40 replies to this topic

[Infield Infidel]

Left field is next up to bat. Which left fielders were must haves for Fenway 100? A minimum of 5 living left-fielders will be selected, and a maximum of 10.

More info on the methodology here

Baseball Reference positional history here

Nominations:
Nominations must be in bold. Each poster can list up to 5 players for nominations; up to 20 players, those with the most nominations, will be included for voting. (ties going over 20 nominations will not be include because polls can only list 20 answers).

(If two players tie in the voting, the player with more nominations will be chosen.)

Nominations are accepted after this post until Wednesday evening June 27, voting is Wednesday 27 evening to Monday evening July 2. The top 5 in the voting for each position are in, and then the top overall vote-getters not previously selected will be added until we hit the total position player limit of 57. (there will also be 40 pitchers and 3 managers)

Nomination Criteria:
The mandatory criteria is that the person is alive, and played in 40 games at Left Field for the Red Sox, and hasn't already been selected for another position in the top 100. (Yaz was voted in at 1B, so he's ineligible here.)

You can use any other criteria you want to define “greatness.”

Edited by Infield Infidel, 21 June 2012 - 04:44 AM.

[Bucknahs Bum Ankle]

Yaz
Rice
Greenwell
O'Leary
Manny


Edit: Added Yaz since he is now eligible. Bay doesn't belong.

Edited by Bucknahs Bum Ankle, 27 June 2012 - 11:20 AM.

[BCsMightyJoeYoung]

Carbo

Edited by BCsMightyJoeYoung, 20 June 2012 - 07:36 AM.

[JMDurron]

Yastrzemski
Carbo

Yaz is ineligible, as stated in the opening post.

Jim Rice
Manny Ramirez
Mike Greenwell
Bernie Carbo
Troy O'Leary

[Bucknahs Bum Ankle]

Carbo is eligble here, but I always think of him more as a RF and would save him for that poll.

Games played for BOS:

LF - 81
RF - 170
DH - 58

[Hendu's Gait]

Manuel Aristides Ramirez Onelcida
Manny Ramirez
Manuel Ramirez
Manny Being Manny
Manny

[JMDurron]

Carbo is eligble here, but I always think of him more as a RF and would save him for that poll.

Games played for BOS:

LF - 81
RF - 170
DH - 58

I thought about this, but given that 5 LFers need to make it, I honestly couldn't come up with enough other reasonable choices to bump him off the list. Another casualty of the 1B debacle.

[Bucknahs Bum Ankle]

I thought about this, but given that 5 LFers need to make it, I honestly couldn't come up with enough other reasonable choices to bump him off the list. Another casualty of the 1B debacle.

Good point, I forgot that a minimum of 5 will be selected. I'm going to edit my post to add Bay who had 199 games in LF for Boston with an OPS+ of 133 (and completely ignoring his awful fielding).

[Infield Infidel]

I thought about this, but given that 5 LFers need to make it, I honestly couldn't come up with enough other reasonable choices to bump him off the list. Another casualty of the 1B debacle.

While the big names in LF are no-brainers, since Ted Williams left, the Sox have had only 5 players lead the team in LF starts more than twice.

Manny Ramirez
Jim Rice
Troy O'Leary
Mike Greenwell
Yaz

RF, on the other hand, is more loaded, with has at least 7 guys who should make the Fenway 100, so for LF I recommend using nominations for guys like Bernie, Tony C, Tommy Harper, guys who played less for the Sox or played other OF spots more.

Edited by Infield Infidel, 20 June 2012 - 08:17 AM.

[Cuzittt]

Jim Rice
Manny Ramirez
Mike Greenwell
Jason Bay
Daniel Nava

[bosox79]

Reggie Jefferson
Darren Lewis
Gabe Kapler
Carl Crawford
Wily Mo Pena

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

It pains me to admit that Mike Greenwell must be included here. Although I do give him kudos for being one of the first white athletes to shave his head.

[Rasputin]

It pains me to admit that Mike Greenwell must be included here.

No he mustn't.

Rice
Ramirez
Carbo

Edited by Rasputin, 20 June 2012 - 04:21 PM.

[JMDurron]

Ok, between "living" and "Yaz is already at 1B", is anyone actually reading the opening post?

[Mugsys Jock]

I think the idea behind this is amazing and I thank Infidel for it. And the quality of the analysis here is up to typically great SoSH standards and I've learned a lot.

But any poll where I can't vote for Yaz as the Red Sox best left fielder ever is one I can't vote in. Probably should've done left field first, to avoid just this conflict.

For you young whippersnappers out there, good God you should've seen Yaz in his prime in left field. I think even more impressive than Dewey in right.

[Infield Infidel]

But any poll where I can't vote for Yaz as the Red Sox best left fielder ever is one I can't vote in.

The issue I wrestled with most when starting this was the name. The intention, if they sox could only pick 100 people to go to Fenway 100, who were the 100 guys most deserving to be at Fenway 100. I used "Greatest Living" because it was simple to understand, and distinguishes this process from the "Best Ever" polls we and others have done previously. but since we started, I've disliked the name, and I'm probably going to just change it to Fenway 100

Instead, think of it as who are the 100 guys you'd like to see, or who you definitely think should have been at Fenway 100.

Edited by Infield Infidel, 20 June 2012 - 06:00 PM.

[mwonow]

I think the idea behind this is amazing and I thank Infidel for it. And the quality of the analysis here is up to typically great SoSH standards and I've learned a lot.

But any poll where I can't vote for Yaz as the Red Sox best left fielder ever is one I can't vote in. Probably should've done left field first, to avoid just this conflict.

For you young whippersnappers out there, good God you should've seen Yaz in his prime in left field. I think even more impressive than Dewey in right.

The keepers of the keys to Cooperstown agree!

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

No he mustn't.

Rice
Ramirez
Carbo

I thought we're picking 5, no?

[Scott Cooper]

Rice
Manny
Greenwell
Bay
Troy O'Leary

[Rasputin]

The issue I wrestled with most when starting this was the name. The intention, if they sox could only pick 100 people to go to Fenway 100, who were the 100 guys most deserving to be at Fenway 100. I used "Greatest Living" because it was simple to understand, and distinguishes this process from the "Best Ever" polls we and others have done previously. but since we started, I've disliked the name, and I'm probably going to just change it to Fenway 100

Instead, think of it as who are the 100 guys you'd like to see, or who you definitely think should have been at Fenway 100.

In retrospect, perhaps the whole thing should have started with left field then followed the generally accepted defensive spectrum.

I thought we're picking 5, no?

That would require putting both O'Leary and Greenwell on the list, so no.

Also I cannot imagine that it is remotely difficult to find 100 living Red Sox who were better than Mike Greenwell and it just happens that for the last sixty-five years the position has been dominated by three hall of famers, a scattering of halfways decent players, Manny Ramirez and black hole of suck that is Mike Greenwell.

Greenwell was the worst defensive player I have ever seen play in the field for more than a thousand games. He was more full of it than anyone I can even imagine meeting and I hope he gets crabs.

[David Laurila]

Yaz played nearly three times as many games in LF than he did at IB, won 7 Gold Gloves as a LF, and didn't become a IB until later in his career. He is famously known as the player who replaced Ted Williams in LF.

How in God's name is Yaz not going to be one of the team's top 5 living left fielders? This would be even more absurd than Frank Malzone not being one of the top 5 third basemen.

[Infield Infidel]

It's not that he's not one of the best LFs, he obviously is. It's that he was nominated and voted in at another position, Since we are picking 100 people who should be there, he is already on the 100-man roster. (I didn't vote for him for 1B, but enough people did that he got in and I respect their votes.) Letting him be in the poll for LF would mean he'd be there twice. It has nothing to do with how good he was. Couldn't he be such a good player that he was one of the five best at two different spots?

As for Malzone, although people didn't vote for him the top-5 for 3B, there are 12 spots open for the highest vote-getters that weren't voted in their positions. So far he would be in that 12 (he's tied for 6th).

In retrospect, perhaps the whole thing should have started with left field then followed the generally accepted defensive spectrum.

This exactly. I didn't think of it and I wish when this started someone had suggested it.

[Infield Infidel]

I'd like to find a solution here. I added a poll question for Yaz. He got 62 votes for 1B, placing 4th on the list. If more people want him to be in the voting for LF, we'll pull him from 1B and include him in the voting for LF. Adrian Gonzalez would then move into the top-5 for 1B. If he doesn't get 63 votes, he'll stay put at 1B.

This poll will last until wednesday.

Edit - changed monday to wednesday. I'm not sure why I put monday, the poll ends when the nominations end

Edited by Infield Infidel, 21 June 2012 - 09:45 PM.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Also I cannot imagine that it is remotely difficult to find 100 living Red Sox who were better than Mike Greenwell and it just happens that for the last sixty-five years the position has been dominated by three hall of famers, a scattering of halfways decent players, Manny Ramirez and black hole of suck that is Mike Greenwell.

I don't understand how he isn't one of the 100 greatest living Red Sox players. Yes, his defense was atrocious and he nearly killed Ellis Burks on a weekly basis, but he was a solid offensive player, when healthy, for a decade (303/368/463 career slash). He was selected by pretty much this same group of voters as #35 on the top 100 Red Sox players of all time. I find it hard to imagine that are 50, let alone 100 better players to have worn the uniform that are still breathing.

Mike Greenwell
Jim Rice
Manny Ramirez
Carl Yastrzemski

[Al Zarilla]

Thanks for changing the deal. SOSH always gets it right.

Yastrzemski
Ramirez
Rice
Greenwell
O'Leary

[brs3]

Whenever I see Troy O'Leary's name, I think of the radio call when he cranked a postseason grand slam. Was it Joe Castiglione? TROY O'LEEAARY!

[Yaz4Ever]

Tax is so great that he can play 1B and LF simultaneously.

[OttoC]

What is the stance on suspended animation?

[Infield Infidel]

What is the stance on suspended animation?

If we figure out how to have a conversation with Ted Williams' disembodied brain by the end of the season, he's totally eligible

[MalzoneExpress]

If we figure out how to have a conversation with Ted Williams' disembodied brain by the end of the season, he's totally eligible

That sounds like a medium sized problem.

edit to avoid game threading: Yaz should be associated with Left Field. Otherwise it skews the top 100 living list as one or more firstbasemen won't make it and one or more left fielders will. I am glad this has a chance to be corrected.

Edited by MalzoneExpress, 21 June 2012 - 02:16 PM.

[Saints Rest]

Tax is so great that he can play 1B and LF simultaneously.

Extra awesome that you of all people made this typo.

[Rasputin]

I don't understand how he isn't one of the 100 greatest living Red Sox players. Yes, his defense was atrocious and he nearly killed Ellis Burks on a weekly basis, but he was a solid offensive player, when healthy, for a decade (303/368/463 career slash). He was selected by pretty much this same group of voters as #35 on the top 100 Red Sox players of all time. I find it hard to imagine that are 50, let alone 100 better players to have worn the uniform that are still breathing.

My hatred of Mike Greenwell may be irrational, but voting him 35th in that list is lunacy.

[Yaz4Ever]

Extra awesome that you of all people made this typo.

Stupid iPhone auto-correct (and lots of alcoholic beverages).

[JMDurron]

As of now, Yaz would stay at 1B. He needs 63 "move to LF" votes, and has 49, so 14 more would be needed to correct the voter error from the 1B process.

[Infield Infidel]

I'd like to find a solution here. I added a poll question for Yaz. He got 62 votes for 1B, placing 4th on the list. If more people want him to be in the voting for LF, we'll pull him from 1B and include him in the voting for LF. Adrian Gonzalez would then move into the top-5 for 1B. If he doesn't get 63 votes, he'll stay put at 1B.

This poll will last until wednesday.

Edit - changed monday to wednesday. I'm not sure why I put monday, the poll ends when the nominations end

Monday AM bump. Still accepting nominations and votes in the Yaz poll.

Remember, nominations are important because if there is a tie in the vote, the tie-breaker is most nominations.

Edited by Infield Infidel, 25 June 2012 - 10:08 AM.

[Infield Infidel]

Last bump. Poll ends noonish on Wednesay. It's darn close right now. After that the voting poll will be added

[Cuzittt]

And... there we go. The 63rd vote for Yaz to Left. Yeah common sense.

[redsoxfan1776]

Yastrzemski
Ramirez
Rice
Crawford
Nava

Thank you!

[bankshot1]

Yaz
Rice
Ramirez
Greenwell

I'm saving #5 for Ted's head if its declared eligible

[Al Zarilla]

Yaz
Ramirez
Rice
O'Leary
Greenwell

[Infield Infidel]

I'm saving #5 for Ted's head if its declared eligible

Whenever I see Ted's Head mentioned, I think of this guy