#95

Bill Campbell, P

In 1976, Bill Campbell was pitching for the Minnesota Twins. As their closer, he posted a record 17 wins (for a reliever).

Let's just say that the Red Sox front office couldn't resist the temptation, and they signed him as a free agent in the off season. He was the first high-priced free agent signed by the Olde Towne Team.

In 1977, he responded with 31 saves (a huge number for the time) and a 13-9 record. Unfortunately, when they really needed him, in 1978, he appeared in only 29 games with only 4 saves. He saved only 16 more games for the Sox over the next 3 seasons before going to the Cubs.

He was a member of the 1985 Cardinals team that lost to Kansas City in the World Series.

Because of the poor experience with Campbell, the Red Sox unofficially swore off high-priced free agents for nearly a decade. At the time, teams were allowed to sign only two free agents, plus an additional amount to cover any players they lost. The other Red Sox signee was Darryl Cias, a catcher who would play in only 18 major league games (and none with the BoSox).

Other notable free agents that the Sox could have pursued in 1977...Reggie Jackson, Don Gullett, Bobby Grich, Don Baylor, Bert Campaneris, Gary Matthews, Dave Cash, and Wayne Garland. Instead, the brain trust of the Yawkey Estate signed Campbell. Good move, guys.

#96

Tom Seaver, P

In 1986, Tom Seaver wrapped up his Hall of Fame career inauspiciously with the Red Sox. Then, in dramatic fashion, his team was in the World Series. Although he did not pitch due to an ankle injury, he received one of the loudest ovations during the player introductions.

We could have used him...

If only we could have called on Tom Terrific instead of the Steamer in Game 6, our fortunes may have been different. Seaver would have covered first base base (Bob Stanley did not) on Mookie Wilson's roller. I'd rather believe that his grittiness would have shut down the Mets' rally altogether.

In any case, after being traded to the Red Sox at mid-season for Steve "Psycho" Lyons, Seaver went 5-7 with a 3.80 ERA.

1986 was his last season. He completed his 20-year career with 311 wins, 3640 strike outs, a 2.86 ERA and 9-straight 200 strike out seasons. he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 with 98.84% of the votes, the highest total ever. Which bears the question...someone actually left him off a ballot?

So here's tip of the cap to Tom Terrific. Thanks for spending a couple of months with the Sox.

#97

Dave "Boo" Ferriss, P

Imagine if a pitcher burst onto the scene in this era with records of 21-10 & 25-6 his first two seasons. Such a young man would be anointed as the second coming, but would anyone know he was the second coming of Boo Ferriss?

Ferriss did just that for the Red Sox in 1945 & 1946. He won 13 consecutive home games and notched a win in the 1946 World Series against the Cardinals. He was on top of the world. The Red Sox, in 1946, looked like a team that might win three or four championships. Unfortunately, their only World Series in that generation was in '46. Much of the failures to replicate the 1946 success were due to injuries to their young pitchers. Ferriss, Tex Hughson, and others suffered through injuries that were treated in medieval ways and managers who thought the best way to treat a serious arm injury was to rub some dirt on it.

Ferriss received the first full baseball scholarship to Mississippi State. Born in the Delta, he was given the nickname "Boo" because he could not pronounce "brother" as a child.

Then it happened. According to the Mississippi History Now website...

"Then on a chilly, damp night in Cleveland, Ohio – July 14, 1947 – the world changed for Ferriss. Boston and Cleveland were scoreless with the hometown Indians batting in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bases were loaded with two outs. Ferriss was on the pitcher’s mound. He was that rare pitcher with such command of all his pitches, he would throw any pitch at any time and throw it for a strike. George Metkovich, Cleveland’s lead-off hitter, was at the plate and the count was full at three balls and two strikes. Metkovich was probably looking for Ferriss to throw a fast ball. Ferriss figured Metkovich was thinking that and threw an overhand curve. Metkovich struck out.

As he delivered the pitch, Ferriss felt something snap in his shoulder. He had no idea what had happened. He just knew that pain shot through his arm and then it went numb. His arm would never be the same. One of the most promising careers in baseball history was essentially over just as it was getting started." He finished the '47 season 12-10.

He pitched in only 31 games in 1948, going 7-3. He never won (or lost) another game. He pitched 4 games in 1949 as he fell into manager Joe McCarthy's doghouse. McCarthy was a "rub some dirt on it" manager who did not believe that a sore arm was a real injury. The Sox needed him in 1949. Just one win from Ferriss would have put them in a tie with the Yankees. Instead, 1949 was the beginning of the end for the Sox as they fell one game short of New York.

For Ferriss, it was the end. He would appear in one game in 1950, but it was of no consequence. From 1955-1959, he coached for the Sox. He returned to Mississippi after that, and he became the coach at Delta State University. Ferriss went on to win 639 games there.

He is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi State University Sports Hall of Fame, and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. On November 14, 2002, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

John Grisham tried out for Ferriss's Delta State team and was cut because he could not hit a curve ball.

#98

Brian Daubach, 1B

"Dauber," as he is affectionately called in Faithful, is possibly one of the more beloved characters of the 21st century Red Sox. He also holds the distinction of being one of the very few "replacement players" from the 1994 strike (or lock-out, rather) to have made it to the Show.

Daubach was drafted by the Mets in 1990, and he toiled in obscurity until the strike of 1994 not only cancelled the World Series that season, but threatened the 1995 season. Owners, fooling themselves into believing they would not cave in to player's union demands, then threatened to use replacement players, much as the NFL did in 1987. Let's just say that the plan did not work out for the MLB nearly as well as it did for the NFL. Whereas the NFL was able to break the union, and all the players returned after only 3 games, the MLB owners watched as their shaky relationship with the fans of the game spiralled into an abyss. No games were played with the "scabs," and all who crossed the picket lines have been permanently shunned by the MLBPA. This list includes Dauber and the late Cory Lidle.

Daubach's best years have been as a Red Sock (1999-2002, 2004). He averaged 21 homers and 75 RBI per season with the Sox. A gritty, throw-back type player, he is considered a founding member of the Boston Dirt Dogs, a counter-culture website/organization that first broke news of the A-Rod trade and Nomar not wanting his ring.

Daubach is currently toiling in Memphis, part of the Cardinals' organization. He earned a ring for being a member of the 2004 World Championship Sox team, though he batted only .227 and hit only 2 home runs in 30 games.

#99

Smokey Joe Wood

BORN: October 25, 1889, Kansas City, MO DIED: July 27, 1985

Wood is best know for his performance during the 1912 season and World Series. During the regular season, he had a 16-game winning streak. In the Series, he won 3 games as the Sox were victorious over the New York Giants.

Said Walter Johnson of Wood: "Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen mister, no man alive can throw any harder than 'Smoky' Joe Wood."

Wood had a career record of 116-57 with an ERA of 2.03. In 1912, he had one of the finest seasons ever, going 34-5 with a 1.91 ERA. After leading the Red Sox to a World Series title again in 1915, Wood sat out all of 1916 trying to recover from a lingering arm injury. 1917 found him playing for the Cleveland Indians. He would pitch in only seven more games the rest of his career. He began playing outfield in 1918.

He would finish his career after the 1922 season, his most prolific as a batter. He played in 142 games, hit 8 HRs, batted .297, and drove in 92 runs. In 1920, he was on the Indians teams that won the World Series.

Wood pitched in an era that was dominated by the pitcher, and yet he had the respect of his peers. In 1915, he and the then unknown Babe Ruth combined for 33 wins (15 for Wood), but he was already on the downside of his pitching career. With Wood gone in '16, Ruth won 23 games, followed by 24 in 1917. The torch had been passed.

#100

The list that will be forthcoming in this blog, the 100 Best Red Sox of All Time, is strictly opinion. However incomplete this list may be, 100 seems to be a good, round number to start with. Inevitably some players will be left out. Others may be on the list that you will disagree with. That's the fun.

So, I am going to start with a very controversial choice...

#100 Dave Roberts
Picked up at the trade deadline in 2004, Roberts played in only 45 regular season games for the Sox. He hit .256, stole 5 bases, and was caught twice. So what puts such an insignificant cameo appearance onto this list?

Game Four of the 2004 ALCS...Mariano Rivera was on the mound with a 4-3 lead. The Yanks were three outs away from a 4-0 sweep of the Sox. Then Kevin Millar worked a walk from Rivera. Terry Francona sent Roberts in to pinch-run for Millar. On one of the most dramatic plays in ALCS history, Roberts slid safely into second when the entire stadium knew he was going to steal.

Stewart O'Nan in Faithful: "...Roberts flat out stole it off Rivera and Posada, both of whom knew he was going but could do nothing to stop him from getting into scoring position. Without this steal, our season's over, and Roberts made it look easy. Theo's very last trade before the deadline- Roberts straight up for PawSock outfielder Henri Stanley-may have been his best of the year."

Not only do we not win it, but we don't even get a shot at the dramatics that David Ortiz provided in the bottom of the 12th. Roberts post-season line for Boston was 3 games, 2 runs, 1 stolen base...And a place in Sox history.

Forever and ever, Amen.