Boston Red Sox: The 4 players who are on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore

Fenway Park is one of, if not the most, famous ballpark in the majors. It has a ton of history connected to the Boston Red Sox and has certainly seen its highs and lows. It is one of the toughest parks for visiting teams to play defensively.

The Boston Red Sox is a franchise with a storied history that has suffered through much more downs than ups. They went 86 years in between championships, going neck-and-neck with the Chicago Cubs with the longest droughts in MLB history.

The historic run in the 2004 playoffs will never be forgotten by Red Sox fans. Trailing the hated New York Yankees 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, former first baseman Kevin Millar famously said, “Don’t let us win tonight. This is a big game. They’ve got to win because if we win, we’ve got Pedro [Martinez] coming back today, and then [Curt] Schilling will pitch Game 6, and then you can take that fraud stuff and put it to bed. Don’t let the Sox win this game.”

They won Game 4, then went on to win the final three games and complete the biggest postseason comeback in MLB history before sweeping away the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series title in 86 years.

Since then, they have gone on to win three more titles (2007, 2013, and 2018) and, during that time and even long before those championships, they have had some players that have been cornerstones of the storied franchise.

With that said, let’s dive into the four players who make up the Mount Rushmore for the Boston Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox: Ted Williams belongs on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore

Ted Williams’ time with the Red Sox speaks for itself. He was a 19-time All-Star, a two-time winner of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, and a two-time Triple Crown winner, something you will never see in this day and age in baseball, and finished the 1941 season batting .406. Many have tried to match that, but nobody has been able to match one of the greatest hitters of all time.

In his career, the left-handed hitter played in 2,292 games and finished with a .344 career average and 521 home runs, but one of his most famous swings happened on June 9, 1946. He hit a 502-foot home run that popped a hole in the hat of fan, Joseph Boucher, and the spot was marked with a red seat at Fenway Park, which still stands today.

Williams was one of the most prepared hitters in the game. In 1957, he hit .388 and one year later led the AL in hitting with a .328 average at age 40. How impressive was his career? His playing career spanned over four decades.

Even more impressive was the fact that he was drafted into the military in 1942 at the beginning of his career where he spent four seasons before resuming his career in historic fashion. There is no doubt that he should be at the very top of the Boston Red Sox Mount Rushmore.

Boston Red Sox: Pedro Martinez belongs on the franchise Mount Rushmore

If the Red Sox were going to break the curse and win the World Series, it was going to take some big-time performances from some players. Fortunately for the Red Sox, it was just seven seasons in Boston for Pedro Martinez, but it was a memorable one for the former Montreal Expos right-hander.

In his seven seasons in Boston, he went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA in the regular season, but in the playoffs, he was even better. He was a perfect 4-0 in the ALDS with a 2.84 ERA working both in relief and starting. His best performance in a Red Sox uniform happened in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. Through three innings, Boston held a 9-8 lead, but manager Jimy Williams called on Martinez and the skinny flame-thrower tossed six no-hit innings to send his team to the ALCS.

One thing that made him one of the game’s best pitchers in his prime was his ability to pitch inside without worrying about any effects and his way of mixing his pitches to keep some of the game’s best hitters of that time off balance. He was a strikeout machine and between August of 1999 and April of 2000, where he had 10 straight games with 10 or more strikeouts.

It took a lot of things that needed to come together for Boston to end their 86-year championship drought, but one of the biggest reasons was Martinez and his leadership both on the field and off. He was the guy willing to take the ball every fifth day and on shorter rest in the postseason. It was only seven seasons, but he is on the Red Sox Mount Rushmore. Other pitchers have a longer tenure and longer effect on the franchise, but they can’t claim to be a World Series champion in Boston.

Boston Red Sox: David Ortiz belongs on the franchise Mount Rushmore

Martinez was a big piece of the 2004 Red Sox, but the case can be made that without David Ortiz, there may be no championship or memorable run.

The Minnesota Twins gave up on their young left-handed slugger and allowed him to become a free agent in 2003 and the rest is history they say in Boston. The Red Sox signed him and it turned out to be one of the biggest signings of a free agent in franchise history.

Known as “Big Papi,” there was no player that had a knack for coming up with the big hit when his team needed it. During his time with the Red Sox, Ortiz had 483 home runs and had a mind-blowing World Series slash line of .455/.576/.795 in 14 games. He was one of the most feared hitters of his time and along with Manny Ramirez, they formed a duo that was worth watching every pitch.

Yes, PED use surrounded him in 2009 when he tested positive for steroids, but that did not stop him from coming up with clutch hits. In 14 seasons in Boston, he hit 30 or more home runs 10 times, including a career-high 54 in 2006. One of his more iconic hits came in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS against the Tigers. He belted a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning off Joaquin Benoit to help his team win the game and they went on to win the series and eventually their third title of his time in Boston. Also up there is his Game 4 walk-off homer against the Yankees in 2004 that extended the series and began the historic comeback against their rivals.

There were no players in the history of the Red Sox who had the clutch gene more than Ortiz. Like Martinez, there is no 2004 Cinderella playoff run without Ortiz. In fact, there may not be three championships during his time in Boston without Ortiz. His free agency turned out to be franchise-altering during his Hall of Fame time with the organization.

There are plenty of other former members of the Red Sox would you can make a claim deserve to be on the Mount Rushmore of players. These four, however, have a special place in Red Sox history forever.