The Boston Red Sox are considered today to be one of the most successful franchises in baseball. Their name is often associated with expected success, and they frequently have a steady stream of superstars joining their lineup. In the 21st century, they’ve been considered the best franchise, with four World Series wins. Only one other franchise has at least three (San Francisco Giants).
However, that wasn’t always the case. Some of the older baseball fans remember a time when the Red Sox were the laughingstock of baseball. Their inability to get out of their own way, or the absolutely heartbreaking ways they would lose big games, was almost comical. It continued into the 21st century, with Aaron Boone hitting a walkoff home run in 2003 to get the Yankees to the World Series.
Before that, there were decades upon decades of losing, but during those years, they still had some of the all-time greats playing in Boston. Twelve players are in the Hall of Fame with the Red Sox as their primary team, and more than 40 went to the Hall after spending at least some time in Boston.
When looking at this franchise as a whole, choosing the best of the best at each position is no easy task. Who deserves to make the final lineup?
First Base
Jimmie Foxx
1936-1942
Jimmie Foxx was the catalyst for the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty, but when it was time to cash in and build for the future, the Boston Red Sox came calling. They watched their rivals, the New York Yankees, turn into a powerhouse, and the Sox were looking for more firepower in the lineup. They traded Gordon Rhodes, George Savino and $150,000 to the A’s for Foxx and pitcher Johnny Marcum.
While with the Red Sox, Foxx officially took the crown as the best hitter in the American League from Babe Ruth. He continued to be stellar as a player in New England, hitting 41 home runs in 1936 (his first year after the trade).
Foxx played six full seasons with the Red Sox, and he was an All-Star each year. His best year in Boston came in 1938, where he hit 50 home runs and a ridiculous 175 RBIs. He also had 119 walks, which led all of baseball, and he won the American League batting title. Foxx was voted as the league MVP that season, and he finished second in 1937.
This is one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and he was traded to Boston in the middle of his prime. He would leave Boston in the middle of the 1942 season after his stats started to decline. The Chicago Cubs “bought” Foxx for $10,000. His best years were way behind him at this point, as the Red Sox saw the last great years from this Hall of Famer.
Second Base
Dustin Pedroia
2006-2019
From one distinct era of Red Sox to a very different one. Dustin Pedroia entered Boston in 2006, two years after they broke the curse and won the 2004 World Series. He joined a team that was stacked and looking to keep the winning ways going. During his first full season in 2007, he did about as well as anyone could have expected from a rookie. He hit .317 and drove in 50 runs, winning Rookie of the Year honors in the process.
During the postseason, he hit two home runs and 10 RBIs en route to the first of his two World Series championships. It was the perfect start for a player who would eventually be the heartbeat of the Boston Red Sox.
In 2008, Pedroia put together his best season, hitting .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs. He added a league-leading 54 doubles and won the league MVP for the first and only time. It was a career with multiple All-Star Game appearances, multiple Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, and multiple other offensive and defensive awards.
Pedroia won his second World Series in 2013, putting up eight runs and driving in seven more. This was a “death by a thousand cuts” Red Sox team, and it was the Sox third World Series in 10 years. It felt surreal for long-time Red Sox fans, and Pedroia was a big part of it.
Short Stop
Nomar Garciaparra
1996-2004
How can anyone see this name and not attempt their best (or worst) Boston accent when they say “Nomar.” He was the perfect Boston Red Sox player. He was a little bit of an underdog, as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez took most of the shortstop headlines. He was performing at the highest level, and while he did win Rookie of the Year in 1997, he couldn’t quite get the MVP award many thought he deserved.
The closest he came was in 1998, when he finished second to Juan Gonzalez. Garciaparra had two full wins above replacement more than Gonzalez that season, but the Rangers slugger won on counting stats. Still, Garciaparra had 35 home runs, 122 runs batted in, a .323 batting average, and 12 stolen bases. He was dominant that season, and it was a run of young great players in the infield.
Garciaparra continued to be a top player in the league, and the Red Sox continued to grow as a franchise. Nomar was also INSANE when he was given a postseason opportunity. He hit .333 with three home runs in four games against Cleveland in ‘98. In ‘99, he followed it up with a performance for the ages, hitting .406 and 29 total bases in just nine games. He was about the only great thing against the Yankees that season.
Garciaparra’s Red Sox end is pretty bittersweet. The Red Sox traded him after multiple seasons missing the playoffs and some injuries that derailed his impact. They traded him in 2004, the year they won the World Series. Still, his impact was felt during his time in Boston, and the Red Sox continue to thank him for his contributions to this day.
Third Base
Wade Boggs
1982-1992
There are few hitters with the precision of Wade Boggs in the history of baseball. Barry Bonds had the great batter’s eye, Tony Gwynn could hit the ball anywhere, and Pete Rose had insane consistency over his career, but there was something about Boggs’ approach that seemed like he was always in control.
Boggs was with the Red Sox from 1982 to 1992 (11 seasons), and he won the batting title five times over that span. He’s one of nine players all-time to achieve at least five batting titles, with a large majority of those players doing it in the very early years of MLB.
If Boggs played in MLB today, he would be considered one of the game’s best. His analytics were off the charts. While he was never too high in MVP voting, he led the American League in WAR three years in a row, and twice he led all of baseball.
Boggs was good in the postseason with the Red Sox, and he was on the team that lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. His time with the Sox would look very different if Bill Buckner just played that ground ball correctly, but that’s ancient history. He did eventually get his World Series, but we don’t talk about that.
Catcher
Carlton Fisk
1969-1980
There are legendary players for the Boston Red Sox during their drought years, but few compare to the absolute impact that Carlton Fisk had on this franchise. He came in like a wrecking ball, becoming the first player ever to be the unanimous Rookie of the Year. That season, he hit 22 home runs and batted in 61 runs.
We could talk about Fisk for days, as he’s one of the best catchers of all time. He started his career with the Red Sox, and he was one of the greats.
Let’s jump to 1975. Even with everything that happened before and everything that’s happened since then, this still might be the most famous moment in Red Sox history. While facing elimination in Game 6 against the Cincinnati Reds, Fisk was up in the top of the 12th inning. He rocketed a shot to right field that appeared to be going foul, but the image of Fisk waving the ball fair is one of the iconic moments in baseball. The ball ended up hitting the foul pole, and the Red Sox won the game 7-6.
His entire tenure, Fisk was one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. During his entire Red Sox career, Fisk was selected to seven All-Star games, and batted .284 with 161 home runs and 568 RBI. He remains a legend in Red Sox lore.
Right Field
Manny Ramirez
2001-2008
The outfield is stacked for Red Sox history. There are just too many players to choose from, and unlike other teams we’ve ranked, the designated hitter position is pretty clearly taken. So, because of this, we’ve had to snub Fred Lynn, Tris Speaker, Mookie Betts, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans. That’s 243 career WAR left on the table with those five players (not including their forays with other teams).
However, we just couldn’t do this list without Manny Ramirez. The Red Sox may STILL be under the Curse of the Bambino if Ramirez never joined Boston.
Ramirez signed a massive contract with the Red Sox in December 2000. He was immediately amazing, hitting over .400 for the month of April 2001. He had 26 home runs and 84 home runs by the All-Star Break. However, things didn’t pick up officially until 2003 when the Red Sox acquired David Ortiz. They became one of the great one-two punches the game has ever seen. They led the Red Sox to the playoffs in 2003, but let’s skip ahead to 2004.
In the offseason after the 2003 playoffs, the Red Sox reportedly tried to flip Ramirez for Alex Rodriguez, but the MLBPA did not like the concessions ARod made, so the trade got nixed. Then, Ramirez led the league in home runs with 43 in 2004. He then hit .412 in the World Series, a four-game sweep of the Cardinals to end an 88-year World Series drought. During the 2007 postseason, Ramirez hit his 23rd postseason home run, then breaking the record for most all time. He once again helped the Red Sox to a sweep in the World Series, this time beating the Colorado Rockies.
Center Field
Carl Yastrzemski
1961-1983
One of the few players on this list who have only worn a Red Sox uniform, Carl Yastrzemski bleeds for the Red Sox. He embodies what fans love about this team. Despite the many disappointments and the lowest of lows, Yaz was never going to leave Boston, and he wanted so bad to win the big one and end the Curse of the Bambino.
Yastrzemski was one of the first players to excel at the highest level at both power and hitting efficiency. He’s the first American League player to hit 400+ home runs while being a part of the 3,000 hit club. He finished his Red Sox career with 18 All-Star selections, seven Gold Gloves, three batting titles, and the 1967 MVP (in a season where he won the Triple Crown with 326 batting average, 44 home runs, and 121 RBIs). He was the last Triple Crown winner until Miguel Cabrera did it in 2012.
Yaz owns most of the Red Sox records for batting. He leads in career runs batted in, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, and games played. He’s third in home runs behind Ortiz and Ted Williams. The career numbers speak for themselves.
At the end of his career, Yaz played 23 seasons in Boston. He played 3,300 regular-season games, but he only had a chance to play 17 postseason games. He went to the World Series twice, but he failed to get the Sox over the hump.
Left Field
Ted Williams
1939-1960
Ted Williams is truly one of the greats to ever play this game. We talk about that a ton, which is what happens when a game was the catalyst for sports for more than 100 years. The best athletes were often going to play baseball, and that’s where the money was, but we’re not playing with conjecture when looking at Ted Williams’ career. He is one of the best of all time.
Williams is one of the rare players in history to be an All-Star in 100 percent of his seasons played. He was on the field for 19 years and he made 19 All-Star Games. He’s a two-time AL MVP, a six-time batting champion, a four-time home run leader, a four-time RBI leader, and he still owns the MLB record for on-base percentage (.482).
Of course, how we remember Williams today is as the last player to hit .400. The last time Williams got hits on more than 40% of his at-bats was back in 1941. The feat has happened 50 times in the history of the sport, but there’s a reason players cannot achieve the feat for 85 years. Williams is a special player and hitting .400 is a special achievement.
On top of everything that Williams accomplished, he also joined the U.S. Navy and Marines right in his prime. He missed the 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons. Imagine Roman Anthony missing those seasons today? It would ruin a player’s career statistics. Williams was literally second for MVP in the season before he served, and he won the MVP in the season he returned. He probably finishes his career with 650+ home runs if he doesn’t serve in the war.
Designated Hitter
David Ortiz
2003-2016
There might be no primary designated hitter that has more of an impact on their team than David Ortiz. We have some singular seasons, like Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 season last year, but there’s nobody who did what Ortiz did over a career. Being the catalyst for the end of the Curse of the Bambino only helps his legacy.
Of course, this is an interesting case of a player falling into the Red Sox’s lap. Ortiz was playing for the Minnesota Twins, but they didn’t want to pay him the $2 million he would likely be owed in arbitration, so they outright released him. Ortiz signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2003 season.
Once he joined the Sox franchise, he immediately became a legend. He started with the team on a non-guaranteed contract worth just $1.25 million. It took two months to even break into the starting lineup, but he never looked back. Despite the delay, Ortiz still hit 31 home runs and added 101 RBIs, finishing fifth in MVP voting. He actually hit his first incredibly clutch home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead late. We’ll ignore what happens next.
That clutchness continued in 2004. He started by hitting a series walk-off home run to finish off the Anaheim Angels in Game 5. Ortiz actively destroyed the rival Yankees in a rematch of the ALCS. With the Red Sox facing an 0-3 hole and facing a sweep, Ortiz hit a walk-off home run in Game 4 to keep their season alive. He had another walk-off hit in Game 5, and he won ALCS MVP. We can talk about everything else Ortiz-related, but this series shows his immense impact. He would help the Red Sox win the World Series in 2007 and 2013, but nothing was more important than that first time.
Starting Pitcher
Pedro Martinez
1998-2004
How could we choose anyone other than the player who literally has more wins than anyone in history and is considered the owner of the most untouchable record in sports historyel? It’s because Pedro Martinez was the most overpowering pitcher we’ve seen since peak Doc Gooden.
Martinez joined the Red Sox coming off a Cy Young award win in the National League for the Montreal Expos. He didn’t stop his dominance after joining Boston in 1998. He was second in Cy Young voting that first season, finishing with 19 wins and a 2.83 ERA. He would go on to win the Cy Young in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000.
The numbers are staggering. He averaged more than a strikeout per inning in his career, and he’s one of the few to join the 3,000 strikeout club. In his first five seasons in Boston, he was first or second in Cy Young voting four times. This is pure dominance. Martinez won 76% of his starts with the Red Sox.
Martinez finished his Red Sox career on a high, winning the 2004 World Series before signing with the Mets. The Red Sox World Series win helps propel him over some of the all-timers in Boston history, including Roger Clemens, Lefty Grove, and Cy Young.
Closing Pitcher
Jonathan Papelbon
2005-2011
Unlike pretty much every other name on this list, Jonathan Papelbon is the best closer in Boston Red Sox history. There are a few players who have these singular seasons that are up there, but Papelbon did it for years. He is the Red Sox leader in all-time saves, with nearly 100 more saves than second on the list (Bob Stanley).
Papelbon was fiery on the mound, and he really fit in with the Red Sox of this era. He made his debut in 2005, a year after the Red Sox won their first World Series in decades. He saw a different version of this team, and he wanted to be a reason to keep winning.
The Red Sox actually wanted to make Papelbon a starter in 2006, but then Keith Foulke had issues returning from injuries. So, the Red Sox made Papelbon their closer, and he wouldn’t relinquish the role until he signed with the Phillies after the 2011 season. In six seasons as the full-time Red Sox closer, Papelbon had 219 saves. He helped the Red Sox win the 2007 World Series, and his game will always be seen as a major positive for the Red Sox forever.