2001 Fleer Red Sox 100th

 

NAME: Boo Ferriss

POSITION: Starting Pitcher

WHY IS HE HERE? Ferriss was one of the two top pitchers on the team during the 1946 season in which the Red Sox steamrolled their way to the World Series.  His Major League debut was delayed a bit due to service in World War II, but he won 20+ games in each of this first two seasons and finished in the top ten in the MVP vote both years.  

WOULD I PUT HIM IN IN 2001?: Yes.

ANY BETTER CHOICES IN 2001?: Any of the better choices are already here.

WOULD I PUT HIM IN NOW?: Yes.

ANY BETTER CHOICES NOW?: Of course there are other pitchers that should be in, but Ferriss was a big part of the team at a certain point. In order to tell a full history of the team, he has to be in.  He was one of the aces of a team that went to the World Series and that means something.

The Worst Red Sox Team of All Time Pt. 38: Johnny Watwood

Failure is often even more fascinating than success. I am definitely intrigued by the 1932 Boston Red Sox, the worst Red Sox team of all time. The team finished with a record of 43-111, for a winning percentage of .279 and very little went right.

Watwood had a couple good years with the White Sox in the early 1930's, including hitting .302 in 1930.  He played a variety of positions, including first base and center field.  He started the 1932 season still with the White Sox, but after playing 13 games, he was sent to the Red Sox as part of the trade that brought Smead Jolley to Boston.  The full details were Watwood, Jolley, Bennie Tate and $75,000.00 to the Red Sox for Charlie Berry and Jack Rothrock.  Watwood finished the 1932 season with the Red Sox.

Unfortunately for Boston, Watwood was not very good in 1932.  After a couple of seasons of decent hitting lines, he hit just .248/.301/.289.  He also had a power outage, not homering and contributing just eleven doubles.  He stole seven bases and walked 20 times versus eleven strikeouts, but that was about the most positive thing about his season.  

Watwood played in only 13 games in 1933 and his numbers were awful.  In May, he was traded along with Marv Olson to the Yankees for Dusty Cooke, a deal that worked out much better for Boston.  Watwood never played for the Yankees and later appeared in a couple games with the Phillies in 1939 after several years in the minor leagues.    

Donruss Elite Blaster

A few days after my three-blaster purchase, I went back and the only thing available was Donruss Elite.  And so I grabbed one.  Chances were pretty low on this.  I think there were only 32-40 cards in the entire thing.  But, as with most Panini products, I tend to have decent luck. 

I said before I seem to be pulling a lot of Marcelo Mayer cards.  It's kind of annoying since he is no longer with the team, but I never turn down Red Sox cards.  Obviously.  This is the Green Disco parallel.  So, my one Red Sox card was not even a base card, it was a parallel.  I will definitely take that.

A Bunch of Trades

Just putting a few trades together in one post here. 

1.  Eduardo Rodriguez.  E-Rod is having a great year this year.  Unfortunately, it's for Arizona.  He was always one of my favorites.  I thought after his 19-win, 200+ strikeout season in 2019, he was finally going to break out, but he missed the 2020 COVID season and was good but not great in 2021 and 2022 before leaving as a free agent.

2.  Jeter Downs.  Downs was a casualty of the lost 2020 season.  Losing an entire year of development was brutal for him.  He was supposed to be the top prospect in the Mookie Betts trade.

3.  Masataka Yoshida.  Yoshida is quietly having a nice season.  He has one more year on his contract, which has largely been a miss.

4.  Garrett Crochet.  Crochet has been injured most of the season, but the team has survived with the emergence of Payton Tolle in particular, as well as great seasons from Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez.

5.  Nomar Garciaparra.  I am very curious to see how Nomar does on an Eras Committee.  I think he is close to being eligible.  Maybe by the time the next Today's Game Era Committee meets again.  

1.  Triston Casas.  Casas hasn't played since early in 2025 and hasn't played a whole season since his rookie year in 2023.  It's a shame.  His power could really come in handy on this team.

2.  Pedro Martinez.  It's always fun to add another Martinez card.

3.  Cy Young.  I like it when card companies dip back into the turn of the 20th century for players.  I would love to see a company release a set with throwback designs and cover all players from this era.  Let's see Bill Dinneen, Buck Freeman, Chick Stahl, Jimmy Collins and other great Boston players from that era.

4.  Chris Sale.  I think it is safe to say that Sale is back on track for the Hall of Fame.  The question is which hat will he wear on his plaque?  He seems like a good one to have a blank cap because he has been great for three teams.  This card celebrates his strikeout of Manny Machado to win the 2018 World Series.

5.  Manny Ramirez.  Ramirez was the 2004 World Series MVP, the first Red Sox player to win the award.

6.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell has been showing up a lot in my posts lately.

1.  John Valentin.  Valentin remains one of the most underrated players in Red Sox history.  He was never an All Star, though he did win a Silver Slugger.  He probably should have won a Gold Glove.  For Boston, he hit .281/.361/.460 with 121 home runs as an infielder.

2.  John Valentin.  Yep, two Valentin cards in one trade.

3.  Brian Rose.  Another reason to be skeptical of prospects.  There was a time when Brian Rose was Boston's top prospect.  He had a 5.86 ERA in his Major League career.

1.  Tanner Houck.  Houck is another player whose Major League career has been on hold for over a year.  He had Tommy John surgery last year.  He might be getting close to a return.  He was an All Star in 2024.

2.  Joe Wood.  Smoky Joe Wood has one of the greatest pitching seasons in Red Sox history in 1912 when he was 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA and 258 strikeouts in 344 innings pitched.  Unfortunately, arm injuries (most likely stemming from overuse) derailed his career.

3.  Josh Taylor.  Taylor was a great southpaw in the Red Sox bullpen in 2019 and 2021.  He was traded to the Royals for Adalberto Mondesi (Raul Mondesi's son), but the trade was a bust for both teams.  Taylor was terrible in Kansas City and Mondesi never played for the Red Sox due to injuries.

4.  Wade Boggs.  Boggs is obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he was actually kind of underrated.  Modern analytics would have identified him as one of the best players in the game, but because he played in the 1980's, his lack of power kept him out of that conversation.  He had an OPS of .890 during his time in Boston.

5.  David Ortiz.  An All Star card of Ortiz.  He was an All Star ten times.  All with the Red Sox.

6.  Payton Tolle.  I think I am going to be getting a lot of Tolle cards from now on.  I just really like him.  I'm definitely glad Boston kept him.  He has a lower floor, but a higher ceiling than Connelly Early.

7.  Jarren Duran.  I want Duran to succeed, but I do think it would be better for all parties if he is traded this offseason.  Boston could use the roster spot and Duran could use a fresh start.

Closing things out with a Ceddy mini.  

Three Blaster Break

A few weeks ago I managed to walk into my local Walmart apparently immediately after they stocked the trading cards.  There were quite a few brands to choose from.  Knowing that this was unlikely to last, I decided to grab three blasters, one from each of three sets.  And it was a shockingly decent result from each blaster.

Up first is Bowman: 

1.  Hector Ramos.  This is my first card of Ramos.  According to Sox Prospects, Ramos is Boston's 28th ranked prospect.  The middle infielder was an international free agent in 2025.  It may be awhile before we really start hearing much about him.  

2.  Justin Gonzales.  This is the big one from this.  First off, it's a Mojo Refractor, and secondly, Gonzales has become a big-time prospect.  He is now Boston's #2 prospect and he has prodigious power.  He is a massive human at 6'6" and 270 lbs.  Boston turned down requests for him in deals so he seems ticketed for the team soon.

3.  Nelly Taylor.  Taylor was an 11th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2023.  He is not rated at this time.  He is in Double-A at this time.

Up next is Topps Series 2:

1.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu seems headed on his way to a third Gold Glove Award.  His advanced defensive metrics have him far and away the best defensive right-fielder in the game.  Coupled with his 20+ homer power and Abreu is a seriously underrated player.

2.  Payton Tolle.  Tolle is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.  He recently had a 14-strikeout game.  I am not sure how he is not getting more support for the Rookie of the Year.  I know he is not going to win, but he has been a consistently good pitcher all year.

3.  Trevor Story.  This has been yet another lost season for Story.  He has not played since May and was struggling even then.

4.  Trevor Story/Jarren Duran.  Here are two players who were expected to be big parts of the offense and have not lived up to expectations.  As said, Story has been injured most of the season.  Duran is currently hitting .201.  He is on pace for a 20/20 season, but strikes out at an alarming rate and has a 72 OPS+.

5.  Kutter Crawford.  I'm not sure why Crawford even has a card in the set.  He has not pitched since 2024 until just recently when he made his first appearance on a rehab stint.  This spot could have been used for someone like Greg Weissert who has yet to have a card with the Red Sox or Patrick Sandoval who had been rehabbing and made it back a few weeks ago.

Last but not least is Donruss:

1.  Marcelo Mayer.  I pull a lot of Mayer cards.  Hopefully that will switch over to someone actually still on the team.  Mayer was traded to the Giants at the trading deadline for Erik Miller.

2.  Jason Varitek.  Holy crap, I pulled a Varitek card.  He remains my favorite player of all time.  This is card number 1,006.

3.  Kristian Campbell.  I also seem to pull a lot of Campbell cards.  He has been hitting a lot in Worcester lately.  I wonder if he could make it back to the Majors this year yet.  I also wonder where he will play going forward.  I could see Boston cutting ties with both Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida over the offseason, which would open up a potential spot for him as a roving outfielder/designated hitter.  

Stadium Club Trade

It's another trade post.  This one got me a few random Stadium Club singles. 

1.  Hirokazu Sawamura.  Sawamura was a valuable bullpen piece in 2021, but his struggles in 2022 led to his release.  This is my second autograph card of him.

2.  Eric Hosmer.  Ah yes, a Hosmer sighting.  Hosmer was acquired at the trading deadline in 2022 after turning down inclusion in the Juan Soto to the Padres deal.  Hosmer did very little in Boston, playing in 14 games and hitting .244/.320/.311.  The deal cost former first-round pick Jay Groome, who never made the Majors.

3.  Alex Bregman.  I will be doing a One Year Wonder post for Bregman some day.  He had a very good season in 2025.  The question is: was he better than Adrian Beltre's sole season in Boston.  I think the answer to that is pretty obvious, but I will still do a post about it.

Donruss Blaster Break

I have mentioned before my affinity for Panini brands.  The lack of a license is annoying, but I always do really well with Red Sox cards.  So, I jumped on the opportunity to grab a Donruss blaster.  I don't really understand how their agreement works anymore.  For a few years, iIt used to be they could not have cards of current Major Leaguers, they would do prospects and retired players.  Now, they seem to have some current Major Leagues in the sets, such as Aaron Judge.

1.  Roger Clemens.  One of these days, I still want to see Clemens make the Hall of Fame.  He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox.

2.  Carlton Fisk.  I learned something the other day.  I actually did not know that Fisk was a first-round draft pick and that he was the fourth overall pick.  I honestly thought he pre-dated the Draft.  That means Boston has drafted two players in the first round that made the Hall of Fame, along with Jim Rice.  If Clemens ever makes it, that would make three.

3.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell has been playing much better in Worcester lately.  Perhaps he can make it back to the Majors some day yet.

4.  Payton Tolle.  Tolle has quickly become one of my favorite players.  He has been very good lately and has entered into the Rookie of the Year conversation, though I doubt he will win it.  Kevin McGonigle seems to have it locked up.

5.  Roman Anthony.  Hopefully Anthony will make it back for the stretch run.  Boston could use an offensive infusion.  

More Ceddannes and a Relic Trade

Time for another Ceddanne Rafaela update post. 

I grabbed these two off of Ebay.  I don't focus quite as much on Rafaela cards anymore, but every once in awhile, I will grab a bunch of lower-priced cards I need, just to pad the numbers.  I did seek out the team border parallel though after failing to land it in a trade.

Brayan Bello.  Here is a relic card I picked up in a trade.  It is my first relic of Brayan Bello.  Bello has had a strange year.  He has been horrible in the first inning in most of his starts.  So, Boston has been using him as a bulk reliever, and he has been terrific in that role.  It makes no sense, but here we are.

Topps put Rafaela in an insert set focused on great defensive players.  Rafaela of course won his first Gold Glove in 2025.  He looks to be well on his way to a second one this year.  

Topps Now: May 1, 2026

I have not done too many Topps Now cards this year yet.  For the first few months of the season, there was not much to be happy about.  

I admit I was kind of skeptical when Boston traded top pitching prospect Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals for Bennett.  But I figured the team knows more than I do.  And Bennett has been mostly great since coming up.  He made his Major League debut on May 1 against the Astros.  He pitched five innings for the win, giving up five hits and one run while walking two and striking out three.  The only run was a home run by Carlos Correa.

The Red Sox won the game 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer by Jarren Duran.  Roman Anthony had three hits as well.  Aroldis Chapman got the save.

First New Cards of a Couple Major New Red Sox (and a Bunch of Rafaelas)

I procrastinated too long on the Road to Opening Day sets.  Usually I figure they are going to be available right up until Opening Day.  That was not the case with the Red Sox set this year which sold out by the time I was going to buy it.  Presumably people were wanting to get the Roman Anthony cards which could be valuable cards if he lives up to his potential.  Unfortunately, that meant I had to try to find the singles on my own, and come to grips with the likelihood that I would not get the Anthony card.  I grabbed three of the singles from separate sellers.  All three will be in this post.

Willson Contreras.  Going into the offseason last year, it was clear Boston needed a big bat in their lineup.  I was hoping for Pete Alonso and was disappointed when Boston didn't really seem to engage with him.  I firmly believe he could have hit 50 home runs in Boston.  Instead, Boston acquired former catcher Contreras from the Cardinals in exchange for Yankee killer Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita.  Contreras has actually been even better than Alonso this year.  He's had a few on-field issues, but has a 161 OPS+ and 23 home runs to date.  He is the thumper the team needed.

Here's a couple new Ceddanne Rafaela cards, including a relic card.  I don't get as many relics as I used to, but I still grab them depending on the player.  And Rafaela is a player I definitely go out and get.

Sonny Gray.  Another need for the team going into the offseason was some starting pitching depth and the team made another trade with the Cardinals for Gray, who has been a valuable starter for years with the A's, Reds, Yankees, Twins and Cardinals.  Gray cost Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke.  He has also been terrific, leading the team in wins and ERA and being dependable every time out.

Here are several more Rafaela cards, including in the middle of the scan, the third Road to Opening Day card I grabbed.  Obviously I had to grab the Rafaela card.

More Random Thoughts

A lot of the following cards are relevant to some things going on with the team.  So, I have some random thoughts.

Franklin Arias.  Boston traded several prospects for Adley Rutschmann, as well as trading Marcelo Mayer.  Some time last year, Arias became Boston's top prospect.  He is still that and looks like a potential star.  Unfortunately, Boston has had some difficulty with players taking the next step in the Majors lately.  I expect Arias will be given the opportunity to win the starting shortstop job next Spring Training, or possibly a bit later in the year.  Mayer is gone, but Trevor Story is still around.

1.  Hunter Dobbins.  Boston has traded a LOT of pitching away lately.  Dobbins was sent to the Cardinals in the Willson Contreras deal, but they also traded Richard Fitts, Brandon Clarke, Blake Aita, Yhoiker Fajardo, Kyle Harrison, Kyson Witherspoon and Anthony Eyanson.  They have been quite good at developing pitchers lately, but trading them all away is not the best way to handle those resources.  Their top prospect list is becoming a lot more hitter-heavy than it has been the last couple years.

2.  Marcelo Mayer.  I have already talked about him a great deal.  I don't have much to add right now.

1.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  He has been a lot of fun to watch lately.  He crushed the Dodgers almost single-handedly last weekend during the three-game sweep, including crushing two homers (and nearly a third) off the great Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

2.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell remains in the minors, but has improved a lot in the last month.  He still has a chance to make it back to the Majors.  I hope he does.  Especially now.  

3.  Franklin Arias.  Yep, two Arias cards in this post.

4.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Yep, two Rafaela cards too.  That is significantly less surprising.

Randomness from TCDB

For some reason I get a lot of trade proposals focused around the late 2000's/early 2010's.  I don't have an explanation other than people trying to clear room of an era that isn't making much impact on the hobby anymore.  A lot of the cards in this post are from that time period. 

1.  Glenn Hoffman.  This is apparently from an All Star program insert?  Maybe?  Hoffman is actually the older brother of Trevor Hoffman, which is somewhat odd since he was out of the Majors a few years prior to Trevor making his debut.  Glenn was a light-hitting middle infielder.  

2.  J.D. Drew.  Drew is one of those players I defend a lot.  There is a subset of fans that refer to his free agent contract as a huge bust.  That is simply not borne out by the results.  Drew had an .824 OPS and 114 OPS+ during his time in Boston, but if you take out his injury-riddled final season, those numbers are .853 and 121.  That's a damn good player.

3.  Roger Clemens.  This is apparently a Canadian version of this card.  I accept these minor variations occasionally.

4.  Wade Boggs.  From the Idols subset, Boggs grew up idolizing George Brett, fittingly.  Brett had more power, but they were very similar players.

5.  Ryan McGuire.  McGuire was a third-round draft pick by the Red Sox in 1993.  He never played a game with Boston though as he was traded to the Expos prior to the 1996 season in the deal that brought Wil Cordero to Boston.

6.  Michael Bowden.  Bowden was a first round pick in the 2005 draft (which produced Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie).  He was given a few stints in Boston then was traded to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd.

7.  Josh Beckett.  I don't know why I thought of this the other night, but I remembered when Boston played Cleveland in the 2007 ALCS and Beckett was pitching in Cleveland with the Indians staked to a 3-1 lead in the series.  In an effort to mess with his head and put Boston away, his ex-girlfriend who is a minor country music star, was brought in to sing the National Anthem prior to the game.  It didn't work.  Beckett pitched eight innings, gave up one run and struck out 11 en route to a 7-1 victory.  The Red Sox came all the way back to win the series and eventually the World Series. 

8.  Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz was a first-round draft pick also in 2005.  The Red Sox had FIVE picks in the first round that year.  And all five made the Majors with Buchholz, Ellsbury and Lowrie eventually going to All Star games.  That is one hell of a draft.

9.  Jacoby Ellsbury.  Speaking of Ellsbury.  He was the best player Boston picked in that draft, especially when you consider his efforts to bring down the Yankees from the inside after signing a lucrative deal prior to 2014.

10.  Anthony Ranaudo.  Ranaudo was a highly-touted draft pick when he was a first-rounder in 2010.  He struggled in his initial Major League appearances though and was eventually traded for Robbie Ross.

11.  Anthony Ranaudo.  Here he is again.

12.  Clay Buchholz.  Had he stayed healthy, Buchholz might have won the 2013 Cy Young Award.  He was 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

13.  Allen Webster.  Webster was one of the big names acquired when Boston reset during the 2012 season by sending Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers.  Webster and Rubby De La Rosa were the big gets, along with Ivan DeJesus Jr., Jerry Sands and James Loney.  Eventually all of those pieces were sent elsewhere.  Sands and DeJesus were sent to the Pirates for Joel Hanrahan (and Brock Holt) prior to 2013.  Webster and De La Rosa were given a bit longer, but were eventually traded to Arizona for Wade Miley.  Webster never did develop into a reliable Major League starter.

14.  Teddy Stankiewicz.  I feel like he was some kind of relative to former Yankees infielder Andy Stankiewicz, but I can't confirm that.  He never made the Majors.

15.  Steven Wright.  Man, his off-field issues ruined what was a pretty good story.  I liked him a lot.  He had a fun knuckleball.

16.  Henry Owens.  I remember when he was a can't-miss prospect.  A first-rounder from the 2011 draft, he ended up pitching in 16 games with a 5.19 ERA.  This is why I don't get too hung up on prospects.

17.  Ted Williams.  A can't-miss prospect that didn't miss.  

Stadium Club and Select Blaster Breaks

I do not recall if I bought both of these at the same time, but I am combining them into one post anyway.  In earlier posts I mentioned having bad luck with Stadium Club and uncommonly good luck with Panini products with Red Sox cards.  That's why I will never stop buying Panini.

1.  Marcelo Mayer.  This is it from the Stadium Club blaster, which is better than usual.  I have a lot of thoughts about Monday's trade of Mayer to the Giants.  It is clear he fell out of favor with the team.  I really do think they gave up on him too soon though.  The guy was the highest draft pick by the team since the 1970's (Mike Garman went #3).  He only had 114 games under his belt.  He finishes his Red Sox career with a .223/.278/.346 line with seven homers and 32 RBIs.  A lot more was expected of him, but he is still just 23.  I hope he succeeds elsewhere.  I am not happy about what happened here and I certainly think they should have gotten more than a reliever for him, but let's see what happens with Erik Miller.

1.  Tris Speaker.  I always do better with Panini.  Speaker was probably the first superstar Boston lost to a contract dispute, unfortunately a pattern that carried on with Babe Ruth, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra, Jon Lester, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts.  They need to treat their homegrown stars better.  Speaker was traded to Cleveland for Sad Sam Jones and Fred "Pinch" Thomas.

2.  Manny Ramirez.  I still hope to see Manny make the Hall of Fame some day.

3.  Roman Anthony.  I am hoping that Anthony does not fall into the same trap as Mayer did.  He has also had trouble staying on the field, but with his contract, he should be given a longer leash.  Hopefully he comes back strong in a few weeks.

TCDB Mailday

I am still working my way through the backlog of cards to show off.  Today's post is a TCDB trade without any real common theme.  Just a bunch of random stuff, though the last two subjects of player collections are here. 

1.  Zach Penrod.  This is my first card of Penrod.  It took quite awhile to grab one of these even though he was in Topps Series 2 in 2025.  Penrod appeared in seven games for the Red Sox in 2024 and had 2.25 ERA.  And that has been the sum total of his Major League experience to date.  The fact he got a card is pretty surprising.

2.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu is rising in my collection finally.  He has become one of the more noteworthy hitters on the team.  

3.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  What a season he is having.  Rafaela has emerged as the best player on the team this year.  He could receive MVP consideration.  

4.  Connor Wong.  Wong has settled into a pretty stable role as he has bounced back in a big way from the rough season he had in 2025.  His role is a little more questionable after a major deadline trade that I will discuss in much greater detail soon.

5.  David Ortiz.  Probably the biggest player in this package.  I added three Big Papi cards in this trade.

6.  Joe Cronin.  Cronin is an interesting story because he went from player to manager to general manager to president of the American League.  Not many players can say that.

7.  David Ortiz.

8.  Carlton Fisk.  I swear I had this card before, but I can't find it.  I must not have had it after all.

9.  David Ortiz.

10.  Wade Boggs.  I'm sure I have mentioned that Boggs was my first favorite player.

11.  Koji Uehara.  Surprisingly this individual had a bunch of these Sega Card Gen cards from Japan, so I was able to add a few, including the great Koji Uehara who had one of the most dominant seasons I have ever seen from a reliever in 2013.

12.  Junichi Tazawa.  Tazawa had an underrated career as a very capable reliever.  He was one of my favorite under-the-radar players.

13.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  The first (and thus far only) Red Sox catcher to have 40 doubles in a season, Saltalamacchia also led the team in home runs in 2012 with 25.  Had he been a better defensive backstop, he might have had a lengthier career.

14.  Mike Aviles.  Aviles was traded to the Blue Jays in a deal made primarily for Boston to hire manager John Farrell away from Toronto.  

15.  Ryan Kalish.  I had big hopes for Kalish to be a prominent outfielder for the Red Sox.  He had a nice 2010 season, but injuries derailed his career.

16.  Victor Martinez.  I thought a lot about V-Mart yesterday as the Red Sox made that one big trade of the deadline.  He was acquired under similar circumstances back in 2009 and immediately brought a lethal bat to Boston.  We will see if the new guy does the same.

17.  John Lackey.  Lackey looked like a horrible free agent signing after he had a terrible 2010 and 2011 season, then missed the entirety of 2012 with Tommy John surgery, but he bounced back in a big way in 2013 and was a bulldog in the postseason.  He won the clinching World Series game in 2013 and is now a Red Sox legend.  That's what winning does.

18.  Roger Clemens.  I still want to see The Rocket in the Hall of Fame.  His career was worthy well before the steroid allegations.  He and Bonds should both be in with Manny Ramirez coming later.

19.  Wade Boggs.  And closing things out with the Chicken Man.