Red Sox Legends Heavily Featured On The Athletic’s All-Quarter Century Team
The Boston Red Sox have boasted some of baseball’s premier players during the 21st century. That shows in a recent squad assembled to honor the last 25 years.
Aside from Adrian Beltre, who spent one All-Star season (2010) of his Hall of Fame career in Boston, The Athletic didn’t choose any Red Sox stars when revealing the starting lineup for its All-Quarter Century Team last month. However, they unveiled a full 40-man roster loaded with Boston royalty.
Manny Ramirez backs up Barry Bonds in left field, David Ortiz is the second designated hitter behind Shohei Ohtani, and Mookie Betts fills a special utility role. Pedro Martinez was one of seven starting pitchers selected.
Meanwhile, the bullpen has a heavy Boston flavor. Longtime New York Yankees rival Mariano Rivera leads a shutdown relief corps featuring former Red Sox stars Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen, Billy Wagner and Andrew Miller. Current closer Aroldis Chapman is the only active Red Sox on the team.
The Athletic also added outside-the-box picks to form a well-rounded roster. As a result, another less heralded Red Sox player joins the fold.
Doug Mientkiewicz batted .215/.286/.318 during his brief time in Boston, but he maintains a special place in Red Sox lore as a member of the 2004 World Series champions. The first baseman made the team as a defensive specialist.
“In 1986, the Red Sox lost a would-be World Series clincher when they failed to insert a defensive replacement at first base. In 2004, they made sure that wouldn’t happen by acquiring a Gold Glove Award-winning backup,” The Athletic wrote. “Mientkiewicz didn’t hit much, and he didn’t have to. All he had to do was make the plays at first base, and the biggest was easy: catching Keith Foulke’s underhand toss for the final out of a cathartic World Series victory.”
The Athletic also recognized Theo Epstein, selecting the former Red Sox general manager as the All-Quarter Century Team’s executive. He won two World Series titles in Boston before also helping the Chicago Cubs break a long title drought in 2016.