The little position that could: The 10 best Red Sox seasons at second base (2024)

The best second basem*n in Red Sox history easily rise to the top, not only for their consistent performance but also for their ability to lead the team’s offense. Bobby Doerr and Dustin Pedroia did that over the course of their careers. Yet so many other strong seasons by Red Sox second basem*n have been lost in the mix, overshadowed by others in the lineup. So let’s shine a light on the best seasons at second base in Red Sox history.

For this list, we’re holding each player to only one spot (otherwise, it would almost solely consist of Pedroia’s and Doerr’s seasons). We also narrowed it down to players who played at least 82 games at second, or in other words, a majority of the season. And we should note, this isn’t ranking the best overall second baseman himself; rather it’s a ranking of the best seasons by second basem*n.

MORE TOP 10 SOX SEASONS: RF | CF | LF | SS | 3B | 2B | 1B | DH | C | RP | SP

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2008

Pedroia’s 2011 season was arguably better by pure numbers, but it’s hard to overlook his league-leading stats in 2008 at the age of 24, coupled with the fact that he won American League MVP honors that year. Pedroia led the AL in hits (213), runs (118) and doubles (54) while stealing 20 bases, walking 50 times and striking out just 52 times in 653 at-bats. It was the only year he was an All-Star, won the Silver Slugger and was a Gold Glover.

Pedroia’s struggles to remain healthy of late make it easy to forget how dominant he was in his prime. The 8.0 WAR he posted in 2011 ranks as the highest WAR by any second baseman in Red Sox history. That season he posted a 131 OPS+ while hitting .307 with a .387 OBP and .474 slugging percentage. He finished ninth in the MVP race.

2. Bobby Doerr, 1944

The Hall of Famer, whose No. 1 was retired in 1988 (just the third Red Sox retired number at the time, following Ted Williams and Joe Cronin), set the standard by which all Red Sox second basem*n would be judged.

Doerr’s 165 OPS+ in 1944 is the best among any second baseman in Red Sox history. He missed the final month of that season as well as the following year while serving in the Army during World War II. He logged just 125 games, but his rate stats were impressive, as he led the league with a .528 slugging percentage, and his .325 average was two points behind Cleveland’s Lou Boudreau. He was named The Sporting News’ MVP, but finished seventh in American League MVP voting. He struck out just 31 times in 536 at-bats.

Over 14 seasons in Boston, Doerr amassed 2,042 hits and 223 home runs in 1,885 games, all tops among Red Sox second basem*n.

3. Pete Runnels, 1958

Runnels’ 1958 and 1959 seasons were remarkably consistent. In 1959, the second baseman hit .314 with a .415 OBP and .841 OPS along with a 128 OPS+. But the 1958 season gets the edge for Runnels with more hits (183), runs (103) and RBIs (59). Runnels did play 42 games at first base in 1958 and 106 at second. But he had a similar split the following year, too, with 101 games at second and 44 at first in addition to nine at shortstop. Runnels finished 10th in AL MVP voting in 1958.

4. Mike Andrews, 1969

Andrews’ 130 OPS+ ranks third highest in Red Sox history following Doerr’s 1944 and 1948 seasons and Pedroia’s 2011 campaign. In 1969, the 25-year-old Andrews manned the middle infield with Rico Petrocelli and had by far the best season of his eight-year career. In a lineup with Petrocelli, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Conigliaro and Reggie Smith, Andrews drew an impressive 71 walks, a majority from the No. 2 hole.

But Andrews is perhaps better remembered in Boston for what he did off the field; after his retirement, Andrews served as the chairman of the Jimmy Fund from 1984 to 2009, and was a staple around Fenway Park, always present and raising millions to help kids with cancer.

5. Dave Stapleton, 1980

Stapleton finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1980 after a strong first season. Though he ended up playing a majority of his career at first base, that wasn’t the case in his rookie season. In 1980, Stapleton logged 94 games at second base and fewer than 10 games each at five other positions. He never had as strong a year as 1980, in which he led the team with a .321 average and was second in doubles (33) to Dwight Evans.

6. Del Pratt, 1921

Pratt spent only two seasons in Boston, but his first, 1921, was the best season of his 13-year career with 36 doubles and an .839 OPS. He led the shambolic post-Babe Ruth 1921 Sox with a .324 average and his 102 RBIs were 26 more than his next closest teammate. Despite less impressive numbers the following year, he finished 13th in the MVP voting.

His 1921 season almost never happened, though, because Pratt had decided to retire after his 1920 season with New York, wanting to move on from baseball and especially from the Yankees after a series of conflicts with manager Miller Huggins. He took a job as the head baseball coach at the University of Michigan (he also helped out coaching football and basketball), and was hard at work prepping the college's squad when it was announced he had been traded from New York to Boston for young pitcher Waite Hoyt and others. Michigan intended for Pratt to honor the three-year contract he'd signed. But eventually, according to SABR, Pratt got out of the deal with a little help from Branch Rickey, who spoke to the college, introduced a suitable replacement (Cincinnati Reds spitballer Ray Fisher, who would manage Michigan baseball for 38 successful years), and brokered Pratt's return to the Red Sox just in time for Opening Day. Pratt ended up playing four more seasons before retiring from the majors.

7. Billy Goodman, 1953

Goodman spent the first 11 years of his 16-year career in Boston and hit above .300 in five of them. Goodman finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1948 and put up his best-performance year two years later, leading the league with a .354 average and finishing second in the MVP voting, sandwiched between the Yankees pairing of Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra.

Goodman also achieved fame of a sort in the art world; he is one of five Red Sox players featured in Norman Rockwell's famous 1957 painting The Rookie, alongside Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen, Frank Sullivan, and Sammy White. The painting sold at auction for $22.5 million in 2014.

8. Scott Fletcher, 1993

Of the top 15 seasons by WAR for a second baseman in Red Sox history, Pedroia and Doerr own 12 of them. Runnels has two. And Scott Fletcher’s 4.8 WAR in 1993 ranks 15th. Scott Fletcher? His overall offensive numbers don’t jump off the page, but that 1993 season Fletcher was terrific defensively at second base — so much so that Baseball-Reference.com calculates his 1993 season as tied with Pedroia’s 2011 year and Doerr’s 1946 for the best defensive WAR seasons in Red Sox in history. Fletcher also managed to tally 31 doubles. He drew 37 walks, compared to 35 strikeouts.

Fletcher's legacy extends beyond his playing career, however; during his time with the Texas Rangers, he was an employee of then-owner George W. Bush. And Bush, a fan of both baseball and canines, named his new English Springer Spaniel "Spot Fetcher" when the puppy was born in 1989. Spot was the daughter of Millie, the pet of George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. Spot holds the distinction of being the only presidential pet to live in the White House in two non-consecutive terms.

9. Jody Reed, 1990

Reed played the first six years of his 11-year career in Boston, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1988. In 1990, he led the league with 45 doubles, one better than teammate Wade Boggs. Reed’s season was good enough to earn him a few MVP votes. He finished 18th that year, sandwiched between Ozzie Guillen and Ken Griffey Jr.

10. Jose Offerman, 1999

In his first season in Boston, Offerman — whom GM Dan Duquette envisioned replacing the on-base prowess that departed with Mo Vaughn that year — earned All-Star status playing 128 of his 149 games at second base. Offerman led the league with 11 triples that season and also posted a career-best 37 doubles and 107 runs scored. His .294 average was second on the team to Nomar Garciaparra’s league-leading .357 mark.

(Top photo of Dustin Pedroia: Kim Klement / USA Today)

Jen McCaffrey is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Red Sox. Prior to joining The Athletic, the Syracuse graduate spent four years as a Red Sox reporter for MassLive.com and three years as a sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. Follow Jen on Twitter @jcmccaffrey