Who is the greatest under-the-radar player in Sox history?

[bosoxmal]

Dick Radatz?

[moonslav59]

Players that made a big impact that are less remembered:

 

Don Baylor (of all the impact guys on the 86 team, he's probably the one people don't think about)

Greenwell (people remember him, but don't remember how f***ing great he was)

Boddicker (key in the stretch run of 88 after coming over from O's)

Jody Reed (important member of the 88 and 90 teams)

John Valentin (perennially underappreciated leader)

Bret Saberhagen (really great in 99 when healthy)

Reggie Jefferson (peaked in non-playoff years and is forgotten)

Carl Everett (greatest hitter alive the first half of 2000)

Mueller (we all remember him, but he had so many clutch hits in 04 and the second highest oWAR on the team in 03 too)

Scott Williamson (dominant in 03 postseason, great in 04 before injury)

Okajima (dominant in 07 and 08, mostly forgotten due to the run of other notable Asian relievers afterwards)

Mike Carp (OPS+ of 139 in 2013)

Craig Breslow (remembered because he was an ivy league guy, not because he pitched a 229 ERA+ in 13)

RHB bench bat Rick Porcello (OPS+ 201 in 2018, slugged a redonkulous .714 when he wasn't striking out 43% of the time, that's Dalbec in single A numbers folks)

 

Greenwell bugged the s*** out of me.

 

Of this list, I like Valantin & Mueller.

 

I'd add Naehring, Nava, Easler, Cecil Cooper, Daubach, Esasky, Reggie Smith, Ellis Burks, Troy O'Leary, Reggie Jefferson, Tom Brunansky, Carlos Quintana, Orlando Cepeda, Marty Barret, Luis Aparicio

 

Bill Lee, Roger Moret, Oil Can Boyd, Tom Gordon, Tim Wakefield, ERod

[moonslav59]

I thought Red Sox fans might enjoy these video highlights of the 20-inning Red Sox win over the Seattle Pilots in 1969:

 

 

And another Red Sox/Pilot game from 1969:

 

 

Enjoy.

 

Brought back some memories.

 

The Pilots moved to Milwaukee when I lived there. Tommy Harper was my favorite player, and when the Brewers traded him to Boston, I became a Sox fan.

[jad]

Well, the category is undefined, but you can't really call Clemons or Varitek or Wakefield 'under the radar'. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Brock Holt.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Koji. It's still hard to believe (as it was then) in that near-perfect 2013, but Uehara had a year that surpassed any that even the great Mariano Rivera ever produced, eclipsing the Hall of Famer's career season-bests in ERA, FIP and WHIP. All while throwing 89 mph...

[jacksonianmarch]

Gotta be Bill Mueller. He’s a money ball dream and was essentially a nothing signing that Theo lauded as a big move and he was right in spades. Then he had the biggest hit in Red Sox history to turn the tide in 04. I hated this guy, so he is the obvious answer

[notin]

Koji. It's still hard to believe (as it was then) in that near-perfect 2013, but Uehara had a year that surpassed any that even the great Mariano Rivera ever produced, eclipsing the Hall of Famer's career season-bests in ERA, FIP and WHIP. All while throwing 89 mph...

 

 

Especially since he was the third closer option that year, after Bailey and Hanrahan both got injured...

[notin]

What about Brian Daubach?

 

For a guy with a reputation as a streaky hitter, he had nearly the same OPS (.829) for the Sox as Mike Greenwell (.831)...

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Gotta be Bill Mueller. He’s a money ball dream and was essentially a nothing signing that Theo lauded as a big move and he was right in spades. Then he had the biggest hit in Red Sox history to turn the tide in 04. I hated this guy, so he is the obvious answer

 

How could you hate Mueller, who was just clutch... if I was a Yankee fan, I'd hate Pedro for sending Soriano and Jeter to the hospital in the top of the first (but not for pushing a maniac old coach who charged him). I'd also detest Manny, for challenging Roger for a high pitch that really wasn't close to his brain, or for just Manny stunts like walking to the dugout on a comebacker or refusing to take his bat off his shoulders vs. Mo -- on second thought, Yankee fans probably liked that...

[mvp 78]

Greenwell bugged the s*** out of me.

 

Of this list, I like Valantin & Mueller.

 

I'd add Naehring, Nava, Easler, Cecil Cooper, Daubach, Esasky, Reggie Smith, Ellis Burks, Troy O'Leary, Reggie Jefferson, Tom Brunansky, Carlos Quintana, Orlando Cepeda, Marty Barret, Luis Aparicio

 

Bill Lee, Roger Moret, Oil Can Boyd, Tom Gordon, Tim Wakefield, ERod

 

Naehring - I prefer my players to have equally sized legs and not be injured all the time

Easler - solid player who only had one really good year for the Sox (only played 2)

Esasky - not really under the radar because he was the best offensive weapon on that 89 team (sole season)

Jefferson - already on my list

Brunansky - fine player who made one memorable catch and had almost 250 HR's before coming to the Sox so def not under the radar

Carlos Quintana - two decent years, but I remember him more from his PAWSOX days because we had season tix back then

Barrett - ALCS mvp and an amazing WS, anyone who forgets him is probably just too young to remember this punch and judy hitter

[moonslav59]

Koji. It's still hard to believe (as it was then) in that near-perfect 2013, but Uehara had a year that surpassed any that even the great Mariano Rivera ever produced, eclipsing the Hall of Famer's career season-bests in ERA, FIP and WHIP. All while throwing 89 mph...

 

I was going to mention him but felt he was not "under the radar."

[moonslav59]

Especially since he was the third closer option that year, after Bailey and Hanrahan both got injured...

 

While true, he had some great years before and after 2013.

[moonslav59]

What about Brian Daubach?

 

For a guy with a reputation as a streaky hitter, he had nearly the same OPS (.829) for the Sox as Mike Greenwell (.831)...

 

BD was on my list.

[moonslav59]

Naehring - I prefer my players to have equally sized legs and not be injured all the time

Easler - solid player who only had one really good year for the Sox (only played 2)

Esasky - not really under the radar because he was the best offensive weapon on that 89 team (sole season)

Jefferson - already on my list

Brunansky - fine player who made one memorable catch and had almost 250 HR's before coming to the Sox so def not under the radar

Carlos Quintana - two decent years, but I remember him more from his PAWSOX days because we had season tix back then

Barrett - ALCS mvp and an amazing WS, anyone who forgets him is probably just too young to remember this punch and judy hitter

 

Esasky did have a great year, but it was sort of out of no where. I think he developed vertigo and was out of baseball shortly afterwards.

 

Quintana was unsung. He started to improve, and then he got shot or something back in Venezuela. I think he tried a comeback but didn't make it.

[mvp 78]

In February 1992, Quintana was involved in an automobile accident in town of Tacarigua de Mamporal, Venezuela while rushing his two brothers to a hospital after they were shot at a party. In the accident, Quintana broke his left arm and his right big toe and his wife Solys broke both of her legs. The injuries caused Quintana to miss the entire 1992 season.

 

Quintana returned to the Red Sox for the 1993 season but was still feeling the effects of the accident, including loss of feeling in his left thumb. He lost the starting first base position to Mo Vaughn and at the end of the season he announced his retirement from MLB baseball

[mvp 78]

Wikipedia also called this -14.7 dWAR player an "outstanding defensive firstbaseman." LOL

[notin]

THe designation of "under the radar" can be a bit vague, but a few other candidates might be

 

Mike Timlin

Hideki Okajima

Darnell McDonald

Cody Ross

Doug Fister

Greg Harris

Jeff Gray

[moonslav59]

In February 1992, Quintana was involved in an automobile accident in town of Tacarigua de Mamporal, Venezuela while rushing his two brothers to a hospital after they were shot at a party. In the accident, Quintana broke his left arm and his right big toe and his wife Solys broke both of her legs. The injuries caused Quintana to miss the entire 1992 season.

 

Quintana returned to the Red Sox for the 1993 season but was still feeling the effects of the accident, including loss of feeling in his left thumb. He lost the starting first base position to Mo Vaughn and at the end of the season he announced his retirement from MLB baseball

 

Thanks for refreshing my memory.

 

Sad.

[moonslav59]

THe designation of "under the radar" can be a bit vague, but a few other candidates might be

 

Mike Timlin

Hideki Okajima

Darnell McDonald

Cody Ross

Doug Fister

Greg Harris

Jeff Gray

 

Jeff Gray was another sad story.

 

DMac is a good choice.

[notin]

Jeff Gray was another sad story.

 

DMac is a good choice.

 

McDonald was definitely about as under-the-radar as it gets, but he was more of a pleasant surprise than an actual significant contributor. Sort of the quieter version of Pedro Ciriaco.

 

Doug Fister was actually a really good pitcher for the Sox who came out of nowhere...

[Bellhorn04]

McDonald was definitely about as under-the-radar as it gets, but he was more of a pleasant surprise than an actual significant contributor. Sort of the quieter version of Pedro Ciriaco.

 

Doug Fister was actually a really good pitcher for the Sox who came out of nowhere...

 

Fister was "OK", that's about as far as I would go.

[mvp 78]

Fister was "OK", that's about as far as I would go.

 

I looked up his stats in Fangraphs because I thought I was missing something. He was good in 2010 - 2013, but was just a veteran retread after that.

[mvp 78]

If we're just picking players out of a hat that had 1 decent season, I'll go with Kyle Snyder.

[mvp 78]

Remember Takashi Saito?

[mvp 78]

Bill Hall!

[mvp 78]

Should we be a Cody Ross fanpage or a Marco Scutaro fanpage?

[Bellhorn04]

Remember Takashi Saito?

 

I do. I liked that guy.

[Bellhorn04]

Going strictly on memory here, I think Eric Hinske doubled on each of his first 3 AB's as a Red Sox.

[mvp 78]

Going strictly on memory here, I think Eric Hinske doubled on each of his first 3 AB's as a Red Sox.

 

Hinkse was definitely a guy.

[mvp 78]

https://www.fangraphs.com/boxscore.aspx?date=2006-08-18&team=Red%20Sox&dh=1

 

Hinske hits back to back to back 2b's.