Our ranking system is based on the ideology behind the Hall of Fame Career Standards Test from Baseball-Reference.com, which in turn is based on a test created by Bill James in his book, The Politics of Glory. Our numbers also reflect regular season Red Sox statistical data through the end of 2007.

Our first task was to find the averages for positional players who had spent four seasons wearing a Boston uniform. We found the average number of total combined at-bats and walks (AB+BB) to be around 720, so we averaged all players who meet this criteria and then normalized those numbers to show us what was averaged over a stretch of 720 AB+BB. That, in turn, told us that players averaged just under 200 games in that stretch, so we averaged the numbers for players who met this secondary criteria and normalized the numbers to match what was done over an average 200-game stretch.

Our scores, allowing for tenths of a point, were then calculated using the following criteria:

• One point for every 193 hits over 193
• One point for every .005 points above career batting average of .278
• One point if career batting average was over .300
• One point for every 99 runs over 99
• One point if runs scored per game greater than .500
• One point if runs scored per game greater than .644
• One point for every 92 RBI above 92
• One point if runs batted in per game greater than .500
• One point if runs scored per game greater than .644
• One point for every .025 points above career slugging percentage of .502
• One point for every .010 points above career on-base percentage of .348
• One point for every 16 home runs
• One point if career home runs are 10% of total career hits
• One point if career home runs are 20% of total career hits
• One point for every 58 extra-base hits over 58
• One point for every 75 walks over 75
• One point for every 11 stolen bases
• Positional points: 20 points for catcher, 16 points for shortstop, 14 points for second baseman, 13 points for third baseman, 12 points for center fielder, 6 points for right fielder, 3 points for left fielder, 1 point for first baseman, 0 points for designated hitter

Likewise for pitchers, we found the average number of starts to be just shy of 50 and the average number of appearances to be 100, so we averaged all players who meet either of this criteria and then normalized those numbers to show what was averaged over 50 starts or 100 appearances. That, in turn, told us that players average around 440 innings in that stretch, so we averaged the numbers for player met this secondary criteria and normalized the numbers to match was done over an average 440-inning stretch.

Again, our scores, allowing for tenths of a point, were then calculated using the following criteria:

• One point for every 27 wins over 27
• One point for every 8 wins over a win-loss percetage of .542
• One point for every .013 points above a win-loss percentage of .542
• One point for every .20 points below an ERA of 3.57
• One point for every 228 strikeouts
• One point for every .198 BB/9IP under 3.00
• One point for every .233 H/9IP under 8.84
• One point for every 880 innings pitched above 880 innings
• One point for every 31 complete games above 22
• One point for every 5.5 shutouts above 4

As a disclaimer, we don’t pretend to have a complete understanding of statistical analysis but, using simple math, we found this to be an effective measure to demonstrate the worth of a Boston player over his career with the franchise; plus, it’s a great excuse to create a spreadsheet. Comments are welcome!