Who do you love?

By Chad Finn

February 23, 2009

3 minutes to read

With a tip of the cap to my friends at Fire Brand of the American League — and the acknowledgment that the well of topics that I’m interested in writing about is rather dry this afternoon — here’s my list of favorite Red Sox players by position since I became a fan 30-some years ago. Hit me with yours in the comments . . .

C — Carlton Fisk. New Englanders tending to look at him as our favorite son, the tough, stoic embodiment of what a Sox player should be. Thurman Munson, on the other hand, thought his rival was a preening pretty boy, which echoed of jealousy considering he generally looked like a pinstriped russet potato.

1B — Brian Daubach. Had a .562 slugging percentage in ’99 and delivered some huge and memorable hits during the Sox’ drive to the wild card. Plus, no one seemed to appreciate his good fortune more than the Dauber. Honorable mention: Maurice Vaughn, an oversized package of power, pride and personality.

2B — Todd Walker. Hard to omit Dustin Pedroia, who is well on his way to becoming one of the most popular Sox players of all time, but I had to go with Walker, who excelled in the 2003 ALCS despite his manager’s Grady-brained decision to occasionally sit him in favor of Damian Jackson. Further, he was one of the fun-loving players who changed the culture of the Sox. Too bad he missed out on the good times of 2004.

3B — Butch Hobson. Boyhood hero. And I don’t care what you say, he was an above-average (and maniacal) defensive third baseman before Don Zimmer left him out there until his elbow turned to Spam.

SS — Nomar Garciaparra. Yeah, the ending was as bitter as day-old Dunkin’s, but I can’t be the only one who remembers fondly those overachieving Sox teams of Nomar, Pedro, and 23 Duquette-approved role players.

LF — Manny Ramirez. The ending was inexcusable and ugly, but that doesn’t erase the enjoyment we got from watching the premier righthanded hitter of his generation for 7 1/2 seasons. He was worth the $160 million and then some. Honorable mention: Troy O’Leary, whose “luck of the Irish” two-homer, seven-RBI game in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS versus Cleveland remains one of my favorite improbable performances in franchise history.

CF — Fred Lynn. Few Sox players have made it look so easy, which actually worked against the laid-back Californian. But Sox fans appreciated him more once he was gone, particularly after he admitted it was a mistake ever to leave Boston. Other medalists: Ellis Burks (silver), Johnny Damon (bronze).
RF — Dwight Evans. I’ve never been able to convince myself that he’s a Hall of Famer, but he sure as heck should have been on the ballot for more than three years. And only in a bizarro universe, where running circles around fly balls and routinely airmailing the cutoff man are signs of defensive prowess, is Trot Nixon a superior defensive right fielder.
DH — David Ortiz. Consider this: How would Red Sox history be different if Twins general manager Terry Ryan had decided the .500 slugging percentage Ortiz put up during the 2002 season was reason enough to keep him in Minnesota? Actually, don’t consider it — I don’t want to think about the Sox without Papi.
RHP — Pedro Martinez. The anticipatory buzz at Fenway before and during a Pedro start was wholly unique. Our eyes told us we were watching one of the finest pitchers in baseball history. Statistics tell us our eyes might not have been giving Pedro enough credit.
LHP — Bruce Hurst. Loved his drop-the-hammer curveball . . .
Closer — Tom Gordon. . . . and his, too. (But Papelbon’s a tough omission.)
Backup outfielder — Midre Cummings. He had his moments as a pinch hitter on those late-’90s Sox teams — he could hammer a good fastball — and I never could quite figure out why he didn’t cut it as an everyday player, though I recall he was said to be somewhat of a spaceshot.
Utility infielder — Pokey Reese. He fielded the Ruben Sierra ground ball that accounted for the final out in Game 7 against the Yankees in ’04. I can’t think of any other recent Red Sox player I’d want that ball hit to, save for perhaps Alex Gonzalez. And his charisma was off the charts.
Prospect who never quite made it — Pat Dodson. A good-fielding first baseman with pop whose bat was just a tick slow to catch up with the big league heat. He was a four-year letter-winner at Pawtucket, though.
Manager — Terry Francona. Der. What, you expected Joe Kerrigan?
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As for today’s Completely Random Baseball Card:

Forget last night. This is still the only Oscar who matters around here.