Left Field in Fenway Park: Can We Be Honest Here?
The truth is the for all the hype down through the years, left field in Fenway is just about the easiest space of outfield grass to play in all the major leagues. Due to its incredibly short distance and the Green Monster giving fairly consistent bounces, there is less ground to cover in left in Fenway than in other MLB stadiums.
Center and right field in Fenway are completely different stories. There is quite a bit of ground to cover for centerfielders and rightfielders, with intricate and confusing infrastructure to be dealt with. It seems that Red Sox management has long been aware of this predicament, as many great fielders have patrolled center and right for the Olde Towne Team for decades. Fred Lynn, Johnny Damon, Darren Lewis, Dwight Evans and the current man in right, JD Drew are the first names that come to mind as doing terrific defensive work for the Sox over my lifetime.
The reason for this post is the continued assertion that left field in Fenway Park is a tough place to play, especially with former Red Sox' Jim Rice being named Tuesday to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That assertion could not be further from the truth. Just look at the list of left fielders from World War II to current times that have played there: Ted Williams, who was reputed to be an indifferent defensive player at best, often practicing his swing while manning the outfield; Yaz, who was admittedly a great fielder but never had the cannon arm required to man the much tougher and more expansive right field; Jim Rice, who was another indifferent fielder with a pop gun arm; Mike Greenwell, who really was lousy in left but could certainly rake; and Manny Ramirez... Enough said about Manny's defense.
Looking at those names, two things are obvious: They all could really hit the fucking cover off the ball. And they all would have made lousy rightfielders, except for maybe Yaz whenever Dewey was resting.
So can we please put to rest all the talk that left field is a tough place to play? The Sox administration has always placed a premium on hitting at that position, with defense an afterthought. The current left fielder, Jason Bay, is another in a long line of good to great hitters with little to no defensive value. Bay has no speed or arm to speak of, but should be a valuable member of the 09 team due to his outstanding offensive skills. Good for him.
Jim Rice may now be a Hall of Famer on his way to Cooperstown for the induction ceremony this summer, but he should be thankful he patrolled left field in Fenway Park for his entire career, as the media could build up his nonexistent "skill" in playing the Monster. He was a butcher in left who could hit like no other player on the club, as were all Red Sox left fielders. End of story.
Center and right field in Fenway are completely different stories. There is quite a bit of ground to cover for centerfielders and rightfielders, with intricate and confusing infrastructure to be dealt with. It seems that Red Sox management has long been aware of this predicament, as many great fielders have patrolled center and right for the Olde Towne Team for decades. Fred Lynn, Johnny Damon, Darren Lewis, Dwight Evans and the current man in right, JD Drew are the first names that come to mind as doing terrific defensive work for the Sox over my lifetime.
The reason for this post is the continued assertion that left field in Fenway Park is a tough place to play, especially with former Red Sox' Jim Rice being named Tuesday to the Baseball Hall of Fame. That assertion could not be further from the truth. Just look at the list of left fielders from World War II to current times that have played there: Ted Williams, who was reputed to be an indifferent defensive player at best, often practicing his swing while manning the outfield; Yaz, who was admittedly a great fielder but never had the cannon arm required to man the much tougher and more expansive right field; Jim Rice, who was another indifferent fielder with a pop gun arm; Mike Greenwell, who really was lousy in left but could certainly rake; and Manny Ramirez... Enough said about Manny's defense.
Looking at those names, two things are obvious: They all could really hit the fucking cover off the ball. And they all would have made lousy rightfielders, except for maybe Yaz whenever Dewey was resting.
So can we please put to rest all the talk that left field is a tough place to play? The Sox administration has always placed a premium on hitting at that position, with defense an afterthought. The current left fielder, Jason Bay, is another in a long line of good to great hitters with little to no defensive value. Bay has no speed or arm to speak of, but should be a valuable member of the 09 team due to his outstanding offensive skills. Good for him.
Jim Rice may now be a Hall of Famer on his way to Cooperstown for the induction ceremony this summer, but he should be thankful he patrolled left field in Fenway Park for his entire career, as the media could build up his nonexistent "skill" in playing the Monster. He was a butcher in left who could hit like no other player on the club, as were all Red Sox left fielders. End of story.
posted by joe sweeney at 1:31 AM
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