The Best Individual Red Sox Seasons of the Century: Part Six, #5-1

This series focuses on the best Red Sox single-season performances of this century. To read previous installments, click the links below.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

5. 2016 Mookie Betts
Stats: 158 G 9.5 WAR 133 OPS+ .318/.363/.534 31 HR 113 RBI 26-30 SB GG All-Star MVP-6

Much like Jacoby Ellsbury, Mookie Betts was thought of as a potential star during his first few seasons in MLB, but not even the most optimistic of supporters could have predicted his 2016 masterpiece. At just age 23, Mookie took the leap into superstardom with a .316 average, 31 home runs, 26 stolen bases, and  122 runs scored. Add in Platinum-Glove level defense, and the result was an unfathomable 9.5 WAR season that ranked second in the majors. The problem for Betts was that his breakout campaign occurred in unison with the best season of Mike Trout’s career, who topped Betts with a 10.5 WAR en route to winning his second MVP trophy. Betts is also hurt by the fact that he didn’t show up in the postseason, going just 2-10 in the three-game sweep against the then-Indians in the ALDS. Still, 2016 will always be the season where Betts emerged as a future Hall-of-Famer, which earns him a top-five spot on this list. 

4. 2008 Dustin Pedroia
Stats: 157 G 7.0 WAR 123 OPS+ .326/.376/.493 17 HR 83 RBI 20-21 SB GG All-Star MVP-1

The 2008 season represented a changing of the guard for the Red Sox. David Ortiz suffered a wrist injury and posted the worst numbers of his Red Sox tenure; Manny Ramirez was a major distraction. It ended up getting traded at midseason, and Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell took major steps back after their heroics in 2007. The Red Sox were officially Dustin Pedroia’s team, and the diminutive second baseman took the mantle and ran with it. Pedey led the league with 118 runs scored, 213 hits, and 54 doubles while posting a career-high .326 batting average. He also turned in his usual savvy baserunning by converting on 20 of his 21 stolen base opportunities and won his first of four Gold Gloves. Though other hitters turned in more eye-popping power numbers, the sum of Pedroia’s skills was enough to help him easily capture the MVP award. The 2008 season may have ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Red Sox with a seven-game defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS, but we can all take solace in the fact that we saw one of the best second base seasons of all time.

3. 2004 David Ortiz
Stats: 150 G 4.3 WAR 145 OPS+ .301/.380/.603 41 HR 139 RBI All-Star MVP-4 

Though he didn’t finish in the top two in MVP like 2005, set a franchise record for home runs like 2006, or lead the league in OPS at age 40 like 2016, there is no denying that 2004 was the highlight of David Ortiz's career. In his first season in the middle of the Red Sox order, Big Papi set then-career highs in nearly every offensive category, including average (.301), home runs (41), RBI (139), and OPS (.983). As good as that regular season, his postseason turned him into a Boston Sports God. You already know the highlights: A walk-off home run to complete a sweep against the Angels in the ALDS, another walk-off home run to stave off elimination in Game Four of the ALCS against the Yankees, a clutch homer and walk-off single in Game Five to send the series back to New York, and a first-inning blast in Game Seven to set the tone in the comeback-sealing victory. Since this list is focused mainly on regular seasons, I couldn’t put him ahead of a pair of campaigns that nearly tripled his regular season WAR, but his postseason heroics earn him the number three slot on this list. 

2. 2000 Pedro Martinez
Stats: 29 GS 217.0 IP 11.7 WAR 18-6 1.74 ERA 0.737 WHIP 284 K All-Star CYA-1 MVP-5

Thanks to steroid-enhanced sluggers, new hitter-friendly ballparks, and a pair of expansions, MLB offense exploded throughout the 1990s and into the run of the century. The peak came in 2000, as teams averaged a whopping 5.14 runs per game, with the average hitter posting a .270/.345/.437 slashline. Yet even in the most offensive-friendly environment in baseball history, Pedro Martinez continued to take his game to new levels. His 1999 season, which doesn’t qualify for this list, gets most of the attention, but his 2000 season was statistically more impressive. He posted a mind-boggling 11.7 WAR in 29 starts while leading the league with 284 strikeouts, a .737 WHIP, four shutouts, and a 1.74 ERA. For context, the next lowest ERA in the American League that season was Roger Clemens at 3.70. That’s just how much better Pedro was than every other pitcher on the planet. The only knock you can make on Pedro’s 2000 campaign was that he didn’t pitch in the postseason, which speaks to just how inept the organization was before Theo and Co. took over. 

1. 2018 Mookie Betts 
Stats: 136 G 10.7 WAR 186 OPS+ .346/.438/.640 32 HR 80 RBI 30-36 SB GG All-Star MVP-1

As great as Pedro’s 2000 season was, there is just no competing with the performance Mookie Betts turned in in 2018. After a subpar (by his standards) 2017, Mookie put it all together in what was a storybook campaign for both him and the Red Sox, helped the club win a franchise record 108 games by hitting .346/.438/.640 and joining the 30/30 club for the first time. The only knock on this season was that a combination of injuries and September load management limited him to just 136 games. Still, he accumulated 10.7 WAR while missing essentially a month of action, which speaks to his all-around greatness. Not only was this the greatest individual Red Sox season this century, but it has the case to be the best individual performance by any player not named Barry Bonds over the last 50 years. Though he wasn’t quite as good in the postseason, Betts' contributions to the championship run only put an exclamation point on this historic season.