The Closers

The closer each year has almost always been a favorite player of mine.  I have no idea why.  Closers are just fun.  They often have an outrageous personality.  You almost have to be arrogant to be a closer.  It's only annoying when they do not perform well or you like the other team.  So yeah, ever since I got into baseball, I have been a very big fan of closers.

The below are a year by year look at the Red Sox closers since I was fan:

1991

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was the first Red Sox closer I was aware of and he had a terrific 1991 season.  Reardon was an All Star in 1991 and set a new Red Sox record for saves in a season with 40.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (2), Jeff Gray (1), Tony Fossas (1), Dan Petry (1)

1992

JEFF REARDON:  Reardon was 36 in 1992 and was starting to show his age.  He did break the career saves record and had 27 saves before being traded to the Braves.  They went with a committee after the trade.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (4), Danny Darwin (3), Tony Fossas (2), Joe Hesketh (1), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1)

1993

JEFF RUSSELL:  After trading Reardon in 1992, Boston was on the lookout for a closer for the 1993 season.  Russell was signed after the team nearly signed Tom Henke.  Russell racked up 33 saves and a 2.70 ERA in a very good season.

Others recording saves: Greg Harris (8), Paul Quantrill (1), Ken Ryan (1), Joe Hesketh (1)

1994

KEN RYAN:  Russell started the season as the closer but had a rough time and was eventually traded to Cleveland.  Ken Ryan took over and lead the team with 13 saves with a 2.44 ERA.

Others recording saves: Jeff Russell (12), Greg Harris (2), Chris Howard (1), Tony Fossas (1), Todd Frohwirth (1)

1995

RICK AGUILERA:  The Red Sox started the season with Ryan as the closer but he struggled.  They then went with Stan Belinda for a little while but eventually decided to pick up Aguilera at the trade deadline in order to have a shot at the playoffs.  Aguilera was great down the stretch notching 20 saves and a 2.67 ERA.

Others recording saves:  Stan Belinda (10), Ken Ryan (7), Mike Maddux (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1996

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  Aguilera returned to the Twins as a free agent after the 1995 season so Boston acquired Slocumb in a trade with the Phillies.  Slocumb had a great season in 1996 picking up 31 saves and 88 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.  He had a 3.1 WAR as a closer, which is impressive.

Others recording saves: Stan Belinda (2), Pat Mahomes (2), Mike Stanton (1), Joe Hudson (1)

1997

HEATHCLIFF SLOCUMB:  1997 was not nearly as good for Slocumb.  He only had 17 saves for Boston and blew some big ones.  He was eventually traded to the Mariners in what would be a terrific trade for Boston.  Tom Gordon took over after the trade.

Others recording saves: Tom Gordon (11), Butch Henry (6), Kerry Lacy (3), Jim Corsi (2), Chris Hammond (1)

1998

TOM GORDON:  In what was easily one of the greatest seasons by a Red Sox closer, Gordon set a new single season saves record for the team with 46 and was an All Star.  He even received votes for MVP.

Others recording saves: Derek Lowe (4), Dennis Eckersley (1), Rich Garces (1), Ron Mahay (1)

1999

DEREK LOWE:  Gordon started off the season as closer but had some injury problems.  Lowe and Tim 

Wakefield actually tied with 15 saves, but Lowe finished more games.  

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (15), Tom Gordon (11), Rod Beck (3), John Wasdin (2), Mark Guthrie (2), Rich Garces (2)

2000

DEREK LOWE:  The sinkerballer was terrific in 2000, saving 42 games with a 2.56 ERA, and an All Star berth.

Others recording saves: Rich Garces (1), Hipolito Pichardo (1), Bryce Florie (1), John Wasdin (1)

2001

DEREK LOWE:  Lowe started to falter as closer in 2001, but still recorded 24 saves.  He was moved to the rotation later in the season and Ugueth Urbina was acquired to serve as closer.

Others recording saves: Ugueth Urbina (9), Rod Beck (6), Rolando Arrojo (5), Tim Wakefield (3), Rich Garces (1)

2002

UGUETH URBINA:  Urbina was an All Star in 2002 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 60 innings.

Others recording saves: Tim Wakefield (3), Alan Embree (2), Frank Castillo (1), Casey Fossum (1), Rolando Arrojo (1), Willie Banks (1), Chris Haney (1), Wayne Gomes (1)

2003

BYUNG-HYUN KIM:  2003 was the year of the ill-fated closer-by-committee approach.  It did not work. Boston eventually traded Shea Hillenbrand to the Diamondbacks for Kim, who saved 16 games in 2003 with a 3.18 ERA.  Scott Williamson did some great work as closer in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Brandon Lyon (9), Chad Fox (3), Mike Timlin (2), Tim Wakefield (1), Casey Fossum (1), Alan Embree (1), Jason Shiell (1), Bronson Arroyo (1), Robert Person (1)

2004

KEITH FOULKE:  After having trouble with the closer-by-committee in 2003, Boston signed the best closer available on the free agent market in Foulke.  He saved 32 games with a terrific 2.17 ERA and was lights-out in the postseason.

Others recording saves: Curtis Leskanic (2), Mike Timlin (1), Scott Williamson (1)

2005

KEITH FOULKE:  Foulke struggled in 2005, leading to an infamous comment about Burger King.  He only picked up 15 saves and Boston had to resort to some desperate measures as will be seen by some of the other pitchers who saved games in '05.  Foulke's ERA was an ugly 5.91

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (13), Curt Schilling (9), Alan Embree (1)

2006

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Rookie Papelbon solved the closer problem for the long term.  He had a fantastic season and came in second in the Rookie of the Year vote, and might have won it had he not been injured the final month of the season.  He saved 35 games with a remarkable 0.92 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.  He was also an All Star.

Others recording saves: Mike Timlin (9), Julian Tavarez (1), Javier Lopez (1)

2007

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon had another strong All Star season, saving 37 with a 1.85 ERA and 84 strikeouts in only 58.1 innings.

Others recording saves: Hideki Okajima (5), Mike Timlin (1), Manny Delcarmen (1), J.C. Romero (1)

2008

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Another terrific All Star season for Papelbon (41 saves, 2.34 ERA, 77 strikeouts), but his mouth was starting to be a problem.

Others recording saves: Manny Delcarmen (2), Craig Hansen (2), Hideki Okajima (1), Mike Timlin (1)

2009

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Ho hum, another All Star season for Paps (38 saves, 1.85 ERA, 76 strikeouts).

Others recording saves: Takashi Saito (2), Daniel Bard (1)

2010

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  Papelbon actually had a rough year.  He still picked up 37 saves, but his ERA ballooned to 3.90.  His strikeout rate was in line with his averages.  He missed the All Star game for the first time in his career.

Others recording saves: Daniel Bard (3), Ramon Ramirez (2), Felix Doubront (2)

2011

JONATHAN PAPELBON:  He blew the save on the last game of the season, but Papelbon actually had a decent season.  He had 31 saves and a 2.94 ERA with 87 strikeouts.

Others recording saves: Alfredo Aceves (2), Daniel Bard (1), Scott Atchison (1), Felix Doubront (1)

2012

ALFREDO ACEVES:  Papelbon bolted as a free agent to Philadelphia before even being offered arbitration.  The Red Sox made two trades to acquire closers in Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon.  Injuries or ineffectiveness limited both of them, so they turned to Aceves who struggled at times.  He finished with 25 saves, a 2-10 record, and a 5.36 ERA.

Others recording saves: Andrew Bailey (6), Vicente Padilla (1), Mark Melancon (1), Franklin Morales (1), Junichi Tazawa (1)

2013

JOEL HANRAHAN:  Boston attempted another trade to bring over a closer.  Hanrahan has been a little rough so far this year, but he has notched three saves.  He blew a big one and is currently on the disabled list.

Others recording saves: NONE

Season in Review: 1996

Kevin Kennedy's second and final season as the Red Sox was a letdown after their AL East Championship season of 1995.  There was again a lot of roster turnover and Boston consulted with an individual more known for rotisserie (fantasy) baseball which lead to some slightly unusual personnel decisions.  The team got off to a dreadful 6-19 start which they never really recovered from, despite the fact that they were one of the top teams during the summer.  This was a year when they traded off a lot of players.  Unfortunately, most of the players they acquired did very little.  They finished the season at 85-77, in third place

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS
Mo Vaughn
After his MVP season of 1995, Vaughn was under some pressure to repeat his performance.  If anything, he was better.  Vaughn was the sole All Star for the Red Sox in 1996 as he hit .326/.420/.583.  He lead the league in plate appearances and finished in the top ten in just about every major offensive category.  He hit 44 home runs with 143 RBIs.  It was a monster season for the Hit Dog.

John Valentin
Unlike Vaughn, Valentin was not able to continue his success from the previous season.  He was still decent though, if a little bit more average in 1996.  Valentin ended the season at .296/.374/.436 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs.  He also stole nine bases while being caught ten times.  His numbers across the board were down.  With the impending emergence of Nomar Garciaparra, Valentin's name started getting bandied about in trade rumors.

Roger Clemens
Despite a losing record, The Rocket was back in fine form.  He finished the season with a 10-13 record, but lead the league with 257 strikeouts and had a 3.63 ERA.  Clemens also replicated his record 20 strikeout game late in the season, this time against the Tigers.  Unfortunately this was the final season for Clemens in Boston.

Jose Canseco
Canseco was on his way to one of his best seasons until missing a month and a half with an injury.  He ended up only playing in 96 games, but finished with a batting line of .289/.400/.589 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs.  Had he played the full season, he would have likely ended up with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Tim Wakefield
The knuckleballer was nowhere near as impressive in 1996 as he had been the previous season.  He still won 14 games, but lost 13 and finished with an ERA of 5.14.  But he was a workhorse, pitching 211.2 innings and striking out 140.  Such is the plight of the knuckleball pitcher.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Tim Naehring
The longtime prospect continued to improve.  He looked like a good bet to become a star after hitting .288/.363/.444 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He did only get 16 doubles, which is kind of an odd thing for someone with that many home runs.

Mike Greenwell
It was Gator's final season in Boston.  1996 ended up being his final season in the Major Leagues despite an attempt with the Reds.  He ended up only appearing in 77 games, but had a high point when he had a nine RBI game, accounting for all of Boston's runs, a record.  His season line was .295/.336/.441 with seven home runs.

Reggie Jefferson
Jefferson had bounced from team to team for years before finally breaking through in 1996.  He was able to play in over 100 games for the first time due to injuries to Canseco and Greenwell.  He responded with a terrific season, hitting .347/.388/.593 with 19 home runs and 74 RBIs.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS
Mike Stanley
One of the rare players to come to the Red Sox directly from the Yankees and actually do well.  Stanley was 33 years old but a terrific hitter.  He was not quite the same behind the plate though and 1996 would be his last season as a full-time catcher.  He ended up hitting .270/.383/.506 with 24 home runs and 69 RBIs.  He also walked more than he struck out, unusual for a catcher.  It was the best offensive season by a Red Sox catcher since Carlton Fisk.

Tom Gordon
The diminutive right-hander was brought to Boston to be a number two starter, but he did not end up having a terribly good year.  His record was 12-9 which was a little deceptive because his ERA ended up being 5.59.  He did strike out 171 hitters in 215.1 innings though.

Heathcliff Slocumb
Since Rick Aguilera left as a free agent, Boston swung a trade with the Phillies to acquire closer Slocumb.  He got off to a horrific start but calmed down to become one of the most reliable closers in the league.  He ended up with 31 saves for the Red Sox and 88 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITIONS
Darren Bragg
As I mentioned earlier, Boston traded off a number of players in 1996, including Mike Stanton, Jamie Moyer, Kevin Mitchell, and Jeff Manto.  Bragg was acquired in the Moyer trade and ended up having the longest tenure in Boston of any of the new players.  He hit .252/.357/.365 with Boston and became the team's starting center fielder.  He was always a hard-nosed player which endeared him to the fans.

FAVORITE ROOKIE
Mark Brandenburg
This is the closest I could find to a decent rookie in 1996.  The side-arming Brandenburg was acquired in the Stanton trade and ended up with a 4-2 record, 3.81 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.  Not bad.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
Kevin Mitchell
After playing in Japan in 1995, Mitchell returned to the Major Leagues with the Red Sox and was one of the more unusual acquisitions by the team.  He was expected to add some extra pop to the lineup but ended up playing only 27 games.  He hit reasonably well with a line of .304/.385/.413 but only hit two home runs and drove in 13.  He was later dealt to the Reds for two players who never made the Red Sox big league team.

Wil Cordero
Cordero was yet another player acquired because of his offensive ability, despite the fact that he was something less than a wizard in the field.  He was more a disappointment due to getting hurt early on and only playing in 59 games.  He did hit .288/.330/.404 with three home runs and 37 RBIs.  Boston ended up getting Jeff Frye to make up for losing Cordero for most of the season.

Alex Cole
This one is more personal.  I am not sure anyone really expected much out of Alex Cole, but I always liked him.  He was fast and he wore goggles.  It was endearing.  He ended up only playing in 24 games with the Red Sox with a terrible .222/.296/.319 line.  He did steal five bases, but he was caught three times.  Not impressive at all.  He was only brought in, along with Milt Cuyler, in case Dwayne Hosey was a fluke, which he was, but neither Cole nor Cuyler were any good either, so Boston did the sensible thing and brought Lee Tinsley back and then acquired Bragg.  It worked out, sort of.

Feature: Best (And Worst) Red Sox Trades Since 1991

Most of my articles, you will notice, are limited to the time since 1991. That's not to say that I do not know as much about periods before then, I have researched thoroughly. But research only gets you so far. I have seen the players since 1991 and that helps me make more informed decisions.

With that little explanation, I want to look at five trades that I consider to be the best Red Sox trades since 1991. And then I will look at five that I consider to be the worst.

THE BEST

1995
Red Sox get: DH Jose Canseco

In two seasons with Boston, Canseco hit 52 home runs and had a slash line of .298/.389/.571/.960. Sure, he was on steroids, but so were a lot of other players. If it had not been for injuries, his home run total would have looked even better. WAR=5.1

Rangers get: CF Otis Nixon and 3B Luis Ortiz

Nixon played reasonably well for Texas, stealing 50 bases and hitting .295, but his only real weapon was speed. WAR=0.5

Ortiz played part-time for Texas in 1995 but even less in 1996 and was out of baseball after that. WAR=-1.1

TOTAL WAR=-0.6

1996
Red Sox get: RP Heathcliff Slocumb, P Larry Wimberly, OF Rick Holyfield

Slocumb is the only player to be in the Major Leagues out of these three. He put together a very good 1996 season for the Red Sox, going 5-5 with a 3.02 ERA, 88 strikeouts in 83.2 innings, and saved 31 games. He was pretty disastrous in 1997 but still managed 17 saves before he was traded, but that is part of why this trade was so great too. See below. WAR=3.2

Winberly and Holyfield never made it to the Majors.

TOTAL WAR=3.2

Phillies get: RP Ken Ryan, OF Lee Tinsley, OF Glenn Murray

Ken Ryan was supposed to be a closer-in-waiting. He did have a pretty good 1996 for the Phillies, going 3-5, 2.43 ERA and struck out 70 in 89 innings. But he never came close to those numbers again. WAR=0.8

Lee Tinsley played 31 ugly games for the Phillies and returned to Boston. WAR=-1.1

Glenn Murray played 38 ugly games for the Phillies and never returned to the Majors. WAR=-0.6

TOTAL WAR=-1.3

1997
Red Sox get: P Derek Lowe and C Jason Varitek

In eight seasons with Boston, Derek Lowe went 70-55, 3.72 ERA with 673 strikeouts. He once saved 40 games (2000) and won 20 games (2002). He was a two-time All Star (2000, 2002) and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting in 2002. He won the clinching games for all three postseason series in 2004. He also pitched a no-hitter against the Devil Rays in 2002. WAR=18.4

Jason Varitek has played in 14 seasons for the Red Sox with a slash line of .258/.343/.436/.778. He has hit 182 home runs and played the most games as a Red Sox catcher ever. He is the captain of the team. He is a three-time All Star (2003, 2005, 2008) and won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in 2005. He has caught four no-hitters (Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester). WAR=23.1

TOTAL WAR=41.5

Mariners get: RP Heathcliff Slocumb

See. Slocumb in two years with Seattle was awful. He went 2-9, 4.97 ERA and 13 saves. WAR=0.4

1998
Red Sox get: P Pedro Martinez

Do I really have to talk about what Pedro did? Okay, 117-37, 2.52 ERA, 1,683 strikeouts in 1,383.2 innings. Two-time Cy Young winner (1999, 2000), four-time All Star. Looks to be headed to the Hall of Fame, with a Red Sox cap on his plaque. WAR=47.6

Expos get: P Carl Pavano and P Tony Armas Jr.

Pavano went 24-35 in five seasons for the Expos. He had a 4.83 ERA and 304 strikeouts in 452.2 innings. WAR=2.0

Armas Jr. pitched for eight seasons with the Expos and Nationals, as he was with the team when they relocated. He went 48-60, 4.45 ERA, and 680 strikeouts in 925.2 innings. WAR=7.7

TOTAL WAR=9.7

2004
Red Sox get: P Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling went 53-29, with a 3.95 ERA and 574 strikeouts in 675 innings. He won 21 games in 2004 and lead the league in wins and winning percentage. He was an All Star that year and finished second in the Cy Young race. He basically ruined his career with his heroics in the 2004 postseason, but had a couple of solid seasons afterwards. WAR=14.5

Diamondbacks get: P Casey Fossum, P Jorge De La Rosa, P Brandon Lyon, and OF Michael Goss

Casey Fossum spent one year in Arizona going 4-15 with a 6.65 ERA. WAR=-1.3

Jorge De La Rosa was traded a few days later as part of a large package to Milwaukee for Richie Sexson. WAR=0.0

Brandon Lyon spent four years in Arizona and went 11-15, 4.03 ERA and 42 saves. WAR=1.7

Michael Goss never made the Major Leagues. WAR=0.0

TOTAL WAR=0.4


THE WORST

1996
Red Sox get: OF Darren Bragg

Bragg spent three years in Boston with a slash line of .264/.346/.395/.741 with 20 home runs and 21 stolen bases. WAR=5.4

Mariners get: P Jamie Moyer

Moyer spent 11 years with Seattle and went 145-87 with a 3.97 ERA. He won 20 games twice for the Mariners. WAR=32.4

1998
Red Sox get: C/DH Jim Leyritz and OF Damon Buford

Leyritz was a very good player for Boston but did not like being a part-timer and forced a trade to San Diego where Boston got three spare parts (Mandy Romero, Dario Veras, Carlos Reyes). Leyritz went .287/.385/.519/.904 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs. WAR=0.7

Buford spent two years as a backup outfielder going .259/.317/.453/.770 with 16 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases and played great outfield defense. WAR=1.8

TOTAL WAR=2.5

Rangers get: P Aaron Sele, C Bill Haselman, RP Mark Brandenburg

Sele spent two years in Texas going 37-20. WAR=5.7

Haselman was a backup catcher with power. WAR=0.6

Brandenburg did not make the Major Leagues with Texas. WAR=0.0

TOTAL WAR=6.3

2000
Red Sox get: RP Hector Carrasco

Carrasco was terrible with Boston. He went 1-1 with a 9.45 ERA with seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings and was a free agent after the season when he returned to Minnesota. WAR=-0.4

Twins get: OF Lew Ford

Ford played five seasons for the Twins with a slash line of .272/.349/.402/.751 with 32 home runs and 47 stolen bases. WAR=3.2

2003
Red Sox get: P Jeff Suppan, RP Brandon Lyon, RP Anastacio Martinez

Suppan was supposed to help stabilize the rotation for the stretch run. He went 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 63 innings. WAR=0.2

I will not consider the WAR values of Brandon Lyon and Anastacio Martinez as they were reacquired from Pittsburgh due to some complaints about Lyon's shoulder. Both were with the Red Sox earlier in the season.

Pirates get: 2B Freddy Sanchez, RP Mike Gonzalez

Sanchez spent six years in Pittsburgh with a slash line of .301/.338/.424/.761. He won the batting title in 2006 and lead the NL in doubles. He was a three time All Star. WAR=11.6

Gonzalez was reacquired by Pittsburgh for the same reason as Lyon and Martinez above. This trade was just a mess.

2007
Red Sox get: RP Eric Gagne

Gagne was 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA but had 22 strikeouts in 18.2 innings. WAR=-0.4

Rangers get: OF David Murphy, P Kason Gabbard, OF Engel Beltre

Murphy has been with the Rangers for four seasons so far and put up a slash line of .283/.342/.459/.802 with 46 home runs, 210 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases. WAR=5.3

Gabbard was 4-4 with a 5.14 ERA. WAR=0.0

Beltre is a top prospect in the Rangers system. WAR=0.0 (so far)