2025 Red Sox and MLB Thread
- Thread starter Deus Irae
- Start date
Richard Paul Burleson "Rooster" played for three American League teams over 13 seasons and was an intense ballplayer. Boston Red Sox teammate Bill Lee once said of Burleson, "Some guys didn't like to lose, but Rick got angry if the score was even tied."
Burleson received All-Star nods in 1978 and 1979-In 1979, Burleson batted .278, scored 90 runs and earned the AL's Gold Glove Award at short to earn his first of two consecutive Thomas A. Yawkey Awards as the Most Valuable Player of the Boston Red Sox. He batted .278 with a career high eight home runs and 89 runs scored, and set a major league record for double plays by a shortstop in a single season with 147 en route to winning the award the following season. From 1975 to 1980, he played in at least 145 games and got at least 140 hits each season.
*MLB debut
May 4, 1974, for the Boston Red Sox
*Last MLB appearance
July 8, 1987, for the Baltimore Orioles
*MLB statistics
Batting average
.273
Home runs
50
Runs batted in
449
Teams
As player
* Boston Red Sox (1974–1980)
* California Angels (1981–1984, 1986)
* Baltimore Orioles (1987)
As coach
* Oakland Athletics (1991)
* Boston Red Sox (1992–1993)
* California Angels (1995–1996)
Career highlights and awards
* 4× All-Star (1977–1979, 1981)
* Gold Glove Award (1979)
* Silver Slugger Award (1981)
* Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
captain stone
Well-known member
Dude should've been on the 1986 RS also, not the Angels... But then so too should've been Cecil Cooper, Fisk, Lynn, Eckersley...
For almost two full decades, the Boston Red Sox had one of the most steady and durable presences in their franchise's history patrolling the corner outfield. Dwight Evans, who spent 19 of his 20 big league seasons as a member of the Red Sox, was solid as a rock all throughout his career in Boston.
In his career, "Dewey" recorded 2,446 hits, 483 doubles, 385 home runs and 1,384 RBI thanks to a sense of patience and pitch recognition at the plate that was rivaled by so few. He finished his tenure in the big leagues with a .272 average, .840 OPS and 127 OPS+ that puts his career numbers at 27% better than league average.
Evans is one of the increasingly rare talents in the game that had just as much prowess on defense as he did on offense. He appeared in just three All-Star Games and won just two Silver Sluggers, but he took home eight Gold Gloves in right field. All he ever did was reach base, manufacture runs and play a mean corner outfield.
All this in mind, it is more than a little bit confusing as to why he didn't receive a longer look when he was up for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Evans fell off the ballot the first time around when he fell short of the minimum percentage of votes in his third year of eligibility. Then in 2019, he was a part of the Modern Baseball Era ballot but he fell just four votes short of election from the 16-member voting panel.
Evans was a shoo-in to make the Red Sox Hall of Fame, but the argument can absolutely be made that he should have received more love in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a whole, too. A player of his durability and consistency doesn't come around often.
It's also borderline unfair to have put him on a ballot like the one he landed on after his playing days were over. So frequently, we see players who deserve a long look get put on ballots with five or more surefire Hall of Famers, resulting in the players in the first category getting overshadowed.
That's exactly what happened to Evans, as he shared a ballot with Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Carlton Fisk and Robin Yount in his third and final year of eligibility. A player of Evans' stature gets overlooked when put alongside the aforementioned quartet. He even fell victim to this on his own team, as he spent so many years sharing the field with Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski.
There's also the fact that most of Evans' late-career power came at a time where 30 or more home runs every year was much less exciting than it had been in the decade prior. By the time he started tapping into the majority of his power, he was overshadowed on the leaderboards by players who were hitting between 40 and 50 balls a year out of the park.
There are only 50 players in MLB history to have at least 67.2 bWAR and a career .840 OPS as Evans did. Of that group, only seven of them are not in the Hall of Fame, with four of them are being kept out due to their ties with steroid use. Three more — Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Mookie Betts - are either active or not eligible to make the Hall yet. That stat alone is telling, as it makes Evans' career look a whole lot more impressive.
Evans had a long career of above-average play on both sides of the ball. He was a true on-base machine who hit the ball in the gap, he hit it over the fence and he drew a ton of walks while not striking out at alarming rates. This, paired with his silky-smooth defense in the outfield meant he was one of the more well-rounded players you'd come across. The fact that he was kept out of the Hall on two separate occasions is one that's not justifiable, so don't be surprised to see him make his way to Cooperstown once he's eligible for another "old timers ballot" down the line.
In his career, "Dewey" recorded 2,446 hits, 483 doubles, 385 home runs and 1,384 RBI thanks to a sense of patience and pitch recognition at the plate that was rivaled by so few. He finished his tenure in the big leagues with a .272 average, .840 OPS and 127 OPS+ that puts his career numbers at 27% better than league average.
Evans is one of the increasingly rare talents in the game that had just as much prowess on defense as he did on offense. He appeared in just three All-Star Games and won just two Silver Sluggers, but he took home eight Gold Gloves in right field. All he ever did was reach base, manufacture runs and play a mean corner outfield.
All this in mind, it is more than a little bit confusing as to why he didn't receive a longer look when he was up for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Evans fell off the ballot the first time around when he fell short of the minimum percentage of votes in his third year of eligibility. Then in 2019, he was a part of the Modern Baseball Era ballot but he fell just four votes short of election from the 16-member voting panel.
Evans was a shoo-in to make the Red Sox Hall of Fame, but the argument can absolutely be made that he should have received more love in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a whole, too. A player of his durability and consistency doesn't come around often.
Dwight Evans deserved more Hall of Fame consideration
To start, it's a shame to say, but Evans likely would've made it into the Hall when he was first eligible if he recorded 54 more hits to reach 2,500 and hit 15 more home runs to reach 400. For a long stretch, career milestones like these basically resulted in an automatic election. He clearly did not receive any additional votes for being "close but not quite."It's also borderline unfair to have put him on a ballot like the one he landed on after his playing days were over. So frequently, we see players who deserve a long look get put on ballots with five or more surefire Hall of Famers, resulting in the players in the first category getting overshadowed.
That's exactly what happened to Evans, as he shared a ballot with Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Carlton Fisk and Robin Yount in his third and final year of eligibility. A player of Evans' stature gets overlooked when put alongside the aforementioned quartet. He even fell victim to this on his own team, as he spent so many years sharing the field with Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski.
There's also the fact that most of Evans' late-career power came at a time where 30 or more home runs every year was much less exciting than it had been in the decade prior. By the time he started tapping into the majority of his power, he was overshadowed on the leaderboards by players who were hitting between 40 and 50 balls a year out of the park.
There are only 50 players in MLB history to have at least 67.2 bWAR and a career .840 OPS as Evans did. Of that group, only seven of them are not in the Hall of Fame, with four of them are being kept out due to their ties with steroid use. Three more — Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Mookie Betts - are either active or not eligible to make the Hall yet. That stat alone is telling, as it makes Evans' career look a whole lot more impressive.
Evans had a long career of above-average play on both sides of the ball. He was a true on-base machine who hit the ball in the gap, he hit it over the fence and he drew a ton of walks while not striking out at alarming rates. This, paired with his silky-smooth defense in the outfield meant he was one of the more well-rounded players you'd come across. The fact that he was kept out of the Hall on two separate occasions is one that's not justifiable, so don't be surprised to see him make his way to Cooperstown once he's eligible for another "old timers ballot" down the line.
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli played his entire Major League Baseball career as a shortstop and third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, where he established himself as a fan favorite for his powerful hitting and his solid defensive play. A two-time All-Star shortstop, Petrocelli appeared in two World Series with the Red Sox (1967, 1975). In 1997, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
*MLB debut
September 21, 1963 Boston Red Sox
*Last MLB appearance
September 14, 1976 Boston Red Sox
*MLB statistics
Batting average
.251
Home runs
210
Runs batted in
773
*Teams
* Boston Red Sox (1963, 1965–1976)
*Career highlights and awards
* 2× All-Star (1967, 1969)
* Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
*MLB debut
September 21, 1963 Boston Red Sox
*Last MLB appearance
September 14, 1976 Boston Red Sox
*MLB statistics
Batting average
.251
Home runs
210
Runs batted in
773
*Teams
* Boston Red Sox (1963, 1965–1976)
*Career highlights and awards
* 2× All-Star (1967, 1969)
* Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
captain stone
Well-known member
For a couple of years there, the Red Sox had the best-hitting infield in baseball, but was prematurely broken-up by O'Connell & Kasko
A lawsuit filed this week accused Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, of covering up the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl who was a member of their church in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Rivera, who was the closer for the New York Yankees for 17 seasons, and his wife are alleged to have "isolated and intimidated" the girl into remaining silent about her abuse to prevent issues for Refuge of Hope, the church the couple helped found, the lawsuit said.
Refuge of Hope is part of the broader Assemblies of God religion and organization.
The lawsuit, filed by the girl, now 17, and her mother, neither of whom are named to protect their privacy, is seeking unspecified damages for negligent supervision and premises liability. The Riveras are identified for their alleged roles but are not named as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Clara Rivera, who serves as a pastor at the church, told the mother that the girl should take part in a summer internship through Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, another Assemblies of God church.
The complaint alleges that Refuge of Hope paid for the girl to attend and required her to stay in a dormitory with other children without parental supervision. Court documents say that an older female camper, identified in the lawsuit only as "MG," repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl, who was about 11 at the time, in the dorm and shower.
The girl told her mother about the abuse and then reported her concerns to Clara Rivera, who told the mother that she would investigate and get back to her, the lawsuit said. But the situation was not rectified, court documents say, and the Riveras allegedly told the mother the girl was “safe and in no danger."
The Riveras are accused of failing to take appropriate action and handling the allegations internally to “avoid scrutiny, public scandal, and potential financial losses from allegations of child sexual abuse becoming public information,” the lawsuit reads.
A Refuge of Hope youth leader, Ruben Tavarez Jr., who is the son of an associate pastor, is accused of abusing the girl in 2021, which included "graphic electronic communications of a sexual nature." It ended when the girl's mother confronted Tavarez, according to the lawsuit.
Last month, affiliates of the Assemblies of God settled three lawsuits that alleged similar abuse of minors. A former staff member of Ignite Life Center entered into a plea agreement in connection with sexual abuse.
Rivera, who was the closer for the New York Yankees for 17 seasons, and his wife are alleged to have "isolated and intimidated" the girl into remaining silent about her abuse to prevent issues for Refuge of Hope, the church the couple helped found, the lawsuit said.
Refuge of Hope is part of the broader Assemblies of God religion and organization.
The lawsuit, filed by the girl, now 17, and her mother, neither of whom are named to protect their privacy, is seeking unspecified damages for negligent supervision and premises liability. The Riveras are identified for their alleged roles but are not named as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Clara Rivera, who serves as a pastor at the church, told the mother that the girl should take part in a summer internship through Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, another Assemblies of God church.
The complaint alleges that Refuge of Hope paid for the girl to attend and required her to stay in a dormitory with other children without parental supervision. Court documents say that an older female camper, identified in the lawsuit only as "MG," repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl, who was about 11 at the time, in the dorm and shower.
The girl told her mother about the abuse and then reported her concerns to Clara Rivera, who told the mother that she would investigate and get back to her, the lawsuit said. But the situation was not rectified, court documents say, and the Riveras allegedly told the mother the girl was “safe and in no danger."
The abuse continued at the Riveras' home during a barbecue after the girl returned from the internship, according to the lawsuit. The couple allegedly did not invite parents to the event, only the church's children, and the girl was left unsupervised with "MG" even after knowing of the abuse.
The Riveras are accused of failing to take appropriate action and handling the allegations internally to “avoid scrutiny, public scandal, and potential financial losses from allegations of child sexual abuse becoming public information,” the lawsuit reads.
A Refuge of Hope youth leader, Ruben Tavarez Jr., who is the son of an associate pastor, is accused of abusing the girl in 2021, which included "graphic electronic communications of a sexual nature." It ended when the girl's mother confronted Tavarez, according to the lawsuit.
Last month, affiliates of the Assemblies of God settled three lawsuits that alleged similar abuse of minors. A former staff member of Ignite Life Center entered into a plea agreement in connection with sexual abuse.
I think they're a borderline 100 loss team. Play-offs? Hahahahahahahahaha
View: https://x.com/SavageSports_/status/1884958073061556567
View: https://x.com/SavageSports_/status/1884958073061556567
captain stone
Well-known member
captain stone
Well-known member
They, theoretically, will have a much better starting rotation, and some of the guys from last year's rotation will slide into the bullpen and upgrade that, at least in terms of depth. They need at least one more bat, and they've got the money for it.
But, sure, if things fall well, they can be a playoff team.
Recommend "The Comeback" on Netflix. It's a 3 part documentary on the 2004 Red Sox. Each part is a couple minutes over an hour long. That's over 3 hours of good memories.
I bought Netflix for the game that was on it in the playoffs. It's $6.99 a month. I've already canceled it but still have a few days remaining on my last payment.
www.imdb.com
I bought Netflix for the game that was on it in the playoffs. It's $6.99 a month. I've already canceled it but still have a few days remaining on my last payment.
The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (TV Mini Series 2024) ⭐ 8.3 | Documentary, Sport
1h | TV-MA
www.imdb.com
During the Sam Kennedy era, we have been told “full throttle” and “we’re all in” relative to their Red Sox free agency intentions to spend in order to get this very young and talented team over the 90 win threshold.
Despite Kennedy’s claims of being willing to spend, not one single significant free agent has been signed in those 6 consecutive off seasons. Reality is that the only consistent action that has taken place during his stewardship has been for the payroll to be reduced in each and every of those off seasons.
Now, I fully expect the “what, you want to spend for the sake of spending” boo birds to make excuses for the team’s frugality (cheapness might be a more accurate adjective) but we all know that, in each of the past three seasons, we might very well have made it into the playoffs if one or two strategically chosen players had been acquired through free agency to fill obvious holes in the rotation or lineup. This year has been exactly like the past several years. They make moves that don’t cost money but elect to ignore a big hole (this year a right hand thumper) rather than spend the money to fix it. Teoscar, Santander, Alonso, Bregman, Arenado, Guerrero and Luis Robert have all been “rumored” to be possible acquisitions via free agency or trade. All of them have salaries that would increase payroll over last year’s so it comes as no surprise that all of those rumors have, one by one, been shown to be false.
Now it is being rumored that they’ll sign Randy Grichuk to a one year, $12m contract to platoon with Yoshida at DH. A $12m deal will keep their 6 year streak of reducing payroll in tact.
Now, not to disparage Randy too much, I don’t believe he’s the answer to balancing the lineup as much as he’s the answer to reducing the payroll while hoodwinking casual fans into believing they tried.
This is the Sam Kennedy led franchise. I don’t blame John Henry for this. He has given Kennedy the keys and Kennedy is driving the franchise into the ground. Under Luciano, Epstein and Dombrowski’s leadership, the team made money and delivered competitive baseball more often than not. Fenway was sold out every game and fans travelled to other venues to watch them as well. Now, there are games where the visiting team has more fans in attendance than the Sox. That doesn’t matter to Kennedy because he doesn’t care who’s Fanny is in the seat so long as there are Fannie’s in the seats. Kennedy is a pencil pushing twit who embraces the simplistic belief that reducing cost is how you grow profits. He has forgotten a key ingredient to the equation which is quality.
If we take a hard look at the team, they are, at best, a third place team with 85 wins or worst case, a last place team with 80 wins. Pitching is better, lineup is worse. Yes, they have three good youngsters on the cusp but we all know that pinning your hope on rookies is dumb. Look at how Jackson Holliday performed last year. He was called a “lock”… but performed horribly.
Until John Henry puts a baseball person in charge of the team instead of Sam
Kennedy, we’ll continue to watch the team come up short of our expectations.
Despite Kennedy’s claims of being willing to spend, not one single significant free agent has been signed in those 6 consecutive off seasons. Reality is that the only consistent action that has taken place during his stewardship has been for the payroll to be reduced in each and every of those off seasons.
Now, I fully expect the “what, you want to spend for the sake of spending” boo birds to make excuses for the team’s frugality (cheapness might be a more accurate adjective) but we all know that, in each of the past three seasons, we might very well have made it into the playoffs if one or two strategically chosen players had been acquired through free agency to fill obvious holes in the rotation or lineup. This year has been exactly like the past several years. They make moves that don’t cost money but elect to ignore a big hole (this year a right hand thumper) rather than spend the money to fix it. Teoscar, Santander, Alonso, Bregman, Arenado, Guerrero and Luis Robert have all been “rumored” to be possible acquisitions via free agency or trade. All of them have salaries that would increase payroll over last year’s so it comes as no surprise that all of those rumors have, one by one, been shown to be false.
Now it is being rumored that they’ll sign Randy Grichuk to a one year, $12m contract to platoon with Yoshida at DH. A $12m deal will keep their 6 year streak of reducing payroll in tact.
Now, not to disparage Randy too much, I don’t believe he’s the answer to balancing the lineup as much as he’s the answer to reducing the payroll while hoodwinking casual fans into believing they tried.
This is the Sam Kennedy led franchise. I don’t blame John Henry for this. He has given Kennedy the keys and Kennedy is driving the franchise into the ground. Under Luciano, Epstein and Dombrowski’s leadership, the team made money and delivered competitive baseball more often than not. Fenway was sold out every game and fans travelled to other venues to watch them as well. Now, there are games where the visiting team has more fans in attendance than the Sox. That doesn’t matter to Kennedy because he doesn’t care who’s Fanny is in the seat so long as there are Fannie’s in the seats. Kennedy is a pencil pushing twit who embraces the simplistic belief that reducing cost is how you grow profits. He has forgotten a key ingredient to the equation which is quality.
If we take a hard look at the team, they are, at best, a third place team with 85 wins or worst case, a last place team with 80 wins. Pitching is better, lineup is worse. Yes, they have three good youngsters on the cusp but we all know that pinning your hope on rookies is dumb. Look at how Jackson Holliday performed last year. He was called a “lock”… but performed horribly.
Until John Henry puts a baseball person in charge of the team instead of Sam
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