R.I.P. Boomer

Former Red Sox first-baseman George Scott died on Sunday.  Nicknamed "Boomer", Scott was a beloved teammate.  He was a terrific defensive player who won eight Gold Glove Awards and even moved across the diamond to play third base for a couple of years.  Scott was second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1966 and was in the top ten for MVP twice.  Scott came up through the Red Sox system and played there from 1966 through 1971 before being traded to the Brewers.  He lead the league in home runs and RBIs in 1975 while with the Brewers and then was traded back to the Red Sox where he played through part of the 1979 season.  He then played with the Royals and Yankees before retiring.

I never saw Scott play, nevertheless I love getting cards of him.  His 2004 Fan Favorites autograph was the first Red Sox autograph I pulled from a pack.

Hall of Fame Worthy? Pt. 7: George Scott

The Hall of Fame has inducted many players who were borderline choices, and many players who deserve induction have been on the outside looking in. I want to look at some players to determine if they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

GEORGE "BOOMER" SCOTT
George Scott was one of the first African American stars for the Red Sox, and the team's first African American All Star. He arrived in the Major Leagues in 1966 with the Red Sox and played in every game that year, hitting 27 home runs, driving in 90 runs and a slash line of .245/.324/.433/.757. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year race behind Tommie Agee, whose overall numbers were similar to Scott's.

Scott improved on his overall numbers for the pennant winning Red Sox in 1967 and looked to be a big upcoming star. He won the first of his eight Gold Gloves that year and hit .303/.373/.465/.839 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs. He also stole ten bases for a great all-around year.

Unfortunately, his numbers took a massive tumble in 1968 when he hit only .171/.236/.237/.473 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. He did win his second Gold Glove, but that was the only bright spot. He improved significantly each of the next two seasons and looked like his career was back on track.

Scott was traded to the Brewers in a huge trade prior to the 1972 season along with several other players for Tommy Harper and a couple of others. With Milwaukee, Scott became a well-known power hitter, leading the league in home runs and RBIs in 1975. He was traded back to Boston in 1977 for Cecil Cooper, which was not a great trade. Scott had his last big season in 1977 hitting 33 home runs with 95 RBIs.

Scott was a great defensive first-baseman with a lot of power, but his numbers fall well short of Hall of Fame credentials. His career line was .268/.333/.435/.767 in 14 seasons. He hit 271 home runs with 1,051 RBIs. He was often worth 1.0 to 1.5 WAR for his defense each year.

THE VERDICT
No. Scott had some great individual seasons, but his career falls well short. He was great defensively, but probably not among the best ever. He does not rise to the Bill Mazeroski/Ozzie Smith/Harry Hooper level of defensive greatness to get in with his glove.

Game-Used/Autograph Pack Pulls

I might as well go ahead and get this out of the way now. Over the years, I have only gotten seven game-used or autograph Red Sox cards in packs. Probably not the least of any team, certainly not the most. I do not have any real way of keeping track since I have sold or traded most of my other ones. I do know that only one of my Red Sox cards holds a candle to some of the other stuff I have pulled. I have gotten Barry Bonds and two Derek Jeter autograph cards. So here's a picture. If you click it, you can see a larger picture:1. TED WILLIAMS: 2002 FLEER CLASSIC CUTS (BAT) This was the very first game-used Red Sox card I pulled, and it's a great one. I bought a hobby box of 2002 Fleer at the local hobby shop, thinking it was inexpensive and I would probably get something decent out of it. I had no idea it would be a Ted Williams game-used bat card. I had not gotten a Williams game-used before because they were more expensive than I was willing to pay. This is my all-time favorite pull. 2. JIM RICE: 2003 FLAIR GREATS HOME TEAM CUTS (BAT) This one I kind of saw coming. I picked up one of the special Red Sox boxes of 2003 Flair Greats with the additional pack of all Red Sox. I knew I would be getting something. Jim Rice is a recent Hall of Famer, although he was not at the time I got this. The Home Team box was a great idea that I wish they would have done more with. 3. MANNY RAMIREZ: 2003 FLEER AUTHENTIX HOME TOWN HEROES (JERSEY) See above. Fleer Authentix did the same thing. This time, the players were currently active and I got Manny Ramirez. 4. GEORGE SCOTT: 2004 TOPPS ALL TIME FAN FAVORITES AUTOGRAPH (AUTOGRAPH) Fan Favorites is one of my favorite sets. After compiling the 2003 team set through retail blasters, I decided with the smaller team set in 2004 to just buy one hobby box. I also wanted a better shot at autographs. There was one autograph card each year that I really wanted for the Red Sox. In 2004 my pick was George Scott, I was shocked when I actually pulled it in a pack. 5. CARL YASTRZEMSKI: 2005 ARTIFACTS AL ARTIFACTS (JERSEY) I bought a hobby box of 2005 Artifacts. This was one of the big pulls, though not the biggest. With this Yaz jersey, I completed the trifecta of the major Red Sox left-fielders. 6. DAVID ORTIZ: 2005 FLEER CLASSIC CLIPPINGS GAME WORN JERSEY COLLECTION (JERSEY) This one was taken from a retail blaster. Each blaster had one in it, I was lucky to get a Red Sox in mine. 7. KRIS JOHNSON: 2006 BOWMAN STERLING (AUTOGRAPH) One day I decided to spring for a pack of 2006 Bowman Sterling. Incredibly expensive packs had something like two autos and a game-used. One of my autos was this 2006 draft pick. Johnson is doing reasonably well in the minors and may make it to Boston in late 2011.