I'm going to do something a little different with the One-Year Wonder posts. I have decided to go position-by-position and see if I can determine who the best player at each position would be who only spent one year with the Red Sox. This requires a lot of time and research. I am not naming every single player who spent just one season with the Red Sox at each position, but just the better-known players. At the end of the post, I will pick the single best player for each position.
RIGHT-HANDED STARTING PITCHER
Though his career lasted just six seasons in the Majors, Lewis had some big success. He had been a 20 game winner twice while with the Boston National League team before he was poached by the upstart American League team. A member of the inaugural Boston rotation in the American League, Lewis had a record of 16-17 and an ERA of 3.53 over 316.1 innings. Lewis led the league in home runs allowed with 14. Though he led the team in losses, Lewis also tied for second on the team in wins and strikeouts (103). Though he was just 28, he never appeared in the Majors again.
Sparks is not a household name, but he turned in a number of good seasons for the Phillies from 1903-1910, including a 20 win season in 1907 when he had a 2.00 ERA. Sparks started the 1902 season with the New York Giants but was picked up as a free agent by Boston in August of 1902. Despite coming to the team so late, Sparks was a workhorse, starting 15 of 17 games with a 7-9 record and a 3.47 ERA. He struck out 37 and walked 40 in 142.2 innings. After the season, he jumped to the Phillies where he had his most career success.
There will be several Hall of Famers in this post and Chesbro is the first. He would also fit into a one-game wonder post as Chesbro's Red Sox stint lasted one single game. Chesbro had been a very good starting pitcher for the Pirates and New York Highlanders, leading the league in wins twice, including the record of 41 wins in a single season with New York in 1904. He also led the league in starts (55), complete games (48) and innings pitched (454.2). His career slowly declined after that, leading into the 1909 season which he started with the Highlanders. But after an 0-4 start, he was placed on waivers. Boston picked him up to start a game late in the season. He pitched six innings in the final start of his career and took the loss, giving up four runs, walking four and striking out three. His Red Sox record was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA.
Caldwell had been a consistent member of the Yankees rotations for the entire decade leading into 1919. He had come close to 20 win seasons twice. His best season was in 1914 when he was 18-9 with a 1.94 ERA. In one of the early trades between the Yankees and Red Sox which peaked with the sale of Babe Ruth to New York, Caldwell was sent to Boston along with three spare parts and $15k for Boston stars Ernie Shore, Dutch Leonard and Duffy Lewis. This was not a great trade for either team as none of the players did much for their new teams. Caldwell was the best of the group for Boston, going 7-4 with a 3.96 ERA in 86.1 innings. Decent numbers today, but at the time they were less than impressive. They were so unimpressive that Caldwell was released later in the season and snagged by Cleveland. He won 20 games for Cleveland the next year, but was done shortly thereafter.
Harry "Rip" Collins was one of the many players that were acquired in deals with the Yankees in exchange for star players. Collins was a part of the one deal that was at least decent for the Red Sox as he arrived with Roger Peckinpaugh and Jack Quinn. Peckinpaugh was a big name who was immediately dealt for Joe Dugan while Quinn was the single best player Boston received in any of the deals. Collins was pretty good in his one season in Boston as well, with a record of 14-11 and a 3.76 ERA. He was wild though, leading the league in walks (103), wild pitches (seven) and home runs per nine innings. He struck out 69 batters in 210.2 innings pitched and threw three shutouts. He was a 4.1 WAR player. After the season, he was was dealt to the Tigers with Del Pratt for a package that included Howard Ehmke, who would become the team's ace for a few years.
To say that Bobo Newsom was well-traveled is a massive understatement. Over his long 20-year career, Newsom pitched for more than half of the teams in existence, including four stints with Washington and three with the St. Louis Browns. He was a four-time All Star (1938-1940, 1944) and was a 20 game winner three times. For his career, he was 211-222 with a 3.98 ERA. His record is misleading though due to his extensive time pitched for bad teams in Washington and St. Louis. Newsom started the 1937 season with Washington, but was just 3-4 with a 5.85 ERA when he was traded along with Ben Chapman to Boston for both Ferrell brothers and Mel Almada. Newsom made it into 30 games for his new team, going 13-10 with a 4.46 ERA in 207.2 innings. He did not get along with player/manager Joe Cronin though and was deemed too disruptive. He was traded to the Browns before the 1938 season along with Red Kress and Buster Mills for Joe Vosmik, who was helpful, but Boston could have used the pitching help in 1938. Newsom won 20 games. He continued pitching through 1953.
Auker had been a very good pitcher with the Detroit Tigers for most of the 1930's, leading the league in winning percentage in 1935. That year, he won 18 games with a 3.83 ERA. After a rough season in 1938, Auker was traded to the pitching-starved Red Sox along with two spare parts for a package including Pinky Higgins. Auker did not find Boston to his liking, compiling a 9-10 record with an ugly 5.36 ERA in 151 innings. He struck out 43 while walking 61. Prior to the 1940 season, Auker was sold to the St. Louis Browns where his luck improved and he turned in three decent seasons.
Though his career does not really merit his inclusion in this post, there is a reason why Joe Wood is here. Wood's Major League career was made up of just three games and he was 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA. All three of those games occurred in 1944. So, why is he here? His name probably gives it away. Joe Wood was the son of the legendary Red Sox deadball-era pitcher Smoky Joe Wood. So there you go.
Like Auker, Dizzy Trout had a successful career with the Tigers leading into his acquisition by the Red Sox. Trout was even better though, as he was an All Star in 1944 and 1947 and led the league in wins and shutouts in 1943. He had his best season in 1944 when he was 27-14 with a league-leading 2.12 ERA. He and Hal Newhouser provided a very effective 1-2 punch in the Tigers rotation. By 1952, Trout was nearing the end of his career and started the season 1-5 with Detroit. He was traded to the Red Sox along with Hoot Evers and George Kell for a package involving Johnny Pesky and Walt Dropo. Both teams traded fan favorites. Trout pitched in 26 games for Boston, going 9-8 with a 3.64 ERA, striking out 57 and walking 68 in 133.2 innings. Trout retired temporarily after the season but made a comeback attempt with the Orioles in 1957 before retiring for good.
Here is the second Hall of Famer. Marichal was a longtime San Francisco Giants ace and a nine-time All Star, led the National League in wins twice, and ERA once. With the Giants, he was 238-140 with a 2.84 ERA and 2,303 strikeouts. It is his time with the Giants that led to him being a Hall of Famer. He was with San Francisco through the 1973 season. Boston purchased him from the Giants prior to the 1974 season, but injuries derailed his season. He ended up pitching in just eleven games, but was 5-1 with a 4.87 ERA. He struck out 21 and walked 14 in 57.1 innings. Before the 1975 season, Marichal joined his longtime rival Dodgers before his career ended. He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1983.
Mostly known for his time as a reliever, and for his glorious mustache, Aase actually started his career as a promising starting pitcher for the Red Sox. He came up in 1977 and pitched in 13 games, all of them starts for Boston. He was 6-2 with an impressive 3.12 ERA, striking out 49 batters while walking just 19 in 92.1 innings. He threw two shutouts among his six wins. After the season, he was shipped to the Angels in a one-for-one deal for second-baseman Jerry Remy. Aase was not able to do quite as well for the Angels and was eventually moved into the bullpen. Later, he was an All Star closer for the Orioles in 1986 when he notched 34 saves with a 2.98 ERA. He also pitched for the Mets and Dodgers before retiring.
This is one of my favorites. Tom Seaver is one of the greatest pitchers of all time, three-time Cy Young Award winner and the third Hall of Famer in this post. Seaver made his biggest mark with the New York Mets, winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 1967 and the Cy Young Award in 1969, 1973 and 1975. During the 1977 season, the Mets shockingly traded him to the Reds, where he continued to shine. Later in his career he started to bounce around, returning to the Mets and then moving on to the White Sox. He won his 300th game with Chicago in 1985, still having plenty left in the tank. He started the 1986 season with the White Sox. The Red Sox were on their way to the World Series and needed a pitcher with some postseason experience and Seaver was declining. Boston sent utility man extraordinaire Steve Lyons to Chicago for Seaver. Seaver pitched reasonably well for Boston, appearing in 16 games and throwing 104.1 innings, with a 5-7 record and a 3.80 ERA. He struck out 72 and walked just 29. Unfortunately, Seaver developed an injury and missed the postseason entirely. He attempted a comeback with the Mets in 1987 but retired for good before the season. Seaver's last game of his remarkable Hall of Fame career was in a Red Sox uniform.
There are not too many All Star seasons in these posts. Thus far, it has just been Adrian Beltre at third and Mark Loretta at second. Add Erik Hanson to the list. Hanson came up with the Mariners and was an 18 game winner in just his third season. He was in the same rotation as Randy Johnson, but was more of a control pitcher. Hanson led the league in losses with 17 in 1992 and his stock fell. After a season with the Reds in 1994, Boston picked him up to help solidify the rotation after Roger Clemens and Aaron Sele. Hanson though was the team's best pitcher for most of the 1995 season, holding it together while both Clemens and Sele were injured and only getting help when Tim Wakefield was brought in. Hanson was 15-5 with a 4.24 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 186.2 innings, only missing the 200 innings mark because it was a shortened season. Hanson was an All Star, but did not appear in the game. He pitched eight hard-luck innings against the Indians in his only postseason start, losing the game by giving up four runs. After the season, he signed a free agent contract with the Blue Jays but was not nearly as successful again.
Portugal was in his 15th and final season in the big leagues in 1999. He had come up with the Twins, but had most of his success with the Astros. His best season was in 1993 when he led the NL in winning percentage with an 18-4 record and a sparkling 2.77 ERA. He bounced around quite a bit after that though because he was never again quite as good. He pitched for the Giants, Reds and Phillies before returning to the American League with the Red Sox in 1999. Boston's offense that season was very good, but pitching beyond Pedro Martinez was tough. The Red Sox picked up both Portugal and the next pitcher in order to solidify the back end of the rotation. It did not go as planned. Portugal was brutal, finishing with a record of 7-12 and an unsightly 5.51 ERA. He struck out 79 and walked 49 in 150.1 innings. He never even finished the season, being released in September. He attempted a comeback in 2000 with the Reds but did not make the team.
If Boston had gotten anything out of Portugal and Rapp in 1999, they might have had a better showing in the postseason, but they did not. Rapp started his career with the Giants, then moved to the expansion Marlins in 1993. He had a decent season in 1995, then led the league in losses in 1996 with 16. He was traded to the Giants during the 1997 season, missing the Marlins World Series championship. Then he had a rough season with the Royals in 1998. Boston brought him in on a free agent contract, and he was not nearly as bad as Portugal. Rapp finished with a 6-7 record and a 4.12 ERA. He struck out 90 and walked 69 in 146.1 innings. Rapp was a free agent after the season and pitched for the Orioles and the Angels for a year each, though not particularly well.
"Nomo-mania" was huge in 1995 and was one of the most exciting elements bringing fans back to the game. Nomo was the first in a line of players imported to the Majors from the Japanese league in the 1990's. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1995 for the Dodgers and led the league in strikeouts, appearing in his only All Star Game that season. After a couple more decent seasons, his numbers started to decline and he bounced from the Dodgers to the Mets to the Brewers to the Tigers before landing in Boston. Nomo had a rough Spring Training and it looked like more of the same disappointment. Then he made his first start with the Red Sox and it was electric. Nomo pitched a no-hitter against the Orioles in his first start with Boston, his second no-hitter of his career, and the first Red Sox no-hitter since Dave Morehead in 1965. He was inconsistent for most of the season, but he always struck batters out. He ended up leading the league in both strikeouts (220) and walks (96). He was the team's best pitcher in 2001, partially due to the injury to Pedro Martinez, but he was 13-10 with a 4.50 ERA in 198 innings. He resurrected his career and returned to the Dodgers, where he two more good seasons before bouncing around again, appearing in games for the Devil Rays and Royals before ending his Major League career.
Cone was an electrifying pitcher for a number of years in the 1980's and 1990's. He came up with the Royals, then was part of a bad trade to the Mets. He was 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA in his second full season. He was a four-time All Star in his career, leading the league in strikeouts twice and winning the Cy Young Award with the Royals in 1994. Cone was a part of the Yankees rotations that won the World Series four times in five seasons from 1996 through 2000. He also pitched a perfect game in that time period. After a rough 2000 season, Cone's career was on the downward slide. Boston brought him in with the hope that he had something left. Unfortunately he did not seem to have much left and he was 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA in 135.2 innings. He struck out 115 and walked 57. He did not pitch in 2002, but attempted a comeback in 2003 with the Mets, that was not successful.
Miller was a pretty good pitcher for the Houston Astros in the early 2000's. He had three straight strong seasons for the Astros from 2001-2003. After a lackluster 2004 season, he was non-tendered by Houston and the Red Sox took a flyer on him. He was brought in along with Matt Clement and David Wells to try to make up for the loss of Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe. Unfortunately, Miller continued to have injury issues and made it into just 16 games with Boston and was 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA, striking out 64 and walking 47 in 91 innings. After the season he continued to try to resurrect his career with the Cubs, but failed to do so.
Colon has been a fan favorite for a very long time. Initially appearing in the Majors with the Indians, Colon was a four-time All Star and won the Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005 when he was 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA and 157 strikeouts. He dealt with injuries for the two seasons after that and looked to be on the downward swing of his career when the Red Sox brought him in as a low-cost starting pitching option. Colon appeared in just seven games with the Red Sox, but he was 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 39 innings. He continued to bounce around a little before he resurrected his career with the Athletics in 2012. He had a brilliant second stage of his career for a few years before finally appearing for the last time with the Rangers in 2018 at the age of 45. Not bad for someone who was in questionable shape for much of his career.
Penny originally came up through the Diamondbacks system, but was traded to the Marlins before making his Major League debut. He had a few decent seasons was 14-10 with a 4.13 ERA and 138 strikeouts for the World Championship 2003 Marlins team. He won two games in the World Series against the Yankees. He was traded the next season to the Dodgers where he had his most success. Penny was a two-time All Star with the Dodgers in 2006 and 2007, finishing third in the Cy Young vote in the latter season. After an injury-plagued 2008, Penny signed a free agent contract with the Red Sox. Unfortunately his fortunes did not improve and he was just 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 131.2 innings. The Red Sox released him in August and he caught on with the Giants. He bounced around after that, pitching for the Cardinals and Tigers before returning to the Marlins, never approaching his Dodgers success.
Here is the fourth and final Hall of Famer in this post. Smoltz is primarily known for being part of the great Braves rotations of the 1990's. He was usually the number three starter, though he was an All Star eight times and won the Cy Young Award for Atlanta in 1996 when he won a league-leading 24 games and struck out 276, which also led the league. After an injury wiped out his 2000 season, Smoltz made a comeback as a closer and excelled in his new role. He led the league with 55 saves in 2002 and followed that with seasons of 45 and 44 saves. In 2005 he returned to the rotation and continued to put up big numbers until an injury-plagued 2008 season. He joined the Red Sox as a free agent in 2009, the first time he had played for a Major League team other than the Braves (it is worth noting that he was originally drafted by the Tigers but was traded prior to his debut). Smoltz made just eight starts for the Red Sox and was 2-5 with a dismal 8.33 ERA. He struck out 33 and walked eight in 40 innings, but it was safe to say that he was not providing anything close to decent numbers. Boston released him in August and he caught on with the Cardinals to finish out his season, and his career.
Cook was one of the more successful pitchers for the Colorado Rockies, spending ten years in their rotation and appearing in the 2008 All Star Game. He was a part of the rotation that went to the World Series in 2007 that was swept by the Red Sox and started the final game, which he lost but pitched well. After a couple of rough seasons, Cook signed with the Red Sox as a free agent. The move was lauded at the time, but it simply did not work out well. Cook was injured for most of the season and when he finally made it to the mound, he struggled. He finished the year 4-11 with a 5.65 ERA. His WHIP was an unsightly 1.468 and he walked 21 while striking out just 20 in 94 innings. The Red Sox were bad in 2012, and starting pitching was a large reason why. Cook attempted a comeback with the Rockies in 2013, but was not able to make it back to the Majors.
The only pitcher from this post to play in a World Series with Boston is Dempster. He was originally drafted by the Rangers but was traded to the Marlins as part of a package for John Burkett in the Marlins' first fire sale. He was an All Star for the Marlins before being traded to the Reds and then landing with the Cubs. It was with the Cubs that Dempster had his most success, closing for them for awhile and then becoming an All Star starter. Boston originally tried to acquire him at the trading deadline in 2012, but he was sent to the Rangers instead. Boston then signed him as a free agent. 2013 was Dempster's final year in the Majors and he turned in a 8-9 record with a 4.57 ERA in 32 games. He notched 157 strikeouts and 79 walks in 171.1 innings. He was used out of the bullpen in the postseason and appeared in one game in each series. He gave up one run in the postseason out of three innings and did not get a decision. Dempster was technically still on the team in 2014, but he was injured and decided to retire at the end of the season.
The unfortunately-named Fister started his Major League career with the Mariners in 2009. He was later traded to the Tigers for the similarly unfortunately-named Charlie Furbush in 2011. Fister turned into a pretty decent back-of-the-rotation starter for Detroit, despite not having overpowering stuff. He was one of the top starters on the team in 2013 when they made it to the ALCS when he had a 14-9 record. He had his best season for the Nationals in 2014 when he was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA. He struck out only 98 batters, but walked just 29 in 164 innings. He started the 2017 season with the Angels, but never made it to the Majors and the Red Sox picked him up off waivers to strengthen the rotation. Fister had a number of strong starts, but finished the season just 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA. His strikeout rate improved as he picked up 83 in 90.1 innings. Fister was roughed up in his only start in the postseason by the Astros. He pitched for the Rangers in 2018, but had not been seen this season.
THE BEST ONE-YEAR RIGHT-HANDED STARTING PITCHER
This one came down to Erik Hanson, Ted Lewis, Rip Collins or Hideo Nomo. Lewis had the most wins and a WAR value of 3.0, but he also had far more losses and led the league in home runs allowed. It was largely considered a bad season for Lewis, so he was eliminated. Collins was pretty good and had the highest WAR of the group, but also led the league in several negative categories, such as walks. He walked a lot more hitters than he struck out in fact. So Hanson or Nomo? Hanson was an All Star and had a very good record. Nomo, despite leading the league in walks and having a worse record, also led the league in strikeouts and had a higher WAR in more innings pitched. We are most likely at a draw. So what's the tie-breaker? How about Nomo's no-hitter? And thus, the decison was made.
Oh. My. Goodness.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was spending too much time putting together my HOF Binder posts. You, good sir, must really love your one year wonders! Well done!
(For the record, I didn't even remember Nomo pitching for the Red Sox. LOL)
I didn't remember a lot of these guys playing in Boston until this post. Great job with the research and post.
ReplyDelete