The 1990s were a mixed bag of results for the Boston Red Sox but they still delivered some of the favorite players in franchise history.
The 2020 Major League Baseball season is currently on pause thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The normal sounds of baseball in the spring have gone silent, meaning our ultimate wishes to see what 2020 has in store for the Boston Red Sox have been put on hold.
Instead of crying, which we’re told isn’t allowed in baseball anyhow, it’s a perfect time to step into the baseball time machine. Where we’re going there are still roads and a Red Sox team that had an uneven decade.
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That’s right: We’re going to look at the Boston Red Sox in the 1990s. More specifically, a look at the top five franchise players from that decade.
The ’90s started out well, with an A.L. East title. Ultimately, Boston was swept in the ALCS by the Oakland A’s.
There would be only one other title in the decade, a first-place finish in 1995 that ended by being swept by the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. And it wouldn’t be until 1998 that the Red Sox returned to the playoffs, thanks to the wildcard becoming a thing.
Many familiar names highlighted this decade so a little requirement was needed to whittle down this list. I decided that a player needed to have played three seasons with the Boston Red Sox.
That means players like Pedro Martinez (1998-99) and Jason Varitek (1998-99) just missed the cut. I really wavered on including Varitek because he played one game in the 1997 season, but ultimately, his greatest years in Boston came later.
Both Martinez and Varitek are all-time Boston greats. As is Wade Boggs, who was with Boston for three years in the decade. But the better Boggs years were in the 1980’s so he narrowly missed out on this list as well.
Even players like John Valentin and Ellis Burks missed the cut. Valentin was the toughest decision, having played for Boston most of the decade and was one of the most consistent players during this era.
With that, in no particular order, are the top-five Boston Red Sox players in the 1990s.
Roger Clemens
Before leaving the Boston Red Sox after the 1996 season, Roger Clemens (“the Rocket”) was on a downward slide. He’d only won 29 games in 81 starts between 1994-96 and eventually left Boston as a free agent, a betrayal in the eyes of many a fan.
Of course, we know what happened after that. Clemens would win four more Cy Young Awards, don the hated Yankee pinstripes, and end up with 354 career regular season wins.
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And Clemens was one of the best pitchers in the game between 1990-1993. Clemens, who had won the Cy Young Award twice in the 1980s, added his third in 1991. He went 18-10 that season with 13 complete games. Clemens also tossed 271.1 innings and struck out 242 batters while posting a 2.62 ERA.
Between 1990 and 1993, Clemens was consistently Boston’s top pitcher (even though at 11-14 in ’93, his “decline” was on the radar). Clemens won 68 games in this span and struck out 200 or more in three of those seasons. Clemens also led the league in ERA between 1990-92.
Twice during the 1990s Clemens and the Red Sox won the A.L. East and twice they were swept from the playoffs. Clemens pitched in three games combined in those two seasons, throwing only 14.2 innings. He had only one decision, a loss, and his ERA was just under four.
Still, he was one of the best in the ’90s for the Red Sox, even though his finish in Boston was a far cry from the flourish in which he arrived.
Nomar Garciaparra
Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra endeared himself to Boston Red Sox fans from the get-go and many figured he’d be a cornerstone of the team for life.
“Life” turned out to be until the middle of the 2004 season, but Garciaparra’s time in Boston was productive, including in the 1990s.
Nomar, or “Nomah!”, as he’s generally referred to, arrived in Boston in 1996, but it was 1997-99 in which Garciaparra had all the right swings. He started thins off right by winning the A.L Rookie of the Year in 1997.
Garciaparra hit above .300 in those three seasons, leading the league in 1999 with a .357 average. He was more than just hit for average, also delivering in the power and run production department.
Garciaparra had 96 home runs between ’96 and ’99 with a total of 340 RBI. He knocked 11 triples in the ’97 season and was an All-Star in 1997 and 1999.
It was in 1998, however, in which Garciaparra had perhaps his finest season in the 1990s. The young shortstop had 35 home runs and 122 RBI while also batting .323. These numbers were part of the reason why Garciaparra finished second in the A.L. MVP race.
In 13 games in the postseason during this decade, Garciaparra’s was the same player, hitting seven home runs, driving in 20 and batting .383.
Mo Vaughn
There was one slugger synonymous with the Boston Red Sox in the 1990s and his name was Mo Vaughn.
Vaughn slugged his way through the 1990s, playing with the Red Sox from 1991-1998. He might be even more of a Boston legend had the Red Sox reached the playoffs more than twice during this span.
Still, on an individual level, Vaughn had quite the Boston career. He launched 230 home runs during his time with the Red Sox and hit over .300 while doing so. There was also one MVP award, in 1995, the same year that Vaughn and Boston won the A.L. East.
That season ended in disappointment, however, when Cleveland swept the Red Sox in the ALDS. Vaughn did not help the cause, failing to collect a hit in 14 at-bats.
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Cleveland was the culprit again in 1998, ending Boston’s season by winning three games to one in the ALDS. Vaughn performed much better in this go around, hitting .411 and driving in seven runs.
Vaughn finished his career with the New York Mets in 2003 — after a stop in Anaheim — but those eight seasons in Boston were special and he will also be remembered for that.
Tim Wakefield
The man who was never supposed to be a pitcher ended up building a 19-year career as one, including 17 of those in Boston. There was nothing quite like the magic of Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball.
Wakefield ended up winning 200 career games. He arrived in Boston in 1995 and was later a key player in their playoff success (and disappointments) in the 2000s.
Wakefield was one of Boston’s top pitchers — if not best — in his first four seasons with the Red Sox. He went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA back in 1995. Wakefield’s success in this season garnered him enough votes to finish third in the Cy Young Award voting, the only time in his career he had such hardware recognition.
It was part of a four-year stretch in which Wakefield won 59 games for the Red Sox. An innings eater, Wakefield also pitched over 200 innings in three seasons during his ’90’s run and was often one of Boston’s most consistent pitchers.
Wakefield’s postseason appearances for Boston during the ’90s would rather be forgotten. He appeared in four games, starting two. All were short-lived as Wakefield tossed only 8.2 innings while allowing 15 runs.
Still, the Red Sox wouldn’t have had the success they did the latter half of the ’90s without the ol’ knuckleballer taking the hill.
Mike Greenwell
Once Mike Greenwell cracked the starting lineup as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, others had a hard time displacing him. And for good reason, too.
Greenwell played the majority of his 12-year career with Red Sox and provided stability until his last season with Boston in 1996. For this reason, Greenwell takes the fifth slot.
The numbers weren’t overtly gargantuan. His best overall numbers were in the late 1980’s. Greenwell hit .295 or better in four seasons during the 1990s. He never reached his MVP-level year of 1988 — he finished second — but Greenwell was still a consistent player.
Long before Manny Ramirez gave us antics in left field, Greenwell had his own joys. In 1990, he led all A.L. left fielders in assists with 12 but was also second with 7 errors.
It might be more out of fondness of how much I appreciated Greenwell’s style, but he is one of the greats from the 1990s. Who are your favorites? Is there someone not mentioned who you think deserves a mention? I’m sure there are some Tom Brunansky fans hanging out there, ready to remind this generation of the man named “Bruno”.