Pages

Friday, January 25, 2019

Thinking Exercise, With A Twist

I don't know if this was intended to become a blog bat-a-round, but many bloggers have been piggy-backing on a post made by Night Owl (which was in turn prompted from a post by The Chronicles Of Fuji), where he lists the first player that pops into his head for every team. It's a fun idea, but one that seems to be easily influenced. I've already seen too many Tony Gwynns and Cal Ripkens to trust my own thought process.

I decided to try it out, but with a twist. Rather than just whoever pops in my head, I'm going to think of the first player I can think of that is also a Red Sox alum. I did a similar post last fall, and actually had it in the back of my mind to do a full lineup for each team, if possible. This would be a good starting point. I also decided to only allow a player to be used only once per team.

I present to you now, the player that popped into my head for each team:

Angels - Fred Lynn

1985 Topps #220 Fred Lynn

His swing was built for Fenway. I will always maintain that he would have built a strong Hall of Fame case if he never left.

Astros - Larry Andersen

1989 Donruss #359 Larry Andersen

My first thought was Jeff Bagwell, but he never played for the Red Sox. This led me to think of the guy he was traded for.

Athletics - Jose Canseco

1991 Bowman #227 Jose Canseco

A lot of Hall of Famers played for both teams, yet he popped in my mind first.

Blue Jays - Roger Clemens

1999 Topps Opening Day
#161 Roger Clemens (HL)

He was my favorite player growing up. It saddened me initially when he left. I got over it.

Braves - John Smoltz

1991 Leaf #309 John Smoltz

He's going to be the guest speaker at a University of Virginia fundraiser tomorrow. I think that influenced my decision.

Brewers - George Scott

1977 Topps #255 George Scott

Technically, Scott was the second person I thought of. I had a current Brewer in mind, but for the life of me I couldn't recall his name. All I could think of was his nickname "The Mayor Of Ding Dong City". Scott's name popped in my head before I could figure it out, so apologies to Travis Shaw.

Cardinals - Dennis Eckersley

1996 Upper Deck #375 Dennis Eckersley (BG)

I find with a lot of these players, I'm surprised by the team association. Eck was a quick choice for the Cardinals, which led me to wonder why I didn't associate him with the Athletics before?

Cubs - John Lester

2018 Topps #266 Jon Lester

I wish he never got traded. 

Diamondbacks - Chris Young

2008 Topps #179 Chris Young (PSH)

I'm surprised JD Martinez wasn't the first player I thought of!

Dodgers - Alex Cora

2001 Upper Deck Victory #371 Alex Cora

Like I said above, I did a whole lineup of players who wore both of these uniforms

Expos - Pedro Martinez

1995 Stadium Club #485 Pedro Martinez

Arguably the greatest trade in Red Sox history.

Giants - Pablo Sandoval

2011 Topps #188 Pablo Sandoval

Arguably the worst free agent signing in Red Sox history.

Indians - Andrew Miller

2018 Stadium Club #227 Andrew Miller

The one great thing Bobby  Valentine did in his one year as manager was to put this guy in the bullpen.

Mariners - Derek Lowe

1996 Bowman #228 Derek Lowe

Arguably the greatest trade in Red Sox history, part 2.

Marlins - Andre Dawson

1997 Upper Deck #80 Andre Dawon

Like Eck before him, I'm surprised he wasn't who popped in my head for the Cubs.

Mets - Mo Vaugn

2002 Donruss Originals - Aqueous
#331 Mo Vaughn

It was a shame he had trouble staying healthy after he left Boston.

Nationals - Jonathan Papelbon

2016 Topps #266 Jonathan Papelbon

All-time saves leader for two historic franchises, and if he could have stayed effective for just a few more years, he'd probably have held the Nationals record too.

Orioles - Koji Uehara

2009 Topps #616 Koji Uehara (RC)

The 2013 title doesn't happen without him.

Padres - Drew Pomeranz

2016 Topps Update
#US236 Drew Pomeranz (AS)

He was horrible for the Red Sox last year, but I think he's got a bounce back year coming up. The Giants got him on a good deal.

Phillies - Danial Nava

2017 Topps Heritage #561 Daniel Nava

He's got the kind of story that would make a great Disney movie. 

Pirates - Jason Bay

2004 Topps #411 Jason Bay

He was about a good of a return for Manny Ramirez as anyone could have asked.

Rangers - Adrian Beltre

2015 Topps #175 Adrian Beltre

Happy retirement Adrian! See you in the Hall in 5 years!

Rays/Devil Rays - Wade Boggs

1998 Donruss #234 Wade Boggs

The Rays retired his number before the Red Sox did, which is weird.

Reds - Bronson Arroyo

2011 Topps #98 Bronson Arroyo

Good guitar player, but still looked ridiculous in dreads.

Rockies - Ellis Burks

1997 Score #74 Ellis Burks

Proof that even injured players can be champions. 

Royals - Johnny Damon

2000 Stadium Club #12 Johnny Damon

What an Idiot.

Tigers - Rick Porcello

2014 Topps #384 Rick Porcello

With all the Red Sox hitting free  agency within the next two years, you don't hear about Porcello much. He's been solid, and I wouldn't mind seeing him come back.

Twins - Eduardo Nunez

2015 Topps #499 Eduardo Nunez

Proof that the World Series is still fresh in my mind - I thought of him before Big Papi?

White Sox - Yoan Moncada

2018 Bowman Platinum #22 Yoan Moncada

Why Moncada and not the guy he was traded for, Chris Sale? I don't know.

Yankees - Jacoby Ellsbury

2016 Topps Archives #40 Jacoby Ellsbury

He's still a Yankee, right?

So that was an interesting experiment. In almost all cases I could think of someone better if I gave myself even a minute to think of it. Instead I ended up with a delightfully weird mix of Hall of Famers, All-Stars, regulars and role players.

9 comments:

  1. This certainly was different! It's a good thing that I wasn't trying to do it your way, otherwise I probably would've only been able to come up with a handful of names.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang. Them Red Sox, they get around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This was one of my favorite posts for this BBA. A very cool twist that requires an extra layer of thought. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really love the concept behind this post. Lots of thought popped into my head as I read along, ranging from why it took the Sox so long to retire Boggs' number to Drew Pomeranz's horrible 2018 season. Just think, if he had been a free agent after his stellar 2017 performance, he could've made some big money.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very cool twist! I played along using A's player. Lol. Got stuck on the Diamondbacks... then the Expos... then I gave up ;) Still... loved reading your responses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It took me awhile, but...
      A's/Diamondbacks - Stephen Drew
      A's/Expos - Matt Stairs
      Plus, both of those guys are Red Sox alum as well! Triple threat!

      Delete
    2. Ugh. Totally forgot about Drew and the Diamondbacks.

      Delete
    3. Oh wait. Tim Raines played for the A's... and obviously the Expos.

      Delete
  6. You probably could have gotten away with using Bagwell. He started out in the Red Sox organization at least. Although, it would be like associating Smoltz with the Tigers. Nice list!

    ReplyDelete