All-Time Boston Red Sox Draft

All-Time Boston Red Sox Draft

This article is part of our MLB Observations series.

Continuing our Daily Draft programming on the SiriusXM show on Easter Saturday, Todd Zola and I invited not one but two guests to join us for an all-time Boston Red Sox draft. Scott Pianowski from Yahoo Fantasy Sports joined us, as did Ray Murphy from BaseballHQ.com. A quick reminder about our parameters:

  • You only get the players' stats from when they were with the Red Sox. So ... Babe Ruth was eligible to be drafted, but you only get his Red Sox stats.
  • Players are only eligible to be drafted where they played with that team. So when we drafted the Yankees last week, Alex Rodriguez was 3B-only.
  • This is a general "good at baseball" draft - not a fantasy draft. That means if you don't have saves or stolen bases, that's fine. Given that we're limited to six pitchers apiece, we're not going to have the SP/RP you'd normally look for.

We gave Ray and Scott respectively their first choices in draft order, in this snake draft. Ray surprisingly took the wheel, going at the 4-5 turn. Scott opted for second overall, Todd opted to take the first pick, leaving me with the third pick. Here are the results, starting with the overall draft, then rosters by position:

RdTeamPlayer
1ToddTed Williams
1PianowPedro Martinez
1JeffRoger Clemens
1RayCarl Yastrzemski
2RayWade Boggs
2JeffMookie Betts
2PianowDavid Ortiz
2ToddJimmie Foxx
3ToddCarlton Fisk
3PianowCy Young
3JeffDwight Evans
3RayNomar Garciaparra
4RayManny Ramirez
4JeffXander Bogaerts
4PianowFred Lynn
4ToddJim Longborg
5ToddJim Rice
5PianowBobby Doerr
5JeffDustin Pedroia
5RayLefty Grove
6RayJason Varitek
6JeffMo Vaughn
6PianowTris Speaker
6ToddLuis Tiant
7ToddFrank Malzone
7PianowKevin Youkilis
7JeffJon Lester
7RaySmokey Joe Wood
8RayTony Conigliaro
8JeffCurt Schilling
8PianowJohn Valentin
8ToddRico Petrocelli
9ToddMel Parnell
9PianowDennis Eckersley
9JeffTim Wakefield
9RayDom DiMaggio
10RayBabe Ruth
10JeffJosh Beckett
10PianowBruce Hurst
10ToddDick Radatz
11ToddBill Monboquette
11PianowJacoby Ellsbury
11JeffReggie Smith
11RayBill Lee
12RayJonathan Papelbon
12JeffChris Sale
12PianowRich Gedman
12ToddGeorge Scott
13ToddHarry Hooper
13PianowJohnny Damon
13JeffMike Lowell
13RayBob Stanley
14RayEllis Burks
14JeffJ.D. Martinez
14PianowDerek Lowe
14ToddJerry Remy
15ToddKeith Foulke
15PianowMike Boddicker
15JeffRick Ferrell
15RayMarty Barrett

Rosters By Position:

 ToddPianowJeffRay
CCarlton FiskRich GedmanRick FerrellJason Varitek
1BJimmie FoxxDavid OrtizMo VaughnCarl Yastrzemski
3BFrank MalzoneKevin YoukilisMike LowellWade Boggs
2BJerry RemyBobby DoerrDustin PedroiaMarty Barrett
SSRico PetrocelliJohn ValentinXander BogaertsNomar Garciaparra
     
OF1Ted WilliamsFred LynnMookie BettsDom DiMaggio
OF2Jim RiceTris SpeakerDwight EvansManny Ramirez
OF3Harry HooperJacoby EllsburyReggie SmithTony Conigliaro
DHGeorge ScottJohnny DamonJ.D. MartinezEllis Burks
     
P1Jim LongborgPedro MartinezRoger ClemensLefty Grove
P2Luis TiantCy YoungJon LesterSmokey Joe Wood
P3Mel ParnellDennis EckersleyCurt SchillingBabe Ruth
P4Dick RadatzBruce HurstTim WakefieldBill Lee
P5Bill MonbouquetteDerek LoweJosh BeckettJonathan Papelbon
P6Keith FoulkeMike BoddickerChris SaleBob Stanley

In previous drafts, I think I erred too much on the side of overall cumulative value, without accounting enough for the difference in era, and I paid too much attention to positional scarcity. I think I adequately addressed both issues in this case. Surprisingly, pitching got thin pretty quickly with the Red Sox - or maybe that isn't surprising at all given how long of a title drought that they had prior to 2004.

Who do you think has the best team? Which players were notable omissions for you?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Erickson
Jeff Erickson is a co-founder of RotoWire and the only two-time winner of Baseball Writer of the Year from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He's also in the FSWA Hall of Fame. He roots for the Reds, Bengals, Red Wings, Pacers and Northwestern University (the real NU).
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