30 June 1908 - On this day one hundred years ago, Boston Red Sox pitcher Cy Young, at the age of 41, throws his third career no-hitter against the Highlanders in New York as the visitors win 8-0. Four years earlier, the veteran pitcher and future Hall of Famer had thrown the team’s only perfect game to date against the Philadelphia Athletics; he had also pitched a no-hitter in 1897 with the Cleveland Spiders. Young started his afternoon on the mound by issuing a walk to Harry Niles on a 3-2 pitch, who was later thrown out on an attempted steal; no other batter reached first and, as a result, he faced the minimum number of batters possible in a game (27). By official definition, for a pitcher to be credited with a perfect game, no batter can reach base safely for any reason, so Young’s win was credited only as a no-hitter. In baseball history, only he and John Montgomery Ward have retired 27 consecutive batters in a game on two separate occasions; Ward’s feat was accomplished after he allowed a lead-off single to Blondie Purcell.

Today, Young stands as the second-oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a game; Nolan Ryan threw one at the age of 43 and then another one at age 44. He also stands as the second-old pitcher to throw a perfect game after throwing his at age 37; that record was only recently broken by Randy Johnson, who pitched one at age 40 in 2004. 1908 was his eighth and final season with the Red Sox; he would finish the season at 21-11 with a 1.26 ERA and 30 complete games to his credit. In total, Young won 192 games in a Boston uniform, which ties him with Roger Clemens for a club record, and finished his career with 511 victories, the most by any player in baseball history.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Cy Young, Roger Clemens

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game was first played in 1933 at old Comiskey Park in Chicago and future Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell became the first (and only) player from the Red Sox named to the American League team. Since then, a total of 97 players have made 257 appearances representing Boston. The player who has made the most appearances for Boston is Ted Williams, who played on 19 All-Star teams between 1940 and 1960; 12 times, he was named the starting left fielder for the Junior Circuit representatives, also a team record. In second place is Carl Yastrzemski, who was named to 18 All-Star squads and started seven games at three different positions; left field, center field, and first base. Bobby Doerr is third with nine appearances and five starting roles, while Wade Boggs and Jim Rice each represented Boston eight times, Boggs starting seven times at third base and Rice starting four times in the outfield.

With regards to the number of All-Stars named from Boston in a given season, the 1946 squad includes eight All-Stars: Williams, Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Boo Ferriss, Mickey Harris, Johnny Pesky, Hal Wagner, and Rudy York. Three times, the Red Sox sent seven players: 1977, 1978, and 2002. Twice, they sent six players: 1949 and 2007. Only ten times has the requisite single representative been named from Boston, most recently as 2001 when perennial All-Star outfielder Manny Ramirez was sent to Safeco Field in Seattle to represent the Red Sox in his first season with the club.

Tags: Bobby Doerr, Boo Ferriss, Boston Red Sox, Carl Yastrzemski, Dom DiMaggio, Jim Rice, Johnny Pesky, Rick Ferrell, Ted Williams, Wade Boggs

With 81 games played and 81 left on the schedule, we have reached the absolute midpoint of the season, but the true midpoint takes place in less than three weeks when the American League hosts the National League at Yankee Stadium on 15 July for the 2008 All-Star Game. While the voters will decide the starters and the coaches, including AL skipper and Red Sox manager Terry Francona, will select the remaining representatives, which Red Sox players are the most deserving All-Stars selections at the half-way mark?

J.D. Drew - It’s been well-documented how different a season has made for Drew. Last season, he was batting .257 and slugging just .392 with only six home runs and 32 RBI to his credit at the midpoint. This year, he’s leading the team with a .308 batting average and a .573 slugging percentage, second with 14 home runs, and third with 45 RBI. How invaluable has he been? With David Ortiz absent from the lineup since the start of June, he’s batted .359 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 22 games played this month. That’s no-doubt-about-it, All-Star-caliber numbers. Oh, and he had five outfield assists, including a huge out in the top of the 13th inning in Sunday’s extra-inning win over St. Louis, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft.

Manny Ramirez - Take away the fact that he hit his 500th career home run this season and it’s still amazing to see the numbers that he’s putting up in his eighth season with Boston at age 36. Among qualified team leaders, he’s third on the team with a .291 batting average and leads the team in home runs (15) and RBI (49). To put it another way, in the American League alone, he’s 21st in average, 12th in on-base percentage, tenth in slugging percentage, tied for sixth in home runs, and tied for seventh in RBI. Boo-yah!

Kevin Youkilis - There’s no denying that Youkilis has become a bona fide major leaguer. His glove work alone is the stuff of legend, now that he holds the record for consecutive error-free games at first base and a Gold Glove for a position that he transitioned to only in 2006. His work at the plate is amazing, too; he’s one of only two players batting .300 or better on the team (.303), 35 points higher than the league average at that position, and he has 13 home runs, 47 RBI, and 47 runs scored in his back pocket, too. “Youk” should be on the team in New York next month, whether he gets there as a starter or as a coach’s selection.

Jon Lester - After a slight delay to the start of his career, we may be seeing Lester’s break-out year. In his last 11 starts, he’s posted a 5-1 record, including his no-hitter again Kansas City on 19 May, a 2.13 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP. In that span, opponents batted .231 against him and he averaged nearly 6-2/3 and just over 100 pitches per start; five times, he pitched seven innings or more. Among qualified starters, he leads the team with a 3.13 ERA and 103-2/3 innings pitched while sporting a 6-3 record in 17 starts. It may not be enough to get him a spot on the All-Star team but, if being hot at the right time has any influence, we may see him make an appearance for an inning during the game.

Jonathan Papelbon - His 2.08 ERA over 35 appearances leads not only a Boston bullpen that has been hot and cold for most of the first half but the team itself. He also sports a team-leading 0.89 WHIP and 23 saves in 27 opportunities. The most impressive came on 12 April against the Yankees when, after warming up twice with two outs in the eighth only to have to wait more than two hours due to two rain delays, he came in and struck out Alex Rodriguez on three pitches before pitching a perfect ninth to preserve a 4-3 win for Boston. His saves total puts him third in the American League. Given a lead, it is near-certain these days that “Cinco Ocho” will slam the door shut on any chance for a comeback.

Also to consider:

Josh Beckett - His 9.29 strikeouts against 1.82 walks per nine innings are both eye-popping; his 7-5 record with a 3.73 ERA and 97 strikeouts are impressive, too. There are just other pitchers, including Lester, who have more attractive numbers.

Jacoby Ellsbury - Not all of his numbers are impressive but he has been doing well in the lead-off spot for the Red Sox. Plus, his 34 steals lead the AL and that might be something to consider in the late innings if you need a run and some speed on the base paths.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, Terry Francona

25 June 1988 – On this day twenty years ago, a solid, if uneventful, 10-3 Boston win over Baltimore at Fenway Park begins a home winning streak that would stretch into August, a span of 24 games that saw the beginnings of “Morgan Magic.” After losing the first game of a three-game set to the Orioles, which puts them at 34-34 and fifth in the American League East, the Red Sox win the next five by a combined score of 40-11 over Baltimore and Cleveland. However, following a 4-8 road trip leading to the All-Star break that puts them at 43-42 and nine games out of first place, management decides that they have had enough. John McNamara, the 1986 American League Manager of the Year who had led that Red Sox squad to the World Series, is fired and replaced by interim manager “Walpole” Joe Morgan.

Morgan had managed Boston’s AAA club in Pawtucket for nine seasons between 1974 and 1982, then served two years as a scout before being brought on as a coach for Boston in 1985; this was to be his first and only major league managing position. Boston’s post-All-Star break schedule starts off with eleven games at home; the Sox win in Morgan’s debut, 3-1 over Kansas City, and then proceeded to come out on top night after night at Fenway. When the homestand ends, Boston has moved into third place and sits just 1-1/2 games out of first place; the Sox have also strung together 16 straight wins in front of the home crowd. Boston then takes the first game of a quick road trip to Texas before a 9-8 loss to the Rangers end the 12-game win streak for the Sox.

The defeat does nothing to slow down the Red Sox or Morgan, who has the interim tag removed by the front office. Taking two-of-three against Texas, Boston returns home and wins six straight to improve to 19-1 under its new manager; these efforts on the field also moves the club into a tie for first place with Detroit while the Fenway faithful have enjoyed 22 straight wins at home. Morgan Magic becomes synonymous with the resurgence of a team who seemed out of the race for the postseason only one month earlier.

Back on the road, Boston slips for the first time under Morgan with seven losses in nine games, including four straight in Detroit to start the trip, but the Red Sox exact revenge a week later, opening a three-game home series with a 9-4 win over the Tigers. The next day, 13 August, Boston thumps its American League East rival by a score of 16-4, and the result gives the Red Sox an unprecedented 24-game winning streak. Though Boston’s stretch of luck ends the next day with an 18-6 loss in the series finale, the Red Sox go on to take the American League East title for the second time in three years.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Joe Morgan, John McNamara

When career home run number 500 left the bat of Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez on 31 May versus the Orioles in Baltimore, two things were made clear. The first is that he is all but assured a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown when he makes his first appearance on the ballot; given the likelihood that he will play another four years, in Boston or elsewhere, that places him in line for 2018, so be sure to reserve your tickets now. The only question might be how they are going to design in those long-flowing dreadlocks he wears today, but I digress. The second is that when the time comes for the powers that be at the Hall to chose what cap Ramirez will be fashioned atop those dreads, it’s all but assured that he will be sporting the spoked “B” that he wears on his cap today as a member of the Red Sox.

Looking at the numbers through Sunday, it is amazing how close his numbers compare between his eight seasons with the Cleveland Indians and his seven-plus with Boston. Having played 82 more games with Boston, he has 111 more hits, 33 more home runs, and 45 more RBI that he did in Cleveland, and his batting average (.312) and slugging percentage (.591) is nearly identical to his time with the Indians. That, my friends, is consistency over a 16-year stretch. So what will be the difference when the Hall prepares his plaque? How about All-Star honors in every season with Boston, which will include this season when the final votes are tallied? How about post-season totals that include a batting average of .321, 100 points higher than with Cleveland, and near equal or better numbers in hits, home runs, and RBI in nine fewer games? How about being on two World Series winners and earning MVP honors in the 2004 Fall Classic?

Should Ramirez remain in Boston through at least the 2010 season, he would also be eligible under the team’s strict guidelines to have his number (24) retired and posted on the right field façade, and it would be fitting to include him in the same company as another great Red Sox hitter, Ted Williams, who defended the same position as Ramirez does today. Whether you love him or loathe him, it’s clear that his numbers put him in the same company as other great hitters like Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, and Frank Robinson, to name a few, all of whom have been permanently enshrined among the game’s greats. It should be equally satisfying for Red Sox fans who have seen him play here for seven-plus seasons and counting to know that he will enter the Hall wearing a Boston baseball cap.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Jimmie Foxx, Manny Ramirez, Ted Williams

10 June 1938 - On this day seventy years ago, Boston Red Sox rookie pitcher Bill LeFebvre makes his major league debut a memorable one as he hits a home run on the first pitch he sees over the left-field wall at Fenway Park, the only one of his career. LeFebvre, who had just recently graduated from Holy Cross College, is less effective on the mound, however; he goes four innings in relief and gives up six runs on eight hits, including two gopher balls, as Boston is bested by the Chicago White Sox, 15-2. LeFebvre returned to the minors shortly after that and would not be called up again until the following summer. On the mound, he would eventually finish his career with a 5-5 record and a 5.03 ERA over four seasons, two with Boston in 1938 and 1939 and two with the Washington Senators in 1943 and 1944, appearing as a major league replacement player during World War II. His bat proved only slightly more effective, hitting .276 in 87 career at-bats with eight runs scored, 11 RBI, and a .382 OBP.

In Red Sox history, only two other players have hit home runs in their first professional at-bat. On 22 April 1946, Eddie Pellagrini, a 28-year-old rookie shortstop and Boston College alumnus, comes in during the fifth inning to replace an injured Johnny Pesky and then goes deep in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 deadlock as the Red Sox win 5-4 over the Senators. On 19 May 1962 versus the Los Angeles Angels, catcher Bob Tillman also sends one out of Fenway Park in the fourth inning but Boston loses 6-5 in ten innings. Officially, the freshman had appeared as a pinch-hitter four days earlier in Baltimore in the ninth inning and then led off the bottom of the second that day but, in both instances, Tillman had drawn a walk, meaning that he had no official at-bats to that point.

Tags: Bill LeFebvre, Bob Tillman, Boston Red Sox, Eddie Pellagrini, Fenway Park, Johnny Pesky