Once again I’m late in pointing out a new voting session has opened at Fenway Park 100. Right now, you can vote for the best Right Fielder and Designated hitter in Fenway’s history.
Let’s start with the DH, since it’s the easiest. The nominees are: Don Baylor, Orlando Cepeda, Cecil Cooper, Mike Easler, Reggie Jefferson, and David Ortiz. None of those players are in the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Orlando Cepeda is in the baseball Hall of Fame, but he only played one year in Fenway. Clearly we’re going to vote for David Ortiz and move on.
Right field is a bit trickier. The nominees are: Tony Conigliaro, JD Drew, Dwight Evans, Harry Hooper, Jackie Jensen, and Trot Nixon. Tony C, Evans, Hooper, and Jensen reside in the Red Sox Hall-of-Fame. Only Harry Hooper has a plaque in Cooperstown. That would certainly appear to give Hooper a leg up. But…he only played nine seasons in Fenway. I know that 9 seasons are a lot…but not when you compare it to the 19 seasons Dwight Evans called Fenway home. All those extra seasons put Evans near the top of most career leaders for the Red Sox. But, and I didn’t realize this until I looked, so is Hooper. All-time Red Sox rankings for Evans and Hooper respectively: Games 2, 6. At-bats 2, 6. Runs 3, 8. Hits 4, 7. Doubles: 3, 17. Triples 8, 1. HR 4, 20+, RBI 4, 20+. Walks 3, 5. SB 20+, 1. TB 4, 10. Considering the difference in playing time, you could make the case that Hooper had the better years in Fenway. I’m still going to have to give the nod to Evans. If I were voting for the best right fielder, Hooper might get the nod. But, the best Fenway right fielder would be Dwight Evans.
Go ahead and vote!
Yup, Ortiz and Dewey. But Jackie Jensen can't be dismissed. He played well for the Sox for quite a few years. And he'd have done more if he hadn't retired early. He was one Yankee opponent that my Dad admired.
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