The Baseball Scholar

The 20 Greatest Boston Red Sox of All-Time

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2025.

To be eligible, position players need 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers have to have started a minimum of 75 games, and relief pitchers need to have 150 innings pitched for the franchise.

  1. Ted WilliamsHOF2x MVP

    • Age: 20–23, 27-41
    • Years: 1939–1942, 1946-1960
    • Positions: LF
    • Teams: Boston Red Sox
    Ted Williams Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    122.1 188 2292 9791 7706 1798 2654 525 71 521 1839 24 17 2021 709 .344 .481 .633 1.115

  2. Carl YastrzemskiHOFMVP

    • Age: 21–43
    • Years: 1961–1983
    • Positions: LF, 1B, CF
    • Teams: Boston Red Sox
    Carl Yastrzemski Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    96.5 130 3308 13991 11988 1816 3419 646 59 452 1844 168 116 1845 1393 .285 .379 .462 .841

  3. Roger ClemensMVP2x Cy Young

    Roger Clemens Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    80.8 69 383 382 192 111 3.06 2772.5 100 38 0 1045 943 856 2590 22.8% 1.16

  4. Tris SpeakerHOFMVP

    Tris Speaker Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    55.8 163 1065 4551 3935 704 1327 241 106 39 542 267 54 459 61 .337 .414 .482 .896

  5. Wade BoggsHOF

    Wade Boggs Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    71.9 142 1625 7323 6213 1067 2098 422 47 85 686 16 27 1004 470 .338 .428 .462 .890

  6. Cy YoungHOF

    Cy Young Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    64.5 69 327 297 192 112 2.00 2726.0 275 38 9 872 606 299 1341 0.0% 0.97

  7. Pedro MartinezHOF2x Cy Young

    Pedro Martinez Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    53.8 53 203 201 117 37 2.52 1381.8 22 8 0 428 387 309 1683 30.6% 0.98

  8. Mookie BettsMVP

    Mookie Betts Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    42.5 135 794 3629 3203 613 965 229 26 139 470 126 25 371 464 .301 .374 .519 .893

  9. Lefty GroveHOF

    Lefty Grove Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    44.9 71 214 190 105 62 3.34 1538.5 119 15 4 665 571 447 743 11.3% 1.32

  10. Dwight Evans

    Dwight Evans Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    66.5 129 2505 10240 8726 1435 2373 474 72 379 1346 76 56 1337 1643 .272 .369 .473 .842

  11. David OrtizHOF

    David Ortiz Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    52.5 146 1953 8398 7163 1204 2079 524 16 483 1530 13 7 1133 1411 .290 .386 .570 .956

  12. Nomar GarciaparraRookie of the Year

    Nomar Garciaparra Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    41.2 134 966 4345 3968 709 1281 279 50 178 690 84 28 279 406 .323 .370 .553 .923

  13. Dustin PedroiaMVPRookie of the Year

    Dustin Pedroia Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    51.9 115 1512 6777 6031 922 1805 394 15 140 725 138 46 624 654 .299 .365 .439 .805

  14. Jim RiceHOFMVP

    Jim Rice Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    47.7 128 2089 9058 8225 1249 2452 373 79 382 1451 58 34 670 1423 .298 .351 .502 .853

  15. Manny Ramirez

    Manny Ramirez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    33.2 154 1083 4682 3953 743 1232 256 7 274 868 7 7 636 849 .312 .411 .588 .999

  16. Fred LynnMVPRookie of the Year

    Fred Lynn Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    32.1 142 828 3513 3062 523 944 217 29 124 521 43 25 382 394 .308 .383 .520 .902

  17. Carlton FiskHOFRookie of the Year

    • Age: 21, 23-32
    • Years: 1969, 1971-1980
    • Positions: C
    • Teams: Boston Red Sox
    Carlton Fisk Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    39.5 129 1078 4353 3860 627 1097 207 33 162 568 61 26 389 588 .284 .356 .481 .837

  18. Jimmie FoxxHOFMVP

    Jimmie Foxx Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    32 150 887 3934 3288 721 1051 181 45 222 788 38 31 624 568 .320 .429 .605 1.034

  19. Reggie Smith

    • Age: 21-28
    • Years: 1966-1973
    • Positions: CF / RF
    • Teams: Boston Red Sox
    Reggie Smith Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    34.2 129 1014 4264 3780 592 1064 204 33 149 536 84 53 425 498 .281 .354 .471 .826

  20. Bobby DoerrHOF

    • Age: 19-26, 28-33
    • Years: 1937-1944, 1946-1951
    • Positions: 2B
    • Teams: Boston Red Sox
    Bobby Doerr Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    51.4 115 1865 8028 7093 1094 2042 381 89 223 1247 54 64 809 608 .288 .362 .461 .823

    21. The Next 5

  21. 21. Luis Tiant
  22. 22. Kevin Youkilis
  23. 23. Babe Ruth
  24. 24. Smoky Joe Wood
  25. 25. Rico Petrocelli

    26. All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

    Leave a comment

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    100 Greatest Players of all time