Boston Sports Extra

The players stay strong as we move through the end of the forties and into the fifties. The best players to wear the uniform numbers between 46 and 50 all played key roles on some good Red Sox teams. One is the franchise all-time leader in games pitched, another is the franchise leader in innings pitched. Take a look.

Number 46 – Bob Stanley

Born in Portland, Maine, Bob Stanley spent 13 seasons with the Red Sox, and is the franchise leader in games pitched with 637. He started a healthy amount the first few seasons of his career before moving full-time to the bullpen (aside from 1987).

1978 was Stanley’s second season in the bigs, and he had an excellent year. Stanley was 15-2 with a 2.60 ERA and saved 10 games on that famous team. The next year he made 30 starts, made the All-Star Game, and won 16 games. In 1980 he won 10 games and saved 14, while pitching to a 3.39 ERA. He was 49-29 with a 3.55 ERA and 28 saves after four seasons, making 63 starts and 122 more relief appearances.

Moving to the pen, Stanley won 22 games over the next two seasons. Becoming the full-time closer in 1983, Stanley saved 33 games and made his second all-star team. From 1981-85, working in relief, Stanley had a 3.20 ERA and saved 79 games while winning 45. He had a mediocre 1986, and despite not allowing a run in 6.1 innings in the World Series, he is remembered very negatively for his crucial wild pitches in game six.

The Red Sox oddly moved Stanley back to the rotation in 1987 after six years of relief work; it did not go well. Stanley was 4-15 with a 5.01 ERA. With the experiment over, Stanley had one more good season in him, going 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA over 101.2 innings in 1988. In total, he won 115 games, and saved 132, over his 13 seasons in Boston.

Honorable Mentions: Craig Kimbrel, Jacoby Ellsbury (2007-09)

Number 47 – Bruce Hurst

Bruce Hurst was a solid pitcher for the Sox in the eighties. He had an excellent 1986, and was good in 1988, but aside from that was largely average before going to San Diego. With that said, he is easily the best number 47 in team history.

Hurst spent some time with the Sox in 1980, but didn’t do much before 1983. He was 7-9 with a 6.17 ERA by the end of 1982. At age 25 he made some strides, going 12-12, and throwing over 200 innings in 1983. He was 12-12 again in 1984, and got his ERA below 4.00 for the first time, despite a very high 1.47 WHIP. His strike outs and WHIP improved in 1985, but his ERA rose back up. Over that three-year stretch, he was 35-37 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.

Hurst had his best season yet in 1986. He was 13-8 over 25 starts that year, posting an excellent 2.99 ERA. He then went 3-0 in the postseason, including 2-0 in the World Series. Had the bullpen not choked away game six, Hurst may have won World Series MVP. Hurst won 15 games in 1987, and made his first All-Star Game despite a high ERA (his ERA was much better in the first half). 1988 would be the final season of his Red Sox career, and he posted a career best 18-6 record. Hurst placed fifth in the Cy Young vote with his 3.66 ERA and 18 wins.

He was largely much better towards the end of his time with the Sox, going 46-27 with a 3.76 ERA over the final three seasons. In total, he won 88 games as a Red Sox, and posted a 4.23 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.

Honorable Mentions: Rod Beck, Jason Varitek (1997-99)

Number 48 – Lee Smith

The recent Hall of Famer did more of his work with the Cubs than anyone else, but his two-plus seasons with the Sox contributed to his case. Acquired in the offseason between 1987 and 1988 for Al Nipper and World Series goat Calvin Schiraldi, Smith was brought in to give the team a legitimate closer.

Smith’s first season with the team he had a 2.80 ERA and struck out over 10 batters per nine innings. His 29 saves were the most by a Red Sox since Bob Stanley’s 33 in 1983. In 1989 he was 6-1 and saved 25 games. His 12.2 strike outs per nine innings pitched was the highest of the Hall of Famer’s career.

The Red Sox curiously acquired another closer in the offseason in Jeff Reardon. This seemed to spell something was amiss. S mith had a 1.88 ERA and four saves early that season, before being dealt to the Cardinals for Tom Brunansky on May 4th.

Honorable Mentions: Javier Lopez, Tony Fossas, Scott Atchison

Number 49 – Tim Wakefield

The franchise’s all-time leader in starts and innings pitched, as well as some less desirable categories, Tim Wakefield is the only 49. Picked up off the scrap heap in 1995, Wakefield had an epic season for the Sox. He was 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA, finishing third in the Cy Young vote. He started the year 14-1 with a magical 1.65 ERA, before teams started squaring up his knuckleball late in the year. That was the start of a 17-year run in Boston for Wakefield, including two World Series championships.

Wakefield was a serviceable starter over the next few seasons, and won 17 games in 1998. The following four seasons would be split between starting and relieving. He made 17 starts three straight years from 1999-2001, and 15 starts in 2002. Wakefield even saved 15 games in 1999 as he proved he could perform many roles. 2002 was his best season since his first in Boston, going 11-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

Wakefield moved back to the rotation in 2003 and had a solid season. He was then excellent in the postseason before an ending that never should have happened. He threw a career high 225.1 innings in 2005, and won 16 games, his most since 1998. In 2007 he matched his career high with 17 wins. Proving, at the age of 40, the knuckleball is ageless. In 2009 he finally made his first all-star team, going 11-3 by the break.

After pitching two more seasons, Wakefield got to 200 career wins, 186 of them coming for Boston. That total sits him third on the franchise list behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young. He pitched in every role for the team, and proved himself a valuable commodity both on the field and as a teammate.

Number 50 – Mookie Betts

Who other than the MVP would be number 50? Betts is the cornerstone of this current Sox team and coming off an MVP season. At 26 years old he is already a three-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner, a two-time Silver Slugger, an MVP, a batting champion and a World champion. Not too shabby.

Betts showed his potential immediately in 2014, batting .291 for the Sox in a season that began in AA. The next year he batted .291 again, hitting 42 doubles, eight triples and 18 home runs. Betts broke out in 2016, and nearly won the MVP, finishing second to Mike Trout. He had 214 hits as he batted .318 with 31 home runs and 26 stolen bases.

Despite 2017 being a down year, Betts still homered 24 times and drove in 102 runs. He doubled 46 times and stole 26 bases in 29 tries. With a new hitting coach and new manager this past year, as well as some much-needed lineup protection, Betts put together a historic season. He has now doubled over 40 times in all four of his full Major League seasons, giving him 189 total. He has hit 110 home runs, as well as stolen 110 bases. The future is bright for the always smiling Mookie Betts.

Featured picture taken from Science News

The uniform numbers 26-30 bring two more Hall of Famers and retired numbers. On top of that, we have a hero from the 2004 team that broke the curse. Who are they and who joins them on this list?

Number 26 – Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs is a Hall of Famer and has his number 26 retired by the Red Sox. He built his Hall of Fame career with the Sox as the best hitter of the 1980’s, and is a top five third baseman of All-Time. He led the league in batting average in five out of the first six seasons he was eligible, and would have won in 1982 had he accumulated enough at-bats. Boggs also led the league in on-base percentage in six of his first seven eligible seasons.

Boggs joined the Red Sox in 1982 and batted .349 over 104 games. He then went on to eclipse 200 base hits in seven consecutive seasons, a Major League record. From 1983-88, Boggs batted .356/.448/.489/.937. He hit over .360 four times and .357 during his other batting title. Between 1983 and 1991 he had over 40 doubles in eight of nine seasons, leading the league twice.

Boggs’ .338 average with the team is second best in franchise history to Ted Williams. His on-base percentage is third and if you are a fan of WAR, he is third in that as well. He is far and away the greatest number 26, no one else even gets a mention.

Number 27 – Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk also has his number retired by the team. The Hall of Fame catcher hit one of the most memorable home runs in the history of baseball to win game six of the 1975 World Series. He is the best catcher in team history and a true Red Sox legend.

Fisk joined the Red Sox full-time in 1972. That season he made the All-Star Game, won Rookie of the Year, the Gold Glove, and placed fourth in the MVP vote. Surprisingly, he led the American League with nine triples that season.

After hitting 48 home runs over his first two seasons, Fisk missed a lot of time in 1974 and 1975, but when he played, he was great. Over 131 games and 450 at-bats those two seasons, Fisk hit .318 with 21 home runs and a .928 OPS. He of course then hit that legendary home run.

Perhaps his best offensive season came in 1977. That year, Fisk batted .315 with 26 home runs and drove in 102 runners. His .922 OPS was his best for a full season of work. One could still argue his rookie season was better.

Fisk was with the Red Sox for roughly a decade before the front office royally screwed up his contract, allowing him to sign elsewhere. He batted .284 and hit 162 regular season home runs during that time. He was a seven-time All-Star before leaving for the south side of Chicago.

Honorable Mentions: Greg Harris, Bill Monbouquette

Number 28 – Sparky Lyle

This one might not stay Sparky Lyle for long, as J.D. Martinez just had a monster first season with the Red Sox. In fact, I would suspect I will change this by the end of 2019. But for now, I have to give the nod to five good seasons over one great one.

Lyle should have been a Red Sox pitcher longer than he was. Traded for Danny Cater after the 1971 season in an ill-advised move, the trade has gone down in history as one of the franchise’s worst. Before being dealt, Lyle had put together five good seasons as the Red Sox best relief pitcher. Lyle was 22-17 with a 2.85 ERA and 69 saves during that time in Boston. His ERA was only higher than 2.75 once.

After being traded for over-the-hill Danny Cater (and quite frankly the never very good Danny Cater), Lyle unfortunately went on to a stellar career with the Yankees. He won a Cy Young Award, and placed third in the Cy Young vote his first season in New York. He saved 141 games and pitched to a 2.41 ERA while with the Yankees. Meanwhile, Danny Cater had a .685 OPS over three seasons as a part-time player for the Red Sox.

Honorable Mentions: JD Martinez, Doug Mirabelli, Adrian Gonzalez

Sparky Lyle #28 of the Boston Red Sox poses for a picture circa 1967-1971. (Photo by Louis Requena/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Number 29 – Keith Foulke

Keith Foulke is a Red Sox legend; a hero from the 2004 curse breaking team who should never have to pay for another beer in New England. What Foulke did in 2004 is nothing short of remarkable. Foulke pitched very well in the regular season, but it was during the ALCS and World Series that his name went down in history.

Signed to a contract in the offseason to become the Red Sox new closer, Foulke had an ERA under 2.00 for most of the season, finishing the year at 2.17 with 32 saves in 83 innings pitched. Foulke would tack on 14 more innings in the Postseason, with many of them coming in consecutive games.

Foulke pitched three shutout innings against the Angels in the ALDS. After appearing in Games 1 and 2, Foulke pitched 2.2 shutout innings in the 14-inning Game 4 against the Yankees. His pitching prolonged the game and allowed the Red Sox the chance to keep their season alive. Without that effort, his longest outing of the season, the Red Sox couldn’t have done what they did. After throwing 50 pitches, Foulke came back the next day to get four outs in another extra-innings game. He came back the very next day to close out the Yankees in game 6, despite having thrown over 70 pitches the previous two days.

After getting Game 7 to rest, Foulke pitched in all four games of the World Series, going more than an inning again in Game 1. In total he allowed one run in 14 innings of work, and the innings could not be higher leverage situations than they were.

Keith Foulke likely gave his career to those pitching performances, as he was never the same after. I’m guessing he would do it all again.

Honorable Mentions: Roger Moret, Adrian Beltre, Daniel Nava

Keith Foulke #29 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 to win game four of the World Series. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Number 30 – Jose Santiago

The number 30 certainly doesn’t offer some of the names these other numbers do. Santiago had three good seasons with the Red Sox, before battling injuries and being forced out of the league.

Santiago joined the Red Sox in 1966, winning 12 games and posting a solid 3.66 ERA. The next season, he was a key member of the bullpen while also making 11 starts for the “Impossible Dream” team. He was 12-4 with a 3.59 ERA over 145.1 innings pitched. He did not fare so well in the World Series, losing two of the games to the Cardinals.

1968 was his final effective season, and he made the All-Star Game. Over 18 starts before his injury to his elbow, Santiago was 9-4 with a stellar 2.25 ERA. He threw seven complete games, two of them shutouts. He did battle back the next season and pitched reasonably well over 10 relief appearances, but he could no longer throw his signature pitch. Santiago did not last long in 1970 and was out of baseball. He did not wear the number 30 that final season though, going 33-21 with a 3.25 ERA while wearing this number with the Red Sox.

Honorable Mentions: John Tudor, Andrew Miller

Jose Santiago poses for a headshot.
(Photo by Boston Red Sox)

Featured picture taken from MLB.com