Boston Red Sox: A History of the Left Fielder at Fenway Park

Think about the mystique of left field at Fenway.

The park is punctuated by the famous and historic 37 foot tall, 310 foot deep wall, the Green Monster.

It has also been home to some of the greatest players to play the game: Williams. Yaz. Manny.

Those are just three of the precious few who have had the pride and privilege of playing left field at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox.

Ted Williams—1939-1960

"Teddy Ballgame" is probably in the top 10 of the greatest players ever to play the game.

He took four seasons off in his prime to serve our country in World War II, and then another year off for the Korean War.

Williams finished his career with 17 All-Star selections, a .344 career average, 521 career home runs, and 1,839 RBI.

Teddy Ballgame was also the last player to hit .400 in a single season, posting a .406 clip in 1941.

Ted Williams passed away on July 5, 2002 at the age of 83.

Carl Yastrzemski—1961-1983 (1961-1974 in leftfield)

Yaz was my dad's favorite player.

Carl Yastrzemski had the extraordinarily difficult task of trying to fill Ted Willams's shoes at left field.

While no one could possibly do that, Yaz did an admirable job, becoming the last player to post a Triple Crown season—in the Red Sox's impossible dream season of 1967.

In 1975, a rookie by the name of Jim Rice was called up and took over for Yaz in left field. Yaz moved to first base for the rest of his career.

He had a .285 career average, 3,149 career hits, 452 career home runs, and 1,844 career RBI.

Jim Rice—1975-1989

Jim Rice was finally inducted in the MLB Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility, in 2008.

Rice might have changed history in 1978, as he was injured with a broken hand, and missed the one-game playoff between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

The Yankees won, to force Boston out of the playoffs, and paving the road for an eventual World Series title.

Many baseball historians believe that the 1978 Red Sox were among the best Red Sox teams of all time, and they don't even have a playoff appearance to show for it.

Rice had a career batting average of .298, with 382 home runs, and 1,451 RBI.

Mike Greenwell—1985-1996

Red Sox fans thought that Mike Greenwell was a hick.

They thought that Greenwell named his son Bo because he couldn't spell Bob.

Make no mistake, though—Greenwell was an excellent player for the Red Sox in his time.

Greenwell was the leading contender for the AL MVP in 1988, but lost out to Jose Canseco of Oakland, who later admitted that he won the MVP award on steroids.

He is a two time all-star, in 1988 and 1989.

Greenwell finished his career in 1997 with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan league.

Greenwell finished his major league career with a .303 average, 130 home runs, and 726 RBI.

Troy O'Leary—1993-2003 (1995-2001 with Boston)

O'Leary is the first player on this list not to spend his entire career with Boston.

His best seasons were with the Red Sox, where he had 23 home runs in 1998, and 28 home runs in 1999. His highest average was in 1997, with a .309 clip.

Manny Ramirez—2001-2008

Man Ram was superb with Boston.

He was one of the best right-handed hitters I've ever seen, but it just got so bitter for him in Boston, and the trade to Mannywood was for the best.

After signing that seven year deal, Manny's best power season with Boston was 2005: 45 home runs and 144 RBI.

Jason Bay—2008-Present

J-Bay has to be my favorite player on the Red Sox right now.

He's probably as good—if not better—a hitter as Manny is off the 'roids. Bay actually hustles down the line on ground balls, and makes spectacular catches on defense.

The Red Sox's front office should definitely resign Jason Bay to a four year deal.