The 5 greatest Boston Red Sox hitters in franchise history

Since 1901, countless MLB greats have called Fenway Park home. Here are the five greatest hitters in Boston Red Sox history.

When considering who the greatest hitters in Boston Red Sox history are, there’s no shortage of names that comes to mind. The historic franchise has been home to hundreds of incredible players, but who are the best of the best?

I want to preface this blog by admitting that no list of the “5 Greatest Hitters” in Boston Red Sox history will ever be factually correct. No amount of sabermetrics can effectively support the declaration that a player from one generation is “better” than a player from a different generation. However, using the information we have, we can form very strong opinions.

I consider myself somewhat of a baseball purist. What I mean by that is that I don’t necessarily believe in the new-school philosophy of hitting. The whole “hit the ball in the air” thing? I think it’s overrated. You can shove advanced statistics in my face all you want, but the 2017 Red Sox proved you can still win without the long-ball. What does that have to do with anything? I’m glad you asked.

When I made this list, I didn’t base it off career offensive WAR. I didn’t base it off home runs, slugging percentage, or even batting average. I selected players who I believe to be true masters of their craft. Complete hitters. If you disagree with me, well, I’d love to respectfully tell you why you’re wrong. Let’s get started.

5. Jim Rice

Jim Rice has a whole lot of accolades to go along with his name. MLB Hall of Famer, 8x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, 1978 MVP, yada yada yada. What’s most impressive about Rice as a hitter was his versatility.

In his 16-year career in Boston, Rice had four seasons with over 200 hits, 4 seasons with at least 39 home runs, and 8 seasons with over 100 RBIs.

A career .298 hitter, Rice was the poster child of consistency. In seasons in which he played at least 140 games, his batting average never dropped below .280 and he never struck out more than 126 times. The righty hit for average and power, and he did it every single year.

What allowed Rice to hit so well was his simple but powerful swing. He wasted no movement because his swing had very little movement to begin with. When Rice stepped into the box, he was hunched over and coiled up like a spring, waiting to fire at any moment.

His stride was minimal and his hand-load was almost nonexistent. All he had to do was release the pent up energy he created with the aforementioned “coil”, and boom. His hands were through the hitting zone and the ball was on its way. With such a simple, direct swing, Rice was able to connect with anything thrown his way.

Equipped with such a beautifully simple swing and the power of a Greek God, Jim Rice put together a Hall-of-Fame career. He’s definitely earned a spot on this list.

4. David Ortiz

I may be biased because of my age, but this list would be incomplete without Big Papi. It was between him and Carl Yastrzemski for the No.4 spot on this list, so I decided to throw a bone to the player who joined the Boston Red Sox when I was 6 years old.

Quite simply, David Ortiz is the greatest designated hitter in the history of baseball. If you want to argue that that title goes to Edgar Martinez, I can live with that. The fact of the matter is, there are only two legitimate nominees for that honor, and Ortiz is one of them.

Related Story: 5 things we love about David Ortiz

Ortiz is 17th all-time in home runs (541), and his career slugging percentage (.551) is good enough for 24th all-time. Name a statistic — Ortiz is probably near the top of the list.

But no discussion of David Ortiz will ever be complete without mentioning his late-game heroics. They say Ortiz is the man in whom the clutch-gene was first discovered. In his career, Big Papi recorded 23 walk-off hits, 13 of which were home runs. He ranks 3rd in regular season walk-off bombs and is the only player with 2 walk-off home runs in playoff games.

His clutchness was most apparent in the Red Sox’ famous 2004 World Series run. Papi was the man who kept the season alive so many times, and he ultimately helped Reverse the Curse.

But clutch-factor aside, the most impressive thing about Ortiz is his longevity. The man played until he was 40 years old, and his 40-year-old season was one of the best of his career. In 2016, Papi batted .315 with a .620 slugging, 38 home runs, 48 doubles, and 127 RBIs. Oh, and you can’t overlook his 2 stolen bases. Speed demon.

With the game on the line, there’s no one I’d rather have up than David Ortiz. He is, in my opinion, the greatest designated hitter of all time, and the 4th greatest hitter in Boston Red Sox history. 34 will mean “Ortiz” in Boston from now until eternity.

3. Manny Ramirez

To many, the phrase “Manny being Manny” means goofing off, being lazy, and not taking the game seriously. When Manny Ramirez messed up, it was just “Manny being Manny”. He made us laugh, and he made us angry.

For me, “Manny being Manny” means something different. It means playing the game loosely, having fun, and dominating. What most people don’t realize about Manny is that he was (and still is) one of the hardest working hitters in the history of the game. When it comes to hitting, Manny is Michelangelo and his swing is David.

"“Some people won’t believe this, but I’ve never seen a harder worker than Manny Ramirez,” Wrote Pedro Martinez in a Players’ Tribune article, “I’ve never seen someone more dedicated to understanding his body and the rhythm of hitting. If you ask David [Ortiz], he’ll tell you that he learned hitting from Manny.” More from Chowder and Champions 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win"

I could bore you with some stats, but I’d rather — actually let’s do some stats really quick. In his career, Manny batted .312 with 555 home runs (15th all-time) and a .585 slugging percentage (8th all-time). Oh, and with all his power, he still managed to win a batting title in 2002 (.349 BA).

Okay, now let’s get back to “Manny being Manny”. Ramirez was such an advanced hitter that he just toyed with opposing pitchers. It was Ramirez who introduced me to “baiting pitches”, which essentially means tricking a pitcher into throwing the pitch he wanted them to throw. For example, Manny would act fooled by a first-pitch curveball having seen it perfectly well. When the pitcher came back with the same pitch, Manny would put the ball over the Monster in left.

Partner his next-level approach with his beautiful swing? You’ve got a Hall of Fame caliber hitter. I’m just thankful I was able to witness him play during my lifetime.

It’s hard to make a top 5 hitters list and leave the greatest right handed hitter of all time off. Manny may have had his fair share of shenanigans during his career with the Boston Red Sox, but there’s no denying his hitting ability. The No. 3 spot is his.

2. Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs is somewhat of a legend in pop-culture today. Not because of his hitting abilities, mind you, but because of his beer-drinking prowess. He was known to drink upwards of 70 beers on travel days, and going out the next day and hit the cover off the ball. But his hollow leg is not what I’m here to talk to you about!

When looking at Wade Boggs’ stats, there’s one name that comes to mind: Tony Gwynn. You know, one of the best contact hitters of all-time? Yes, him. That’s what Boggs’ stats look like.

Over his 18 year career, No.26 won 5 batting titles, accumulated over 3,000 hits, and hit at an amazing .328 clip. He’s an 8x Silver Slugger, 12x All-Star, and a Hall-of-Famer to top it off. In other words, Boggs is one of the greatest hitters to ever live.

What he lacked in power, he more than made up for in contact. His career-high for strikeouts in a season was 68, and he only hit under .300 in three seasons. Only three. Some great players go their entire careers without eclipsing the .300 mark.

Allow me to walk you through 1985-1988 for a minute. In those four seasons, Boggs batted .368, .357, .363, and .366. His OPS was over .900 in each of the 4 years and he even posted an unbelievable 1.049 OPS in 1987. That’s incredible for a man who only hit double-digit home runs in 2 of his 18 seasons in the MLB.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take Boggs’ .328/.415/.443 with 8 home runs any day over the week over a guy who will hit .220 with 40 bombs. This man was a hitting virtuoso and he has the track record to prove it. Hit the ball in the air? No thanks.

Can you imagine how good Boggs would have been if he didn’t drink 75 beers on his flights to and from the games? Wow.

1. Ted Williams

Was there ever a doubt about who would be #1 on this list? The Splendid Splinter is not only the greatest Boston Red Sox hitter of all-time… He’s the greatest hitter of all-time, period.

You name it, Teddy Ballgame had it. Power? Check. Average? Check. Some of the best nicknames in the history of the game? Check. Missed part of his prime due to military service and still has one of the most impressive stat sheets ever? You bet.

In his career, Williams batted an insane .344 with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBIs. He has the highest on-base percentage of all time (.482) and the second highest slugging percentage of all-time (.634).

In 1941, he batted .406, marking the last time anyone has ever batted over .400 over an entire season. 16 years later, in 1957, Williams batted .388 just to show off his longevity. His other 4 batting titles came in 1942, 1947, 1948, and 1958.

In addition to his statistics, Williams had a top notch approach. He, much like his colleagues on this list, studied their swings endlessly to achieve perfection. Ted knew what he was good at and he knew what he was looking for when he stepped up to the plate.

In Ted Williams’ “The Science of Hitting”, the slugger estimated that he hit .400 on balls that were belt-high and down the middle. On low and outside pitches, he was more of a .230 hitter. His refined approach allowed him to hit the pitches that he wanted to hit.

He was way before his time in terms of hitting philosophy, and it allowed him to excel. Put Ted Williams in the Bigs right now (with some time to adjust and all of today’s technology) and I bet he hits .340. He isn’t referred to as “the greatest hitter of all time” for no reason.

So there you have it. The greatest Boston Red Sox hitter of all time. There’s not much else to say on the matter.

Honorable Mentions

Carl Yastrzemski was the hardest one for me to leave off the list. When push came to shove, Yaz wasn’t as good as he needed to be in the late stages of his career for me to put him on this list. In his first 10 years with the Boston Red Sox, he was a .297 hitter. He won the Triple Crown in 1967. He was amazing. But his .275 average with a slugging-high of .505 in his final 13 years just wasn’t enough to get him on the list. Sorry Yaz.

Boston Red Sox

Jimmie Foxx is another guy who put up some ridiculous numbers. My main reason for leaving Foxx off was that his best years came in Philadelphia, not Boston. If Foxx played his entire career in Boston, you bet his .325 career average, 1.038 OPS, and 534 home runs would be on this list. Unfortunately, his 6 years in Boston wasn’t enough to immortalize him in my Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player to ever live, but he didn’t become that until he joined the New York Yankees. Truth be told, the Babe’s best year in Boston was his last, in which he batted .322 with 29 bombs. After leaving Boston, he batted .347 and hit 665 more home runs. Oh, and he cursed our franchise for 86 years.

Finally, we have Mr. Red Sox, Johnny Pesky. He has a foul pole named after him, and his first three seasons with the Sox saw him accumulate over 200 hits. Like Ted Williams, his career was interrupted by military service. He’s a great American Hero and a Boston Red Sox legend, but he isn’t one of the five best hitters in franchise history.

Next: The 5 greatest Boston Red Sox World Series teams of all time

Disagree? Have someone to add? Think I snubbed someone? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear your opinions on this.