seasons, you get a .304 hitter with an .840 OPS. With his gap power and his speed, Turner gets a lot of extra-base hits, averaging 32 doubles and 11 triples over 162 games for his career. He seems to be capable of hitting .300 with 15-20 home runs while hitting a lot of doubles and triples. All of this and he is also capable of stealing 50 bags.

Turner falls well behind the rest of the pack in the field though. Despite being relatively sure-handed, Turner does not have the range for the position. He had a decent .979 fielding percentage last year, yet his total zone rating gave him 11 defensive runs below average last season. His range factor, at 3.91, was easily below the average of 4.15. Second base could be in Trea’s future.

Brad Mills – USA Today Sports

6. Didi Gregorious

Remember when Didi was a glove first prospect? Coming through the minors, he was supposed to be a light-hitting, glove first shortstop. His defense has been decent, but nothing special to this point. However, his bat has carried him. Gregorious is one of the better hitting shortstops in baseball, hitting 45 home runs over the past two seasons. This is after he homered 26 times in over 2000 minor league at-bats. It isn’t just Yankee Stadium either, as Gregorious posted far better stats on the road last year.

One thing that holds Gregorious back some at the plate is his lack of walks. Gregorious has only drawn 44 walks over the past two seasons combined. This has led to a sub-par .311 on-base percentage despite a good .281 batting average. He doesn’t strike out much though, making consistent contact requiring fielders to make a play on the ball. Take the good with the bad and I actually think this Yankee is a little underrated.

7. Paul DeJong

DeJong is a player who wasn’t on the radar of many people last year. He never made any top 100 prospect lists, so he wasn’t well known outside of the St. Louis organization. That’s not to say there isn’t some pedigree to his performance though. DeJong was a fourth round pick in 2015 and hit 22 home runs in AA the following year. Last year he had an OPS over .900 in AAA when he got the call-up to the Cardinals.

DeJong mashed the ball at the big league level, hitting 25 home runs in 108 games. He had a .285 average for the season, so it wasn’t a power or nothing approach. Despite him not cracking any prospect lists, I think based on his high draft position and his performance in the minor leagues that DeJong’s bat is for real. His glove was relatively average based upon every metric, but that kind of bat coupled with an average glove is a heck of a shortstop.

8. Andrelton Simmons

Simmons is on here for one reason; he is one of the best defensive shortstops you will ever see. Simmons routinely makes the highlight reels for the plays he makes in the field. He has a .982 career fielding percentage which doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. Simmons tends to get to a lot of balls others wouldn’t, which can lead to a few more errors. His range is in a class by itself.

Simmons bat took a step forward last year, so it will be interesting to see if the juiced balls helped aid that or if he is making progress. After posting just a .664 OPS over the previous four seasons, Simmons had a career high .752 OPS last year. He hit .278 with 14 home runs a year after batting .281 in his first season with the Angels. He kept his average up from his Atlanta days while adding a little more pop.

9. Xander Bogaerts

Bogaerts is still only 25 despite being a part of the Red Sox World Series team in 2013. There is a pretty good chance I am underselling Bogaerts in this spot, as he was a huge prospect who has proven capable of hitting well in the majors. Bogaerts was twice a top 10 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America, topping out at second in 2014. He also has a season in which he batted .320 and another during which he homered 21 times. Bogaerts was off to a good start last year, batting .303 in the first half. A wrist injury caused his hitting ability to fall off in the second half and leave him with a .273 average. A healthy Bogaerts could hit .300 with 20 home runs.

If Bogaerts does rebound at the plate, his glove is still likely to hold him back some. He has a negative dWAR in three of his four seasons and negative defensive runs saved in all four. His .977 career fielding percentage at the position isn’t bad, but his range is well below average.

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts hits a ground-rule double to right in the ninth inning of the ALCS, Game 4 at Comerica Park against the Tigers in 2013. Staff Photo by Matt Stone

10. Elvis Andrus

Andrus is someone I considered the most overrated shortstop in baseball for a few years. Given a big contract, Andrus batted just .264 with a very weak .657 OPS from 2015-2017. However, Andrus now has two consecutive years of good play at the plate in addition to his defense. After seven years in the league, Andrus batted a career high .302 while also hitting a career high eight home runs in 2016. Yes, eight was his career high after eight seasons and he somehow hit 20 home runs last year. A little change in his approach may have helped, but I am a little skeptical of him repeating that. Even still, he batted .297 a year after hitting .302. He also saved 23 runs above average on defense according to the total zone rating on baseballreference.com.

Honorable Mentions:

Jean Segura, Dansby Swanson, Addison Russell, Zack Cozart, Orlando Arcia, Trevor Story

 

Featured picture from the Sporting News

The Worst Shortstops in Red Sox History

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Following up a position monopolized by one guy, I return to a more normal position at shortstop. Even though the Red Sox have had quite a few good shortstops in their history, there are also a lot of bad ones to choose from. After reading the worst three of the bunch, make sure to check the mentions at the bottom, as there are plenty of worthy candidates.

Julio Lugo

After mistakenly letting Orlando Cabrera leave after winning the World Series in 2004, the Red Sox were unsettled at the shortstop position for several years. They thought they could solidify it by signing Julio Lugo for the 2007 season. In parts of four seasons with Tampa Bay, Lugo had batted .287 with 40 home runs and 88 stolen bases. His fielding left something to be desired, but he had speed and was more than capable at the plate. The Red Sox gave him a four year deal worth 36 million.

Needless to say, Lugo didn’t work out. The Red Sox won the World Series his first season despite him. Lugo batted .237 that year with a .294/.349/.643 slash line. Lugo also made 19 errors in the field. Sadly, his defense got worse. In 2008 Lugo had a .945 fielding percentage, and in 27 starts before being traded in 2009 he managed to make seven errors, leading to a .928 fielding percentage.

Lugo’s hitting did improve after that first season on the other hand, but it was hard not to. In 82 games he batted .268 in 2008. However, an extra base hit was rare, leading to an anemic .330 slugging percentage. Before he was traded to the Cardinals for Chris Duncan (remember him?) in 2009, Lugo was hitting .284 with an improved .719 OPS. His defense was not even close to up to the task at shortstop though and the Red Sox had to make a change. In his three seasons in Boston, Lugo batted .251 with 10 home runs and a .664 OPS while playing weak defense. My wife, who doesn’t pay attention to baseball, referred to him as “hock a loogie.”

Jackie Gutierrez

Jackie Gutierrez has the lowest WAR of anyone I came across, totaling an astounding -3.5 in only two seasons. After making a brief appearance in 1983, Gutierrez was the Sox main shortstop in 1984. Although he batted a respectable .263 that season, Gutierrez walked a total of 15 times in 151 games! This led to a measly .284 on-base percentage. Gutierrez also only had 17 extra base hits, helping him to a .316 slugging percentage. So despite a passable batting average, Gutierrez was pretty worthless at the plate. He also made 31 errors in the field that season, giving him a total WAR of -2.1.

Somehow, Gutierrez retained his job in 1985. He only wound up starting for a partial season though, accumulating 275 at-bats. His averaged plummeted to .218 and he hit a mere nine extra base hits. His OPS fell all the way to .523. On top of that, he managed to make 23 errors in only 99 games, 83 starts. The Red Sox somehow got the Orioles to trade for him that offseason and they moved him to second base.

Shortstop Jackie Gutierrez of the Red Sox awaits a throw on May 15, 1984 against the Cleveland Indians. (Photo by Ron Kuntz Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

Rabbit Warstler

Warstler is a guy going back to the dark ages of the early 1930’s. He couldn’t hit his way out a wet paper bag. In four seasons with the Red Sox he batted .215 with 2 home runs and 74 runs batted in. Warstler had a feeble .285 on-base percentage and .276 slugging percentage. In those four seasons he only had 49 extra base hits.

It’s not as though Warstler added a lot defensively, he made 41 errors in 1932. He actually got moved to second base for a few years after leaving the Red Sox. His WAR was in the negatives in all four seasons with the Red Sox, bottoming out at -1.3 in 1932.

A portrait of Harold B. (Rabbit) Warstler of the Red Sox in 1933. (Photo by Sporting News and Rogers Photo Archive via Getty Images)

Dishonorable Mentions:

Edgar Renteria AKA: Rent-A-Wreck, AKA: Edgar Rent-error-ia

Mike Lansing, Craig Grebeck, Glenn Hoffman, Dud Lee, Johnny Mitchell

 

Featured picture credit goes to Bostondirtdogs.boston.com

The Greatest Shortstops in Red Sox History

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The Red Sox have had a rich history at the shortstop position. On this list are five Red Sox Hall of Famers and some worthy candidates in the honorable mention category. Placement of the players after the top couple was difficult, but one thing is for sure; I had no trouble finding five qualified candidates at this position.

Nomar Garciaparra

Nomah was the greatest shortstop to ever play at Fenway Pahk! Going to a Sox game in the late nineties and early 2000s one could hear “Nomaaahhhh” yelled all over the ballpark. The 12th overall pick in 1994, Nomar had no trouble climbing through the minors before debuting in 1996. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997, then placed 2nd in the MVP vote in 1998. He proceeded to win the batting title in each of the next two seasons, batting .357 and .372. Nomar was getting better and better, spraying line drives all over the yard.

Then Al Reyes happened. A Reyes pitch hit Nomar on the wrist and would later require surgery. When Nomar returned he was still a good player, but wasn’t the same. He popped the ball up more, hitting a few less line drives. Hard to complain with a .310 average, 24 home runs and 56 doubles in 2002 followed by 28 home runs in 2003 though. For his Red Sox career Nomar batted .323 with 178 home runs and a .923 OPS. He was something else in his prime.

Year Tm AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA OBP SLG OPS Awards
1996 BOS 87 11 21 2 3 4 16 5 .241 .272 .471 .743
1997 BOS 684 122 209 44 11 30 98 22 .306 .342 .534 .875 AS,MVP-8,RoY-1,SS
1998 BOS 604 111 195 37 8 35 122 12 .323 .362 .584 .946 MVP-2
1999 BOS 532 103 190 42 4 27 104 14 .357 .418 .603 1.022 AS,MVP-7
2000 BOS 529 104 197 51 3 21 96 5 .372 .434 .599 1.033 AS,MVP-9
2001 BOS 83 13 24 3 0 4 8 0 .289 .352 .470 .822
2002 BOS 635 101 197 56 5 24 120 5 .310 .352 .528 .880 AS,MVP-11
2003 BOS 658 120 198 37 13 28 105 19 .301 .345 .524 .870 AS,MVP-7
2004 BOS 156 24 50 7 3 5 21 2 .321 .367 .500 .867
BOS BOS 3968 709 1281 279 50 178 690 84 .323 .370 .553 .923

Joe Cronin

Joe Cronin was an extremely influential person in both Red Sox history and Major League Baseball history. He not only played for the Red Sox, he managed them and later became the General Manager. After his term as General Manager ended, Cronin became the President of the American League in 1959, a position he held for 15 years.

Cronin was a Hall of Fame ballplayer, and could have put up even bigger numbers had he not been managing. By 1942 he was a little used utility player while managing, despite the fact he was coming off a season during which he batted .311 with 16 homers and 95 RBI. He’d bat over .300 each of the next two seasons as well in limited playing time. For his Red Sox career Cronin was a .300 hitter, hitting 119 home runs and 1168 base hits. He had a beautiful slash line of .394/.484/.878. All three of those numbers rank second among Red Sox shortstops. Cronin made five All-Star Games while with the Red Sox.

Johnny Pesky

I think a lot of people remember Pesky as the lovable old man always hanging around the Red Sox dugout and don’t realize just how good of a player he was. Pesky led the league in hits during each of his first three seasons in the majors. He batted .331 during his rookie season, placing 3rd in the MVP vote. Following that, Pesky went to fight in the war and missed the next three seasons. When he came back he batted .335 and placed 4th in the MVP vote. The following year he again led the league in hits and batted .324. He was a great hitter and would have over 600 hits likely added to his career total had the war not occurred.

He was one of many guys who lost stats due to this time period that the Hall of Fame doesn’t seem to have taken into consideration. Had the war not happened, Pesky would be a shortstop who hit well over .300 with somewhere over 2000 career hits. Laughably, as an illustration to New York bias, Phil Rizzuto is in the Hall of Fame. Rizzuto batted .273 with a .351/.355/.706 triple slash playing the same position and during the exact same era as Pesky. Pesky batted .307 with a .394/.386/.780 slash line. Focusing on just his Red Sox career, Pesky batted .313 with 1277 hits and a .401 on base percentage. He twice finished in the top five for MVP voting.

Rico Petrocelli

Rico gets the nod fourth thanks to his counting numbers. He leads all Red Sox shortstop with 210 home runs and 1352 base hits. Of course, he moved to third base in the seventies so as just a shortstop he doesn’t rank first. While playing short, Petrocelli batted .259 while hitting 127 of his home runs. Rico made his first All-Star Game during the “Impossible Dream” season of 1967. He really broke out in 1969 though when he made his 2nd all-star team. That season Rico batted .297 with 40 home runs and a .992 OPS! Those 40 home runs stood as an American League shortstop record until 1998, when it took some foreign substances to likely surpass it.

Rico’s newfound power extended into the early seventies, hitting 29 home runs in 1970 and 28 in 1971. That gave him a three-year total of 97 home runs. His 39.1 career WAR places him second out of guys on this list behind only Nomar. He was also a part of two Red Sox pennant winning teams.

John Valentin

John Valentin was an excellent and underrated player prior to knee injuries that hobbled him and shortened his career after he turned 30. Valentin hit 121 home runs and collected 1042 base hits as a member of the Red Sox. He was their shortstop from 1992-96 before Nomar arrived. After a brief move to second base, he became their third baseman after Tim Naehring’s injury and remained there for a few years. As just a shortstop, Valentin batted .292 with a .375/.470/.845 triple slash line. He had an 11.8 dWAR with the Sox, 2nd among the guys on this list.

In 1995 Valentin really busted out, batting .298 with 27 home runs, 102 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He led all American Leaguers in WAR that season. From 1994-97 he averaged a season of .303 with 17 home runs, 35 doubles and an .876 OPS. He still hit 23 home runs in 1998 but his average dropped as his knees started causing him discomfort. Despite a mediocre season in 1999, Valentin had a huge postseason. A clutch player, Valentin batted .347 with 5 home runs and a 1.046 OPS during his postseason career. He drove in 12 runners in the 5 game ALDS versus Cleveland in 1999 and was one of the few Red Sox players to hit in the ALCS that year. His clutch play is one reason he slots into the top five.

John Valentin of the Boston Red Sox watches his two-run home run in the first inning against the Yankees during game three of the ALCS at Fenway Park. The Yankees have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.  AFP PHOTO/Jeff HAYNES

Honorable Mentions

Vern Stephens, Rick Burleson, Heinie Wagner, Everett Scott