The Ten Greatest Individual Offensive Seasons In Red Sox History
The Red Sox are one of the most illustrious franchises in MLB history. They were the champions of the first World Series, and excluding the 85-year-long Curse of Bambino, the Sox have been one of the winningest franchises in league history. In their 121-year existence, many an offensive talent has walked into the home clubhouse at Fenway Park. However, only a select few can claim to be an all-time great in a Red Sox uniform. Today, I present to you the ten greatest offensive seasons in Red Sox history.
(Disclaimer: Because Ted Williams has the top six seasons, they will all be tallied as one. Furthermore, any time a player has multiple consecutive seasons on the list, it’ll be tallied as one season.)
Before I begin, let me take you through how I determined the scores. Because this list was comparing seasons from contrasting eras, counting stats weren’t very valuable. For example, a home run in 1910 is way more valuable than one in 2022, therefore counting stats such as homers, runs, RBI, hits, stolen bases, walks, strikeouts, doubles, and triples only make up a small percentage of a player’s point total. Most of the points came from four things: oWAR, AVG, OBP, and SLG. Yes, I know that points aren’t the best way to calculate things like this. However, this project is more of a test than anything else to see whether or not the system works for future endeavors.
Let’s get to it!
#10: Wade Boggs 1987: 125.43
When it comes to the greatest contact hitters of all time, Boggs needs to be discussed more often. A career .328 hitter, Boggs was one of the very best at making contact throughout his 17-year career. In his first season, 1982, the Red Sox 3rd baseman made an immediate impact, batting .349 in his first 104 games in the Major Leagues. He did have some other incredible seasons which did not make the cut, such as his 1988 which placed 11th on the list. At the end of the day, Boggs’ 1987 was easily his magnum opus. For starters, he hit 24 homers this year, 13 more than he would ever hit in any other season of his illustrious career. Boggs also tallied 40 doubles and 89 RBI, but those weren’t anywhere close to his most impressive accomplishments on the season.
“Chicken Man” (yes that is his nickname) finished with a 2.2/1 walk ratio, recording over twice as many walks as he did strikeouts. His K% was at a minuscule 7.2% (which was in fact one of the worst marks of his career) while his BB% more than doubled that at 15.7%. Even with his high power output and incredible batting eye, I would have to say that Boggs’ best statistic of 1987 was his .363 batting average, a mark which led the league for the 3rd consecutive season. He tallied a remarkable .461 OBP as well, much greater than the season average. When factoring in his 7.7 oWAR, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why this is one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history.
#9: Carl Yastrzemski 1970: 131.60
When I started this exercise, I thought that Yaz would only have one season on this list; his legendary 1967 Triple Crown year. However, of course, I underestimated him, and lo and behold he has not one, but two of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history. One oddity of his career was that outside of his historic 1967 and 1970 performances, Yaz didn’t have a single season among the top 25 in Red Sox history. He is a Hall-of-Famer who played for 22 years, but somehow he only finished with two of the top 26 seasons in Sox history.
1970 wasn’t a great time to be a Red Sox fan. Sure the lineup boasted Yaz, Tony C, and Rico Petrocelli, but the Red Sox were a slightly above average team at best. However, their mediocrity was most definitely not due to anything Yaz was doing. In a year where the Sox missed the playoffs and won 87 games, Yaz led the league with a remarkable 179 wRC+, a stat that can be found here. The slugging first baseman finished with a .329/.452/.592 slash line, which in turn gave him an elite 1.044 OPS (OBP + SLG). Yaz recorded 8.9 oWAR, a league-leading amount of the stat which is arguably the most important one on my list. Then when you factor in his 40 homers, 102 RBI, and league-leading marks for OBP and SLG, it’s a no-brainer to see this as the 9th greatest season in Sox history.
#8: Jimmie Foxx 1939: 134.18
Foxx’s 1939 was incredible, yet it wasn’t even the best season of his Red Sox career (more on that later). His power numbers in particular were stupendous. Somehow his 1939 season was 144% better than the league average as a power hitter (using ISO+), as he crushed 35 homers and narrowly beat out Joe DiMaggio for the wRC+ crown with a 181 wRC+. Foxx boasted an incredible .360/.464/.694 slash line, receiving over 20 points each from his oWAR, OBP, and SLG totals. Foxx’s wOBA (a metric that calculates not only the OBP but also the value of each time a player reaches base. For example, while a homer and single would be valued equally using OBP, in wOBA a homer or extra-base hit is more valuable than a simple single) was an astonishing .507, which of course topped the Majors.
One aspect of this season that amazed me is that although Foxx played in only 124 games, he still ranked among the league leaders in a multitude of categories. He led the league with 35 homers, two more than Hank Greenberg and four more than his rookie teammate, a young man by the name of Ted Williams. He finished 8th in RBIs, 2nd in oWAR to Joey D, 3rd in runs scored, 2nd in total bases, and 1st in OPS+. It was a remarkable season from a remarkable player.
#7: Mookie Betts 2018: 136.46
The only post-1990 season to crack the top 10, Mookie’s 2018 was nothing short of historic. (If you’re wondering, JD Martinez’s 2018 finished 14th.) Betts’ .346/.438/.640 slash line was incredible, and he led the Majors in runs, batting average, and slugging percentage en route to his first (and so far only) MVP award. Betts’s .449 wOBA was tops in the Majors as well, and his 185 wRC+ was just barely behind the modern-day kingpin of wRC+, Mike Trout, who from 2011–2019 placed 20 points higher than the 2nd place finisher, Aaron Judge. (That gap is as large as the one between Judge and the #30 Ronald Acuna Jr.)
Mookie’s 8.7 oWAR, .438 OBP, 1.078 SLG, and 186 OPS+ were all second to Trout, who was having a historically great season in his own right. But all in all, the now former-Red Sox star deserved the MVP award, as not only did he put together one of the greatest seasons we have ever seen, but he also led his team to a World Series title and a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins. Honestly, I thought this season was going to end up a little higher on the list.
#6: Tris Speaker 1912: 138.62
Now we’re talking history. The early 1900s isn’t exactly remembered for its legendary hitters, but Speaker deserves to be mentioned among some of the all-time greats of the sport. He should legitimately be a top-35 player of all time, and to top it all off he has the most doubles in MLB history with 792 over 22 years. Speaker had quite a few terrific seasons with the Sox, but none of them compare to his 1912.
Keeping in mind that home runs weren’t a thing back then, Speaker clobbered 53 doubles and led the Majors with ten homers and a .464 OBP. Speaker’s total slash line was .383/.464/.567, and he stole 52 bases while knocking in 90 RBI as well. His 190 wRC+ barely finished in front of Ty Cobb, and his .483 wOBA was tied with Shoeless Joe Jackson for second place, also behind Cobb. Speaker’s main source of points from the 1912 season were both his 9.3 oWAR and his aforementioned .464 OBP.
#5: Babe Ruth 1919: 141.64
It’s time for Red Sox fans to look away. This was Ruth’s first season as a primarily offensive player, and it was also his last full season in a Sox uniform. Owner Harry Frazee needed some cash to finance his Broadway shows, so he sold Ruth to the Yankees for 300,000$, and the rest is history. Anyway, at least the Red Sox got one of the greatest offensive seasons ever out of Ruth before he left for New York.
Ruth led the Majors in a plethora of statistics in 1919. First of all, he slashed .322/.456/.657, leading the league in OBP and SLG. His 217 OPS+ was tops in the league as well, and his 29 homers and 113 RBI both placed first in the MLB. It was the first “Ruth-ian” season that the MLB ever witnessed. His 203 wRC+ placed 42 points higher than Ty Cobb, the 2nd place finisher. That’s about as large as the distance between Cobb and the #24 finisher in 1919, Nemo Leibold. It was the second time in Major League history that an individual eclipsed 20 homers in a single season, the first being Frank Schulte in 1911. Red Sox fans, if there is any icing on the cake, it’s that Ruth helped you guys win three World Series titles in five years.
#4: Carl Yastrzemski 1967: 143.70
This was the first post-Ted Williams Triple Crown season in Red Sox history. Before this season, Yaz was widely regarded as a good but not great hitter. His career OPS+ up to that point was 125, which although very good, is nowhere near what’s expected from a Hall-of-Fame player. This was the season that catapulted Yaz into superstardom. He led the Majors with 44 homers and 121 RBI, and led in all three slash marks as well, posting a .326 batting average, .418 OBP, and .622 SLG.
Yaz’s 9.9 oWAR garnered 39.6 points on my chart, and when you couple that with his point totals from OBP and SLG, it becomes easy to understand how this season was a top-5 finisher. His 194 wRC+ was tops in the Majors, and his ISO grade was 143% above the league average. There was nothing that Captain Carl didn’t do at an elite level in 1967, with the only exception being the fact that he struck out too much. It was truly an exceptional year.
#3: Ted Williams 1948: 146.63
Stan Musial had the best 1948 of any player in baseball, and it wasn’t remotely close. His 201 wRC+ finished 18 points higher than Ted Williams’ mark of 183 wRC+. Musial just barely missed out on the Triple Crown, but he was head and shoulders above everyone else. However, even though Teddy Ballgame was clearly second fiddle, he was still head and shoulders above every other player in the league. His 183 wRC+ may have been second to Musial, but it was well in front of Lou Boudreau’s 3rd place tally of 166. Williams crushed 25 homers with 127 RBI, boasting a slash line of .369/.497/.634, leading the AL in all three categories.
The craziest thing about this season is that it’s not even among the top six of Williams’ career. He led the league in every single slash mark, crushed 44 doubles, the aforementioned 25 homers, and 127 RBI, and his BB:K ratio was over 3:1, but somehow this didn’t even crack his top six. That goes to show just how great Ted Williams truly is as a hitter. In my eyes, it is a factual statement to say that Theodore Samuel Williams is the single greatest hitter to ever play Major League Baseball.
#2: Jimmie Foxx 1938: 148.98
Sandwiched in between The Splendid Splinter is the first 50-homer season in Red Sox history, orchestrated by the already mentioned Jimmie Foxx. He won the Triple Crown in 1938, batting .349 while crushing 50 homers and a whopping 175 RBI. His 173 wRC+ placed in third behind Mel Ott and Johnny Mize, but his 183 OPS+ was the highest mark in baseball. Foxx led the league with 119 walks as well, and the 1938 season culminated with him winning his third MVP award of the decade.
It takes a special talent to have a season that ranks higher than a prime Ted Williams season. Foxx was the only player to eclipse any one of Williams’ seven best seasons, and he did it with a season of his own which might not even rank among his three best years, all of which came when he was still in the Philadelphia Athletics organization. There really isn’t much to say at this point, the stats speak for themselves.
Before we get to number one, there are still five Ted Williams seasons that are higher than every other one on this list but are lower than Teddy Ballgame’s best season. Here they are:
Ted Williams 1947: 154.765 (Triple Crown)
Ted Williams 1949: 155.06
Ted Williams 1946: 165.65
Ted Williams 1942: 167.03 (Triple Crown)
Ted Williams 1957: 169.70
#1: Ted Williams 1941: 188.8
I haven’t gone through any other teams yet, and this season from Ted Williams might end up as the best non-Barry Bonds steroid-enhanced season of all time. For starters, the MVP race was a complete robbery, with Joe DiMaggio winning due to his 56-game hitting streak and the Yankees winning 101 games. Williams had him beat in homers, batting average, OBP, SLG, runs, walks, wRC+, OPS+, wOBA, WAR. The list goes on and on. Nearly every stat favors Williams, but because the Yankees finished first in the standings, DiMaggio won the MVP. If the voting was determined back then like it is now, Williams may have won it unanimously.
(If you read this far, give me a :) in the comments. This is the first part of the six-month project I was talking about. I decided to post part one a little early for all of you.)
Now it’s time for us to see just how much better this season was than any other season from 1941. Williams’ 221 wRC+ was 40 points ahead of Joe DiMaggio, the second-place finisher. Next up is wOBA, and Williams finished with an all-time great .568 mark, 82 points ahead of DiMaggio, the second-place finisher once again. Williams’ 1.287 OPS was over 200 points higher than DiMaggio’s 1.083 mark, his .735 SLG was 92 points above DiMaggio’s .643 mark, and his .553 OBP was 101 points above Ray Cullenbine’s mark of .452. I won’t even get starting on batting average, as this was the final time any player ever hit above .400.
It was a season for the ages, and I doubt it will be replicated ever again.
Thanks for tuning in today.
