US – Sunday, March 21
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Published 00:03, September the 4th, 2007
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Finn: These rookies are among the best

Boy, do Red Sox fans have it good these days. Not only do they get to savor the sustained success of the present, but they’re lucky enough to get a tantalizing preview of the future as the team pushes toward the postseason.

I bring this up in reaction to the events of a glorious weekend at Fenway. Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter Saturday in his second major-league start confirmed what the “Baseball America” types have been telling us about him — he has three downright filthy pitches, and with good health, he could be an ace for seasons to come. Then Sunday, it was Buchholz’s minor-league roommate who owned the stage. With a web gem in center field and his first career homer, Jacoby Ellsbury contributed more to the cause than J.D. Drew has all summer

One of the underreported stories this season is the impact that rookies have had on the Sox’ success. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia — the defensive hero of Buchholz’s masterpiece and an unrelenting pest in general — gets our vote for rookie of the year, though it’s difficult to argue that he’s been more valuable than setup man extraordinaire Hideki Okajima. And, while Daisuke Matsuzaka has struggled at times, he’s proven beyond a doubt that he’s a top-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues. Where would the Sox be without them?

Rookies are associated with some of the franchise’s most memorable seasons. Yaz and Jim Lonborg were the superheroes of 1967, but ask any old-timer about his favorite recollections of that Impossible Dream season, and he’s sure to mention Billy Rohr and his near-no-hitter in the Bronx. In 1975, it was the Gold Dust Twins, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, who stole Sox fans’ hearts. In 1986, it was Calvin Schir ... well, OK, it doesn’t always happen, but the point stands. Everyone loves the new kid in town.

My favorite Sox rookie is hardly obscure, but it might come as a surprise since his arrival came in a lost season: Ellis Burks in 1987. Do you remember just how electric Burks was when he arrived in Boston? He was unlike any player we had seen in years, a dynamic five-tool talent, so fast and graceful; he exposed the rest of the Sox as slow and old. Actually, there was quite an influx of new talent in 1987: Burks, Jody Reed, Todd Benzinger and Sam Horn, along with Mike Greenwell in his first full season. It was probably the best rookie crop the Sox have had — that is, until this winning freshman class, 20 years later.

Chad Finn is the founder of Touching All The Bases (touchingallthebases.blogspot.com), a blog that takes a passionate but irreverent look at Boston sports. A sports copy editor at the Boston Globe, he also writes a weekly baseball column for FOXSports.com.

 
 
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