Your top "forgot he was a Red Sox"

Rovin Romine

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2013: Can't think of anyone off the top of my head. That was such a mismash of a team that if you told me that Buddy Biancalana somehow played for them, I'd probably believe you.
We all remember the impact newcomers, but it's interesting how many recognizable names were on the team, but didn't contribute all that much in 2013 as they were on their way out, or on their way up that year.

Which is not to say they didn't contribute at all, but that they notably higher water marks in other years:

Alex Wilson, Steven Wright, Joel Hanrahan, Daniel Bard, JBJ, Brock Holt, Xander Boegarts.
 

TFisNEXT

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Yes. I think that he was mic'ed when Ellsbury stole second and got everyone in America a free taco.
Yes he was. That’s the only reason Royce Clayton isn’t a weird one for me because he basically did the 2007 equivalent of going viral with the free tacos cheerleading. Here on SOSH that’s basically all we talked about for a time when his name was mentioned.

The weirdest 2007 player for me is Wily Mo Peña….for some reason I completely forgot he was on that team the first few months in the season before trading him. I had always thought in my head he was gone after 2006.

I had also forgotten we had a cooked Brendon Donnelly in the bullpen for part of the year. I was surprised to see he pitched well too. I remember him stinking for Cleveland the next year and then not lasting much longer after that.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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A few others…

Rocco Baldelli
Kevin Mitchell
David West
Mark Portugal
Rico Brogna
Joe Oliver
Carlos Baerga
Shane Andrews
Chris Haney
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Nov 29, 2005
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This thread had me think of a couple of players of end-of-career guys who had a brief stint with the Sox... but according to BRef didn't--- including Darrell Evans (I would have sworn that he and Dwight were together at some point) and Lance Parrish (I had remembered Larry... but I also thought Lance got a cup of tea).
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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This thread had me think of a couple of players of end-of-career guys who had a brief stint with the Sox... but according to BRef didn't--- including Darrell Evans (I would have sworn that he and Dwight were together at some point) and Lance Parrish (I had remembered Larry... but I also thought Lance got a cup of tea).
Those guys were the type of player who would have been on Lou Gorman's wishlist circa 1990-1993 so I wouldn't be surprised if maybe your association of them with the Red Sox was memories of hot stove rumors.
 

Leskanic's Thread

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Here's my list of the Weirdest Red Sox to Earn a World Series Ring. I'm defining "Weirdest" by a guy with a decent/noteworthy career outside of their time with the Sox, that was on the briefly, and was not a major acquisition or contributor to the team (so no Dave Roberts/Eric Gagne):
...
2018: Brandon Phillips is the obvious answer. Someone's going to mention Ian Kinsler, but he was a postseason contributor.
Who can forget that he contributed five additional innings to the one Sox loss in the '18 World Series?
 

joe dokes

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He was their sixth starter that year, at least in terms of number of starts (3). He was originally slated for the rotation and started the year on the DL. Arroyo took his spot. They tried Kim in the rotation once he was healthy but, obviously, he didn't last.

One of my favorite bits of trivia about that season was the Opening Day rotation (Pedro, Schilling, Lowe, Wake, Arroyo) made 157 of 162 starts. Such health and consistency from a rotation is a rare thing. Aside from Kim, the other starts were spot starts in double headers: Abe Alvarez in July and the aforementioned Pedro Astacio on the last weekend of the season.
That was also the year that the original Mike Carp -- Dave McCarty -- tried his hand at pitching. 3 games. Including 2IP in game 162. (In which Kim closed out the season with 1 scoreless).
 

Paveskovich's Pole

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Catcher Charles Johnson. March 30, 2005 traded for Byun-Hyun Kim to the Sox. March 30, 2005 released by Red Sox. I know he was just a "paper Sox" ... but why couldn't the Rockies release him instead of trading him?
 

Whoop-La White

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Adam Hyzdu might be my favorite all-time obscure two-stinter (I love it when older minor leaguers get late chances for glory).

Jonathan Van Every was technically a two-stinter; he was in the Pirates org, but never played for them in the majors, between his two times in Boston.
 

joe dokes

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How about Ron Mahay?
Noodle bat OF (except for 1 HR) with 22 PAs in 1995 for the Sox. Became a pitcher -- 28 games for the Sox in '97; 29 in 1998. (and then a rather long -- or maybe LOOG - career with several other teams.).
 

Yelling At Clouds

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Another 2 stint backup catcher: Kevin Cash
This an aside, but I feel like it Means Something that Alex Cora, Dave Roberts, Kevin Cash, Rocco Baldelli, David Ross, Mark Kotsay, Gabe Kapler, and Torey Luvollo all played under Terry Francona at some point.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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I remember just about every forgotten player mentioned in this thread. What I'm really hoping is that I forget about Corey Kluber as soon as possible.
 

Fred not Lynn

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Here's my list of the Weirdest Red Sox to Earn a World Series Ring. I'm defining "Weirdest" by a guy with a decent/noteworthy career outside of their time with the Sox, that was on the briefly, and was not a major acquisition or contributor…

2018: Brandon Phillips is the obvious answer. Someone's going to mention Ian Kinsler, but he was a postseason contributor.
I was at The Brandon Phillips Game in Atlanta - and while Phillips wasn’t a direct post-season contributor, that particular game is the kind of game that gives a team the swagger and confidence it takes to go into the playoffs expecting to win…so he deserves some credit for that.
 

Bergs

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I'm looking forward to living long enough to go with Corey Kluber as my answer.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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These are not obscure names but still interesting:

I don't think anyone has mentioned Pedro's older brother Ramon Martinez. And his southpaw kid brother Jesus, never a great prospect, was in their minor league system for a season (I was shocked to read that Jesus died at age 44 of cardiac arrest).

Also, while many of us have tried to forget this, there was also Ramiro Mendoza. I hated seeing him pitch against us when he was with the Yankees with that damned sinker of his, I hated it even more seeing him pitch for the Red Sox when his sinker turned to stinker.
 

Garfinvold

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Don’t forget Andre Hawk Dawson. Some bad signings back then. Danny Darwin..
Danny Darwin was a good signing, he was actually the ace of the staff in 1993. He should have had a no hitter, too if Billy Hatcher didn't misplay a fly ball. His other years weren't so good though.
 

ookami7m

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This an aside, but I feel like it Means Something that Alex Cora, Dave Roberts, Kevin Cash, Rocco Baldelli, David Ross, Mark Kotsay, Gabe Kapler, and Torey Luvollo all played under Terry Francona at some point.
Which reminds me of my favorite trivia bit from SoSH over the last few years: The following MLB Managers were all on the 2008 Red Sox roster: Cash, Cora, Kotsay, Ross as players plus Brad Mills and John Farrell from the coaches offices. 2009 adds Baldelli to the list as well.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I remember him, but I thought Mike Boddicker was a summer rental. He gave them a pretty solid 2 1/2 seasons.
Mike Boddicker was a pretty good replacement for Bruce Hurst after the 1988 season. Though a 1-2-3 of Clemens, Hurst and Boddicker for two or three years would have been pretty nice.
 

TFisNEXT

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Danny Darwin was a good signing, he was actually the ace of the staff in 1993. He should have had a no hitter, too if Billy Hatcher didn't misplay a fly ball. His other years weren't so good though.
I was shocked to see Danny Darwin's career high in innings pitched was that 1993 season when he was 37 years old. Based on his other metrics that year, it looks like the BABIP Gods were smiling upon him.

But you are correct that Darwin was the ace of that staff that year....Clemens didn't pitch THAT bad, but he was prob stealing some of Darwin's hits on BABIP as he had a lousy (for his standards) 4.46 ERA despite a FIP of like a run lower. Plus, I remember during the previously mentioned hot streak that summer, we all got excited when Darwin or Frank Viola was on the mound. They were the guys who seemed to keep winning during their hot streak and Clemens I recall really shat the bed when the Sox were trying to keep relevant in the race during the first half of August. It was during that stretch I really noticed Darwin winning a lot and Clemens losing.

OF course, back then we didn't know shit about BABIP or any "luck" based metrics....we only saw who was allowing runs and losing games or what wasn't allowing runs and winning games.
 

jose melendez

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Which reminds me of my favorite trivia bit from SoSH over the last few years: The following MLB Managers were all on the 2008 Red Sox roster: Cash, Cora, Kotsay, Ross as players plus Brad Mills and John Farrell from the coaches offices. 2009 adds Baldelli to the list as well.
Completely forgot about Kotsay.
 

Whoop-La White

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But you are correct that Darwin was the ace of that staff that year....Clemens didn't pitch THAT bad, but he was prob stealing some of Darwin's hits on BABIP as he had a lousy (for his standards) 4.46 ERA despite a FIP of like a run lower. Plus, I remember during the previously mentioned hot streak that summer, we all got excited when Darwin or Frank Viola was on the mound. They were the guys who seemed to keep winning during their hot streak and Clemens I recall really shat the bed when the Sox were trying to keep relevant in the race during the first half of August. It was during that stretch I really noticed Darwin winning a lot and Clemens losing.
1993 was also the rookie season of Aaron Sele, who came up and posted a 2.74 ERA in 111 IP, finishing 3rd in ROY balloting even as he was up for only half a season.

The pitching on the whole was pretty good, they just couldn't find anyone to protect Mo Vaughn in the lineup. It was the last full season (i.e., not counting 1994 or 2020) that the Sox both scored and allowed fewer than 700 runs. (Though the previous year was even more anemic.)
 

Garfinvold

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I was shocked to see Danny Darwin's career high in innings pitched was that 1993 season when he was 37 years old. Based on his other metrics that year, it looks like the BABIP Gods were smiling upon him.

But you are correct that Darwin was the ace of that staff that year....Clemens didn't pitch THAT bad, but he was prob stealing some of Darwin's hits on BABIP as he had a lousy (for his standards) 4.46 ERA despite a FIP of like a run lower. Plus, I remember during the previously mentioned hot streak that summer, we all got excited when Darwin or Frank Viola was on the mound. They were the guys who seemed to keep winning during their hot streak and Clemens I recall really shat the bed when the Sox were trying to keep relevant in the race during the first half of August. It was during that stretch I really noticed Darwin winning a lot and Clemens losing.

OF course, back then we didn't know shit about BABIP or any "luck" based metrics....we only saw who was allowing runs and losing games or what wasn't allowing runs and winning games.
I still remember this game https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL199307260.shtml ten game winning streak, probably the best Clemens pitched all year. Jeff Russell blew the game in the bottom of the ninth on a home run by none other than Tom Brunansky. That was apparently the only home run Russell gave up that year.
 

Bowlerman9

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Catcher Charles Johnson. March 30, 2005 traded for Byun-Hyun Kim to the Sox. March 30, 2005 released by Red Sox. I know he was just a "paper Sox" ... but why couldn't the Rockies release him instead of trading him?
Charles Johnson had an AAV lower than his contract, so at the end of the day, the Sox saved a little over a million on the luxury cap (important to them at that time) and the Rockies received a player they wanted. Win-win for both teams.
 

TFisNEXT

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I still remember this game https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL199307260.shtml ten game winning streak, probably the best Clemens pitched all year. Jeff Russell blew the game in the bottom of the ninth on a home run by none other than Tom Brunansky. That was apparently the only home run Russell gave up that year.
Yep, we actually talked about that game a couple pages back

https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/your-top-forgot-he-was-a-red-sox.34064/page-12#post-5567661

Both losses to the Brewers were by 1 run in that series. They did briefly rebound again winning 6 out of 8 (something I had not initially remembered when we brought up the '93 season until looking closer as the schedule) but then things started to fall apart quickly by mid-August. They kind of treaded water during the second week of August....Frank Viola beat the Blue Jays on August 13th to get the Red Sox back to within 1 game of first place but then it completely unraveled from that point as they lost 9 of their next 10 to fall out of the race. The one win was 3 days after Viola's victory over TOR....Danny Darwin threw a CG shutout against the White Sox. But they were already 4 games back even by that point as NYY and TOR got hot in August to leave the rest of the AL East behind and then of course TOR took control in September on their way to their 2nd consecutive WS.

It's kind of amazing how streaky those 1993 Red Sox were. I mentioned further back that during their peak run that mid-summer, they went 28-7 with 6 of those losses being by 1 run and the 7th being by 2 runs. They were playing amazing until all of the sudden they really stunk up the joint in 2nd half of August and September.
 

Garfinvold

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Yep, we actually talked about that game a couple pages back

https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/your-top-forgot-he-was-a-red-sox.34064/page-12#post-5567661

Both losses to the Brewers were by 1 run in that series. They did briefly rebound again winning 6 out of 8 (something I had not initially remembered when we brought up the '93 season until looking closer as the schedule) but then things started to fall apart quickly by mid-August. They kind of treaded water during the second week of August....Frank Viola beat the Blue Jays on August 13th to get the Red Sox back to within 1 game of first place but then it completely unraveled from that point as they lost 9 of their next 10 to fall out of the race. The one win was 3 days after Viola's victory over TOR....Danny Darwin threw a CG shutout against the White Sox. But they were already 4 games back even by that point as NYY and TOR got hot in August to leave the rest of the AL East behind and then of course TOR took control in September on their way to their 2nd consecutive WS.

It's kind of amazing how streaky those 1993 Red Sox were. I mentioned further back that during their peak run that mid-summer, they went 28-7 with 6 of those losses being by 1 run and the 7th being by 2 runs. They were playing amazing until all of the sudden they really stunk up the joint in 2nd half of August and September.
Sorry I didn't read the whole tread. But that Brunansky home run was like the Pena Homerun in 95. Ripped the heart out of 11 year old me. Just seemed to kill what could have been a great season. I remember Russell sucking more than he apparently did that year too. Maybe I was thinking of the next year. Russell was like Heathcliff Slocumb. He was ok the first year and then sucked the next year and was traded by the Duke. Return wasn't as good on Russell though. Sorry for the rambling.
 

Rovin Romine

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OF course, back then we didn't know shit about BABIP or any "luck" based metrics....we only saw who was allowing runs and losing games or what wasn't allowing runs and winning games.
Roger's legacy from 84-96 was basically coming up small when it mattered. There were time he wasn't awful, but he never quite made good in head-to-head contests with opposing pitchers.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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I was shocked to see Danny Darwin's career high in innings pitched was that 1993 season when he was 37 years old. Based on his other metrics that year, it looks like the BABIP Gods were smiling upon him.

But you are correct that Darwin was the ace of that staff that year....Clemens didn't pitch THAT bad, but he was prob stealing some of Darwin's hits on BABIP as he had a lousy (for his standards) 4.46 ERA despite a FIP of like a run lower. Plus, I remember during the previously mentioned hot streak that summer, we all got excited when Darwin or Frank Viola was on the mound. They were the guys who seemed to keep winning during their hot streak and Clemens I recall really shat the bed when the Sox were trying to keep relevant in the race during the first half of August. It was during that stretch I really noticed Darwin winning a lot and Clemens losing.

OF course, back then we didn't know shit about BABIP or any "luck" based metrics....we only saw who was allowing runs and losing games or what wasn't allowing runs and winning games.
This is being a little too generous to Clemens. He was barely above league average in 93. His walk/HR/K rate were all among his career worst.
 

jmcc5400

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Yep, we actually talked about that game a couple pages back

https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/your-top-forgot-he-was-a-red-sox.34064/page-12#post-5567661

Both losses to the Brewers were by 1 run in that series. They did briefly rebound again winning 6 out of 8 (something I had not initially remembered when we brought up the '93 season until looking closer as the schedule) but then things started to fall apart quickly by mid-August. They kind of treaded water during the second week of August....Frank Viola beat the Blue Jays on August 13th to get the Red Sox back to within 1 game of first place but then it completely unraveled from that point as they lost 9 of their next 10 to fall out of the race. The one win was 3 days after Viola's victory over TOR....Danny Darwin threw a CG shutout against the White Sox. But they were already 4 games back even by that point as NYY and TOR got hot in August to leave the rest of the AL East behind and then of course TOR took control in September on their way to their 2nd consecutive WS.

It's kind of amazing how streaky those 1993 Red Sox were. I mentioned further back that during their peak run that mid-summer, they went 28-7 with 6 of those losses being by 1 run and the 7th being by 2 runs. They were playing amazing until all of the sudden they really stunk up the joint in 2nd half of August and September.
28-7 is nothing to sneeze at. That was genuinely a glorious run - I remember thinking that we really had something in Ryan, Quantrill and especially Sele, who slotted in and started dropping curveballs on the black right away. One funny memory that this discussion on the now-forgotten '93 squad dislodged was my dad and I excitedly discussing the prospect of the Sox picking up Rickey Henderson, who was having a monster season for the suddenly bad A's, for the stretch drive. (I can't remember if this was us baselessly speculating or if there were actual rumors). Of course, Rickey went to the already loaded Jays at the trade deadline and Toronto never looked back.
 

Erik Hanson's Hook

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28-7 is nothing to sneeze at. That was genuinely a glorious run - I remember thinking that we really had something in Ryan, Quantrill and especially Sele, who slotted in and started dropping curveballs on the black right away. One funny memory that this discussion on the now-forgotten '93 squad dislodged was my dad and I excitedly discussing the prospect of the Sox picking up Rickey Henderson, who was having a monster season for the suddenly bad A's, for the stretch drive. (I can't remember if this was us baselessly speculating or if there were actual rumors). Of course, Rickey went to the already loaded Jays at the trade deadline and Toronto never looked back.
Lots of cool 1993 memories in this thread. My Dad one:

We were on vacation at Hampton Beach (the big Destination for many middle class Western Massachut-tians in the mid-90's). Pops is in a borderline bad mood, as parents are wont to be during the logistics of family trips. Towards the end of that 28-7 streak, they won a game on a liner to centerfield that caught Billy Hatcher midway; he didn't know whether to go low or high, so he just makes this weird basket catch while charging in from center. It was like the fourth game they had won during our trip, and Pops yells "Hey! Alright!" I realized then at age12 the power of sports to change the mood in a room.

RIP my BillyHatcher'sBasketCatch handle from 2005 :) A happy sacrifice to the a annals of history
 

TFisNEXT

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Lots of cool 1993 memories in this thread. My Dad one:

We were on vacation at Hampton Beach (the big Destination for many middle class Western Massachut-tians in the mid-90's). Pops is in a borderline bad mood, as parents are wont to be during the logistics of family trips. Towards the end of that 28-7 streak, they won a game on a liner to centerfield that caught Billy Hatcher midway; he didn't know whether to go low or high, so he just makes this weird basket catch while charging in from center. It was like the fourth game they had won during our trip, and Pops yells "Hey! Alright!" I realized then at age12 the power of sports to change the mood in a room.

RIP my BillyHatcher'sBasketCatch handle from 2005 :) A happy sacrifice to the a annals of history
I am roughly the same age as you since I turned 12 during that 1993 season. I always tell people that the ‘93 season was the first one where I truly got sucked in and never looked back.

I had remembered watching and rooting for the Red Sox on TV in 1986, 1988, and 1990, I was already a full Red Sox fan, but I hadn’t truly become mesmerized yet…I was just a shade too young. But the 1993 squad cast a spell of Red Sox Fever over me that never went away.

I had started getting sucked in a bit more than normal early that season but it was during that 10 game winning streak I became entranced. Earlier in the thread I referenced going to a 6-5 walk-off extra innings win over the A’s which was like their 8th win during that 10 game streak. The buzz felt different in that game compared to other games I had gone too in previous seasons. There had already been a lot of buzz back at home and in the papers and on tv about them, but walking through Kenmore square before the game, that’s all anybody was talking about. Everyone was talking about the winning streak and how fun this team was. Then after the game, it was like a full-on party at Kenmore walking back to the car. Strangers high-fiving eachother and crap like that. It really was like 6 weeks of magic for a 12 year old fan.
 

BuellMiller

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Lots of cool 1993 memories in this thread. My Dad one:

We were on vacation at Hampton Beach (the big Destination for many middle class Western Massachut-tians in the mid-90's). Pops is in a borderline bad mood, as parents are wont to be during the logistics of family trips. Towards the end of that 28-7 streak, they won a game on a liner to centerfield that caught Billy Hatcher midway; he didn't know whether to go low or high, so he just makes this weird basket catch while charging in from center. It was like the fourth game they had won during our trip, and Pops yells "Hey! Alright!" I realized then at age12 the power of sports to change the mood in a room.

RIP my BillyHatcher'sBasketCatch handle from 2005 :) A happy sacrifice to the a annals of history
I think the 1993 season has a special place among mediocre Red Sox teams (at least for a lot of late Gen X, early Millennials like myself) since it was used for the players stats in Ken Griffey baseball on SNES. Though, I don’t know what Joe Hesketh did to be named after one of the worst TV characters (D.Chambers). And why A. Burr for Mo? At least they could have done S.Adams. Or anyone else not from NY.