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I was born in 1985, and didn’t become a diehard sports fan
until I was nine, so if you’re in your fifties and get mad that Carlton Fisk
isn’t on this list, that’s why.
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I tried my best to focus on the disappointment I was feeling
as soon as I found out a certain player was leaving, without focusing on the
aftermath. All but number nine on this list do a pretty good job of that.
Now on to the list…
10. Carl Everett
Just
kidding!
9. Adrian Beltre
Beltre
only spent one year in Boston, so there wasn’t a great deal of emotional
attachment, but this move hurt the logical part of my brain. Coming off a
lackluster five seasons playing for the Mariners, Beltre inked a one-year deal
with the Red Sox in 2010. He exceeded expectations, batting .321 with 28
dingers, won the AL Silver Slugger Award for third baseman, and made the
All-Star team. Rather than re-sign him (because you know, it wouldn’t make any
sense to resign a guy who has already proven he can handle playing in Boston),
the Red Sox instead chose to spend their money on Adrian Gonzalez, Carl
Crawford, and John Lackey. Adrian Gonzalez is currently on pace for about 15
home runs (Beltre is on pace for 30), while Crawford and Lackey have been on
the DL all season. Bummer.
8. Wade Boggs
I’m
too young to remember Boggs leaving Boston for the Yankees after the 1992
season, but I think my Dad was bummed out about it. Ironically enough, 1992 was
the only season Boggs hit under .300 in a Red Sox uniform (I’m guessing a poor
BABIP contributed to a .259 average that season. Either that or he was looking
forward to getting the hell out of Boston). For evidence that Boggs may have
been under appreciated, here are the batting averages (with on-base percentage
in parentheses) Boggs posted from 1985 through 1988.
1985: .368 (.450)
1986: .357 (.453)1987: .363 (.461)
1988: .366 (.476)
7. Mo Vaughn
Mo
was David Ortiz before Big Papi ever made it to the big leagues. In his prime,
he was a go big or go home hitter who somehow managed to post a .293 career
batting average. He always came up huge in big moments (his most memorable Red
moment was a walk-off grand slam off of Randy Johnson in an early season
comeback against the Mariners), but unfortunately he only got to play in 7
post-season games his entire career. It was a bummer when he left for the
Angels in 1999, but at least no one had any false hope that he was going to
stay.
6. Roger Clemens
Clemens
is an asshole, so I don’t want to spend too much time on him. Just know that at
11 years old, I was really sad to see him go.
5. Johnny Damon
Damon
was only with the Red Sox for four years, but the goodwill he built up didn’t
even make him a full on villain when he left for the Yankees in 2006. It was
sad to see him go, but the way the rest of his career has gone proved Theo
Epstein right. He wouldn’t have been worth the money the Red Sox would’ve had
to fork over to keep him.
4. Manny Ramirez
Sure
Ramirez has had a lot of dirt thrown on him since leaving Boston. Sure the Red
Sox placed him on waivers while he was there…twice. Sure he was nearly involved
in a blockbuster trade that would’ve brought Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox in
2004 (remember that?). Sure he was probably juicing during his entire career
(who wasn’t?). You want to know what Manny’s postseason batting averages were
during the two championship seasons? .348 and .350. The Red Sox have never
really been the same since he was traded in July of 2008.
3. Nomar Garciaparra
The
only thing that would’ve made the 2004 World Series run better for No
Credentials is if Nomar could’ve been on the field for the final out in St.
Louis. He was drafted right when I started becoming a die-hard sports fan. He
came up and won rookie of the year. For a five-year stretch, it was a
legitimate debate whether or not him, Alex Rodriguez, or Derek Jeter was the
best shortstop in baseball. If he wasn’t so brittle, I’m certain he would’ve
reached 3,000 hits. Lastly, numerous pets owned by friends of mine in junior
high school were named Nomar. I was heavily intoxicated when word of his trade
to Chicago broke, so this trade crushed me.
2. Jonathan Papelbon
The
picture above shows everything I love and miss about Papelbon. At least I can
still root for him because he’s on my keeper league team.
1. Pedro Martinez
If
you could teleport a “in his prime” Pedro Martinez to 2012, what would his ERA
and WHIP be? 1.25 and 0.50? 1999-2003 Pedro was appointment television (his
dominating two-inning stint in the 1999 All-Star Game against a lineup of
Jersey Shore-like guerilla juice heads being the most memorable, other than of
course throwing 102-year old Don Zimmer to the ground in the 2003 ALCS). He was
a bit of a liability during the 2004 World Series run (remember him calling the
Yankees “my daddy”?), but delivered a vintage Pedro performance in Game 3 to
help Boston stomp the life out of the Cardinals. Pitchers like Pedro come along
once in a generation.
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