A Good Ol' Fashioned Beantown Slugfest

by Gabe Souza

Editorial. Photos by AP News

There’s no doubt Beantown has seen its fair share of sluggers through the years.

From Babe in the ‘10’s, to Teddy Ballgame in the ‘50’s, to Manny being Manny in the ‘00’s - the hometown team has always had at least one guy in the starting nine popping dingers over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street.

Many of them have even earned a place in Cooperstown.

But what about those that have yet to hang up the cleats? As crazy as it sounds, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia all have a chance to be remembered in the annals of Fenway.

But before we figure out where they rank, let’s take a look at the throwbacks, the guys who paved the road for the current gang in the Hub.

Babe Ruth:

Way back in the 1910’s, George Herman “Babe” Ruth roamed the confines of the relatively new Fenway Park. The young pitcher/ right fielder was scouted as being a below average fielder, but it was the big lefty’s bat that made all the difference.

After a relatively quiet first five years with the BoSox, Ruth broke out in 1919. In 130 games, Ruth hit .322, belted an unheard of at the time 29 home runs and knocked in 114 runs. But that offseason, Ruth was traded to…well, we won’t go there.

Bobby Doerr:

Some twenty years later, a slick second baseman rose through the farm system and found his way to Fenway, where he would stay for 15 years, from 1937-1951. Bobby Doerr brought a unique skill set to Boston, showcasing gold glove caliber fielding, decent speed on the base paths and above all, a hot bat.

In his career, the Californian born infielder totaled 2,042 hits, 3,270 total bases, and 223 dingers, an astonishing number for a second baseman playing at the tail end of the dead ball era.

Dom DiMaggio:

As the country pulled out of the Great Depression, Tom Yawkey rolled out a new slugger in the Fens.

Dom DiMaggio, a skinny Italian boy from San Francisco, brought a quiet and classy approach to the triangle in deep center. Speed and agility complimented his skill in the batters’ box.

While overshadowed by his brother – some guy named Joe who played for the Yankees and dated Marilyn Monroe – Dom’s offensive output wasn’t too shabby.

In fact, the guy posted a career batting average of .298, registered almost 1,700 hits and 57 triples. Not bad for the “little” brother.

Ted Williams:

While American troops were storming the beaches of Normandy, Ted Williams was tearing apart pitchers in America.

The greatest slugger in Sox history, Williams embarrassed righties and lefties alike for 21 years.

He put together one of the best careers Major League Baseball has ever seen: a .344 batting average, 2,654 hits, 1,798 runs, 1,839 RBI and 521 home runs. Oh, and he was the last player ever to hit .400 in a season, when the Splendid Splinter batted .406 in 1941.

The man was able to achieve all this, despite missing four years of play during his career because of military service. Williams was a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. We can only speculate as to what his final numbers might have looked like without the time spent overseas.

Carl Yastrzemski:

1961 - JFK took the presidential oath and Martin Luther King Jr. was in the midst of a heavy Civil Rights battle in the South. Times were changing, and so were left fielders.

In Beantown, Teddy Ballgame grudgingly gave way to a young kid with an awkward swing and an even more awkward name: Carl Yastrzemski. But it didn’t take long for number eight to win over the fans.

In just his third year in the league, “Yaz” was named to the All-Star team and earned Gold Glove honors while posting a .321 average at the dish. The hall-of-famer totaled 3,419 career hits, 452 home runs and almost 2,000 RBI. But he wasn’t the only show on the road.

Dwight Evans:

During Yaz’s time in Boston, Yawkey brought in another talented corner outfielder – Dwight Evans.

As Mario Puzo’s blockbuster film The Godfather hit screens across the country, “Dewy” descended on the Hub. The right-fielder scored 1,470 runs, hit 385 home runs and posted a career .272 batting average, sacking two silver slugger awards when it was said and done. His arm in the outfield was one of the best the Major Leagues had ever seen.

It was often remarked that Dewy could pick up the ball near Pesky’s Poll and nail a guy at the dish without breaking a sweat. He also bagged eight gold gloves.

Jim Rice:

Then there's the guy who became a broadcaster.

But long before Jim Rice was analyzing games on NESN, he was strolling left field for the Red Sox opposite Evans. He was one of the best hitters in the game during the 80’s, plain and simple. If you were on the mound, this wasn’t a guy you wanted to face.

There was a long debate of whether Rice would ever be inducted into the elusive Hall of Fame, Finally, last summer, on his third try, he was inducted in what should have been an easy sell all along. The guy put up a .502 career slugging percentage, .298 batting average and belted 382 home runs. Case closed.

Mo Vaughn:

Then came a lull. When Rice stepped away from the game in ’89, the Sox went without a big bat in its lineup for a couple of years.

But then they reeled in a big one. And believe me, this catch made anything NESN’s Charlie Moore nabbed look like peanuts.

The six-foot-one, 275-pound Mo Vaughn lumbered his way onto the scene in 1991, slowly working his way into the starting first baseman’s position. By 1995, the “Hit Dog” was American League M.V.P, belting 39 homers and driving in 126 runs.

And although Vaughn and the Sox would part ways in a bitter dispute between the hefty lefty and general manager Dan Duquette, there’s no forgetting the numbers he put up, namely 230 home runs in seven seasons, an average of 32 per year.

Nomar Garciaparra:

Before Vaughn’s ugly departure, however, the slugger was paired with an offensive sparkplug for two seasons. In the same year as the then revolutionary Toyota Prius was unveiled in Japan, Nomar Garciaparra won 1997 A.L. Rookie of the Year honors.

The slender but strong shortstop provided the perfect compliment to Vaughn’s big swing and stabilized the lineup after the first baseman left. Nomar’s best year came in 1998, when the half-Mexican, half-Egyptian shortstop belted 35 homers and drove in 123 runs.

In 2000, Nomar flirted with a .400 batting average. In early August, Garciaparra’s average lurked right around the fabled line before a late-season slump dropped him to a .372 average, still one of the best in recent history.

Manny Ramirez:

Lastly, this brings us to the latest installment of a Sox slugger. In the same year that George Bush took over the Oval Office, Manny Ramirez took over left field (ponder this: who was more suited for what position?)

While often embattled and known for his not-so-well-received antics, there’s no doubting what the Manny being Manny show brought to the table. Let’s list the numbers from 2001 till the trade deadline in 2008: A .312 batting average, 1,232 hits, 274 home runs, 868 RBI and a whopping .586 slugging percentage.

Now who?

And here we are. A new decade. Eight years ago Theo Epstein took over a team that had a few straggled superstars and a clubhouse with little to no chemistry. Now, the best part of the lineup is homegrown, just like Ruth, Williams, Yastrzemski, Rice and the rest of the historic crew.

Today, Boston has three sluggers that could each earn a spot in fabled Sox lore: Youkilis, Ellsbury and Pedroia. They’re all in the prime of their careers, all are talented hitters and as long as John Henry whips out the checkbook when necessary, all look to have a bright future at Fenway.

But which one will leave their mark etched in Beantown as the best hitter of the 2010’s?

The Case - Kevin Youkilis:

Youkilis has established himself as one of the best first baseman in the game. In just under 700 career games, “Youk” has earned a .292 batting average, blasted 93 jacks and driven in 408 runs.

But perhaps more importantly, the “Greek God of Walks” makes pitch counts rise quicker than Don Zimmer’s blood pressure. In his big league career, the guy has averaged near five pitches per at-bat, a number that’s almost as eye-popping as his gnarly facial hair.

The Case – Jacoby Ellsbury:

Ellsbury, the newly converted left fielder (notice a trend with left fielders in Boston?) looks to continue his early success and he’s off to a good start.

Last year was his best so far, hitting .301 and posting a .770 OPS. His biggest contribution came in the 2007 postseason when he hit .360 with 13 total bases and eight runs scored.

Best of all, he’s fast. Fast enough to swipe home plate from under Jorge Posada’s nose at Fenway in May of last year, one of the 70 steals he had in 2009.

The Case – Dustin Pedroia:

Then there’s Pedroia.

No one in sports has a heart bigger than this guy. Each game he leaves it all on the field. Not once does he jog to first base or half-heartedly dive for a line drive. He busts his butt every time.

On top of that, he’s a pretty good hitter. In four years with the club, “Pedey” has posted a .307 average, with 580 hits in 481 games. His explosive 2008 campaign – .326 average and 213 hits – bagged him not only the A.L. M.V.P. award, but gold glove honors as well.

The Verdict:

It’s a tough choice. A toss up. All three are good, all three could be great.

But for my money, I’ll take Pedroia to go down as one of the greatest Sox players of all time. He’s got the swing to do it, but above all he’s got the attitude.

He’s got a Kevin Garnett-sized heart in the frame of a tiny infielder. He’s ferocious and will tear your heart out for a victory.

And in this town, that’s what separates the boys from the men, and the men from the legends.