Red Sox Bobbleheads we'd like to see -- 2015 team & retro set

In honor of Mike Napoli Bobblehead Night, here are some other Red Sox past and present we'd like to see similarly honored -- with a bit of revisionist history at work:

Eduardo Rodriguez following through during record 9th straight win to start his MLB career. 

Pablo Sandoval completing a RIGHT-HANDED home-run swing.

(just reverse the picture--I can't find one)

Hanley Ramirez making leaping catch against the Green Monster -- the ball snug in his glove.

Nine mini-Brock Holts manning all nine spots on the diamond.

Jon Lester shaking David Ross' hand after hurling an 8-0 shutout on Opening Day, 2015.

Nomar Garciaparra going through his between-pitch rituals.

Carl Everett petting Wally the Green Stegosaurus.

Wade Boggs pissing off Barney by drinking all the beer in Moe's Tavern.

Bill Buckner singling to finish Boston's 4-run, game-winning rally in 9th inning of Game 7 of 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium.

Carlton Fisk signing his new three-year contract after it arrives in the mail on Dec. 18, 1980.

It's a 1981 card (sigh)

Don Zimmer and Bill Lee hugging after Lee shuts down the Yankees to save the 1978 AL Playoff.

(This was taken a few innings before)

Bernie Carbo rounding the bases  after his third pinch-homer of the 1975 World Series clinches the championship for Boston.

Jackie Robinson, resplendent in his home white Red Sox uniform, congratulated by on-deck hitter Roy Campanella after Opening Day homer, 1949.

(I know, just squint and make believe)

Babe Ruth on deck in 1927 World Series for Red Sox at Fenway Park -- Boston's fifth Fall Classic of the decade in "The House That Ruth Shook."

Cheer up and laugh fans with some Red Sox-themed Letterman Top Ten Lists

Ortiz gets the last laugh on Mr. Yankee Fan.

David Letterman made his love for baseball -- and the Yankees -- very clear during his 33 years as a late-night TV host, with legends from Harmon Killebrew to Bill Veeck to Derek Jeter taking a seat by his desk. He liked to have some fun with the Red Sox, however, and with the Sox currently suffering through one of the worst offensive slumps in team history, Boston fans can all use a laugh.

In honor of Letterman's retirement, here are some of the best Red Sox-related Top 10 lists (and mentions on lists) from the past 15 years:

Feb. 19, 2015 (after Pablo Sandoval reports to his first Boston spring training looking a bit hefty around the middle)

Top Ten Things You Don't Want to Hear From Your $95 Million Baseball Player

10.   "Are you going to finish that?"
9.     "I'm a .294 hitter, and that''s just my cholesterol."
8.     "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks and a hot dog and popcorn and one of those little baseball helmets filled with ice cream."
7.     "Could have sworn the season started in August."
6.     "Can we make it to the seventh-inning brunch."
5.     "I need a few weekends off for Bachelor parties."
4.    "Do the bases have to be so far apart."
3.    "I eat like Babe Ruth, drink like Ruth Bader Ginsburg  

(Letterman joked that this list was "for Boston only; it's being blacked-out everywhere else.)

Oct. 22, 2004 (read by Curt Schilling--this one had to be tough for Dave to swallow)

Top Ten Reasons for the Boston Red Sox Comeback

10.  Unlike the first three games, we didn't leave early to beat the traffic.
9.    We put flu virus in Jeter's Gatorade.
8.    Let's just say Pete Rose made some phone calls for us.
7.    We asked Pokey Reese to be a little less Pokey.
6.    It's not like we haven't won a big game before -- it's just been 86 years.
5.    Honestly, I think we were tired of hearing about the Patriots.
4.    The messages of encouragement Martha [Stewart] sent on prison napkins.
3.    We pretended the baseball was Letterman's head.
2.    What'd you expect -- we have a guy who looks like Jesus!
1.     We got Babe Ruth's ghost a hooker and now everything's cool. 

Summer 2002 (from monologue)

"The Boston Red Sox once again, in order to avoid that costly World Series parade, will have their customary second-half swoon."
(He was right)



July 10, 2002 (a week after Ted Williams' death and the news his son and younger daughter were freezing his body)

Top Ten Little-Known Facts About Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
3. Refuses to recognize Ted Williams as the top cryogenically-frozen ball player of all time.


May 21, 1999

Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Hear From a Fenway Park Hot Dog Vendor

10.  As my own tribute the Boston Tea Party, I spat in the mustard.
9.   These hot dogs are the real green monsters, right?
8.   If you find a Band-Aid in there -- it's mine.
7.   Try my Buckner Special -- one that was between my legs.
6.   See you in Mass. General, jackass.
5.   Hot dogs are a dollar -- backrubs are fifty cents.
4.   The meat for these things came from an MIT science project.
3.   If you eat this thing, your nickname better be "Old Ironsides."
2.   This hot dog wins the World Series of maggots.
1.   Remember:  1 if by salmonella, 2 if by trichinosis.

A Babe who helped the Red Sox to 2004 glory -- no, not him

(Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Players from David Ortiz to David Roberts all played a role in the thrilling finish to the 2004 Red Sox season, but there was another factor at work as the days grew shorter and colder that fall -- one that I believe helped propel Boston from the brink of a four-game ALCS sweep at the hands of the Yankees to a World Series championship in just 10 days.

Whether the spirit of George Herman Ruth had something to do with the miracle turnaround, no one is certain, but there was one living Babe who I will always feel was part of the seismic shift of success that saw Boston finally come out on top.

The story actually began a year earlier, in October of 2003, when the Red Sox were on the brink of beating the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS. Like any fan, I was doing everything I could to send good karma from my family room to the Bronx. I had my Pedro Martinez bobblehead and '75 American League championship banner atop theTV, and was watching Pedro cruise his way to victory when my friend Scott came strolling through the front door. It was the seventh inning and the Red Sox were winning, 4-1.

"Can you believe this? We're going to the World Series!" Scott yelled. He and I had been attending Sox games together since high school, and had been taunted into submission by Mets fans as Syracuse classmates in 1986, so he was looking forward to a chance at redemption.

Thanks, Scott. (Boston Red Sox)

"Shut up, you idiot," I yelled, but of course it was too late. Just like I did when I asked my girlfriend Wendy to take a photo of me and the TV screen when Calvin Schiraldi got the final out of the '86 World Series, Scott had chosen his words poorly. An inning later a tiring Pedro was driven from the game, and the Yankees wound up winning the pennant in 11 innings.

Nine months later, on August 16, 2004, the Red Sox were slated to meet the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. I was also on Brookline Avenue that night, but not at Fenway. I was a few blocks away, at Beth Israel Hospital, with my wife, Michelle, for the birth of our daughter, Rachel.

The Sox were a less-than-stellar 64-52 at the time, 10.5 games behind New York in the American League East and battling with Anaheim, Minnesota, and several other teams for the Wild Card lead. The blockbuster trades that had sent Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs and brought Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Roberts to Boston were still being dissected by the media -- the merits of the deals yet to be determined.

Would Cabrera be key? No one knew yet.

Then, seemingly all at once, everything clicked. The Red Sox pulled away from Toronto for an 8-4 victory on the 16th, and over the next three weeks kept winning, and winning, and winning. By the time Pedro and Big Papi fueled a 8-3 rout at Oakland on Sept. 8, Boston had gone 20-2 since Rachel's birth -- one of the hottest stretches in team history.

As the New York lead in the East kept shrinking, and the Wild Card advantage expanding, I began to wonder if perhaps my little baby girl was some sort of living, breathing talisman. Maybe the tiny Red Sox hat I put in her bed at the hospital had given her some power to produce victories.

Working her magic.

I took to calling the turnaround of the team the "Rachel Effect" and I still believe it had something to do with what transpired that October. You better believe Rachel was up and watching every out of the World Series, along with our son, Jason. Back then, when people still believed in curses and victory parades were not a common occurrence in Boston, Red Sox fans looked for luck wherever we could find it.

Scott, however, was barred from the premises.

Solution to Red Sox woes found in Massachusetts basement?

Ruth's bat: Magic for the taking? (TMZ)

As the Red Sox lineup continues to struggle, with five runs combined over the last three games, the solution to the team's offensive problems may be at hand.

A Massachusetts family going through a seemingly routine spring cleaning recently found a batch of old baseball bats from the 1910s packed away in the basement. One of them turned out to belong to a former Red Sox pitcher who could also hit a little: Babe Ruth. 

The Ruth model dates from approximately 1916-18,  a period when the Babe was one of the best left-handers in baseball and was also developing the power that would revolutionize the game. His 11 home runs in 1918 led the American League, and a year later he smashed a record 29 before his sale to the Yankees -- for whom he set another new mark with 54 homers in 1920.

The bat has been authenticated and is currently on auction with Goldin Auctions. The opening bid is set at $50,000. 

Too familiar a sight this year. (AP, Charles Krupa)

Other than David Ortiz, there is no current Red Sox player on pace for a 20-homer year. Perhaps the key to an offensive turnaround lays in the magic of the Bambino -- and John Henry could change Boston's fortunes by getting out his checkbook and outbidding the highest offer.

Boston enters play Tuesday with a team batting average well short of .250, and a modest total of 50 home runs. Maybe taking a few cuts with Ruth's 40.5-ounce stick could provide the boost needed to heat up with the weather.

Best and worst Red Sox Christmas-time transactions

Can Hanrahan light up Fenway? Time will tell.

Now that it appears the Red Sox have "wrapped up" their big Christmas week trade with the Pirates, it got me thinking about how the Sox have fared in past late-December moves. It's too early to say how this swap is going to shake out; if closer Joel Hanrahan pitches in Boston like he did during most of the past two seasons, he'll be a huge step in the rebuilding effort.

Here's a look back at the success of some other Christmas-time transactions by the Red Sox:

Dec. 28, 2011: Promising outfielder Josh Reddick and minor leaguers Miles Head and Raul Alcantara traded to Oakland for closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

Reddick probably doesn't feel this way anymore.

Result: Not looking good so far. Bailey was injured most of the season and ineffective upon his return. The Hanrahan trade makes it pretty clear Sox management believes Bailey won't bounce back strong, and Sweeney was allowed to go to free agency after a lackluster .260, 0-homer year with Boston. As for Reddick, he was one of the biggest MLB surprises of 2012, hitting 32 homers and earning a Gold Glove with the A's. HO-HO-HO Meter -- (1/2 HO)

Dec. 24, 2004: Catcher Jason Varitek re-signed as free agent. 

A direct result of Tek's re-tendering -- another title.

Result: Strong move for two reasons. Although Varitek turned 33 in April 2005, he remained a productive offensive and defensive performer for most of the four-year deal. More importantly, the captain stabilized an ever-evolving pitching staff and helped lead the Red Sox to another World Series title in 2007. (HO-HO-HO)



Dec. 21, 2001: Outfielder Johnny Damon signed as free agent.

What would Johnny do? Plenty for the Sox.

Result: Idiot's delight. Damon delivered in every way for the Red Sox over the four-year contract, as a speedy lead-off man with power, an excellent defensive outfielder (minus his throwing arm), as a tough, enthusiastic leader in the clubhouse, and as a clutch performer in the postseason. His grand slam in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS is one of the biggest hits in team history. (HO-HO-HO-HO) 

December 19, 2000: Outfielder Manny Ramirez signed as free agent. 

Over 8 years, Sox fans enjoyed Manny happy moments.

Result: Best free-agent signing in team history. Even at eight years and $160 million, Manny was worth it -- teaming with David Ortiz to form a devastating one-two punch and averaging .313/.412/.594 with 36 homers and  114 RBI from 2001-2007 as a major cog on two World Series champions. (HO-HO-HO-HO)

Dec. 22, 1980: Postmark date stamped on a contract mailed to Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, two days after a deadline expired -- making Fisk a free agent. 

After switching Sox and his number, Fisk kept hitting.

Result: Holy Cliff Clavin. Fisk signs with the White Sox and over next 13 more seasons hits 214 home runs. (No HOs)

Dec. 26, 1919: Outfielder/pitcher Babe Ruth sold to Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,00 loan.

Harry Frazee ate crow on this move.

Result:  Owner Harry Frazee's folly. Frazee didn't like Ruth's wild ways, or his demands for a $20,000 contract. So he sent the Babe packing, then watched him hit 659 homers for New York through 1934. (No HOs)

Toughest Red Sox to see in a Yankees uniform at Fenway

When word of his pending trade broke, Fenway rocked for Youk.

Pending a failed physical or other unforeseen mishap, Kevin Youkilis will be manning third base and wearing pinstripes when the Red Sox open the 2013 season at Yankee Stadium on April 1. Amazingly, it won't be until July 19 that the teams will square off in Boston, giving Fenway Park fans their first chance to see their former favorite son in a New York uniform.

Red Sox Nation had an opportunity to adjust to life with Youk in the visitor's dugout when the White Sox visited Fenway shortly after his trade to Chicago last summer, but this is a much different situation. Boston fans may developed a kinder, gentler hatred for the Yankees since 2004, but there is something about seeing a former Red Sox in enemy colors that still tugs at the heartstrings.

Here's a look back at some of the biggest Boston heroes to wind up in the Bronx -- and how they fared on their Fenway returns.

BABE RUTH

Even in Yankees road duds, Boston loved the Babe.

He's the guy who started it all.

When Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold his mega-talented problem child to the Yankees for a record $100,000 in cash plus a $300,000 loan in January 1920, he did nothing to change the feelings Boston fans had toward the greatest player of all time. Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Co. routinely plastered the hapless Red Sox of the '20s and early '30s at Fenway, but the crowds never stopped cheering for the Bambino.

In fact, Fenway routinely drew its biggest crowds during this period when the Yankees came to town. They knew one-of-a-kind talent when they saw it, no matter the uniform. They just wished he was still wearing the right one.



RED RUFFING

Ruffing had little reason to smile with the Sox.

A generation or two of readers might have never heard of this guy, but he's in the Hall of Fame -- and is the pitching equivalent of Babe Ruth when it comes to lost talent sent from Boston to New York.

The sale of Ruth started a wave of activity between Red Sox owner Frazee and his Yankees counterpart Jake Ruppert, who was more than happy to take promising players off Frazee's hands in exchange for cold cash and warm, mostly useless bodies. The 1923 Yankees team that won the World Series had 10 players who had come directly from Boston's roster, and by the time the right-handed Ruffing was swapped to New York for the immortal Cedric Durst and $50,000 in May 1930, the Yanks had started a dynasty and Fenway was a morgue where guys like Red came to pad their stats.

Ruffing celebrated his return to Boston a few weeks after the trade by helping the Yanks to a 3-2 victory. After going 39-96 for Boston, he would go 234-121 with New York plus 7-2 in the World Series. Guess which hat he's wearing on his Hall of Fame plaque?




SPARKY LYLE

They should have kept the other guy with a mustache.

Tom Yawkey purchased the last-place Red Sox in 1933, and apparently learned his lesson from Frazzee and his other predecessors and made trades to the Yankees a rare occurrence. In fact, it wasn't until the winter of 1972 that another swap of significance was made between the teams. 

This one was another stinker.

Sparky Lyle, a left-handed pitcher who had helped the 1967 Red Sox to the pennant as a rookie and became one of the AL's best relievers in the years that followed, was sent to New York for Danny Cater, a first baseman who looked like a used car salesman but always seemed to hit well at Fenway.

The fallout from this one was immediate. Cater hit .237 for Boston in '72 and was out of baseball not long thereafter. Lyle had an AL-best 35 saves his first summer in the Bronx and continued his superb work with the Yanks through six more years -- including a Cy Young season with the 1977 World Series champs. As a child of the Brady Bunch era I don't recall Fenway fans booing him much, but they knew the trade wasn't his fault.


LUIS TIANT

El Tiante -- a Fenway hero in any jersey.

A lot of people forget about this one, but LOOOO-IEE was the first major star to go from the Red Sox to the Yankees as a free agent -- and it didn't hurt his reputation in Boston one bit. 

A cult hero with teammates and fans who always won the big game -- including three of them in the '75 postseason -- the 38-year-old Tiant was offered just a one-year contract by Boston after pitching great down the stretch of a frenzied 1978 pennant race. The Yankees dangled a two-year deal, plus other perks, and just like that one of the most popular and talented players in franchise history was gone.

It doesn't really matter that Tiant's best days were behind him. Seeing him in a Yankee uniform at Fenway was agony. Carl Yastrzemski spoke for all his teammates when he said that when ownership let Looie leave, "they ripped out our heart and soul."

Fans felt the same way. 


WADE BOGGS

At least his Hall of Fame plaque has a "B" cap.

The next marquee name to head from Boston to the Bronx as a free agent was the best pure Red Sox hitter since Ted Williams -- but it was in New York he became a champion.

Third baseman Wade Boggs won five batting titles for the Red Sox, but after hitting .259 in 1992 was deemed expendable. Yanks brass thought he might still have something left, and they were right -- he hit .313 over five years in New York and helped the '96 Bombers to the World Series title. He even won two Gold Gloves, and the reception was usually mixed when he brought his slick hitting and fielding talents to Fenway. 

Boston fans appreciated what he had done for them, but he was still a Yankee.


ROGER CLEMENS

A hug from Papi -- and finally some Fenway cheers.

There was no mixed reaction when it came to Roger Clemens. 

There were two years (1996-97) between when Clemens left Boston as a free agent for Toronto and then moved on to the Yankees, and in that period many Fenway fans actually rooted for Roger when he came to town -- starting with a 16-strikeout performance against his old mates in his first game back. The guy getting the boos that day was the guy who let him walk -- Boston general manager Dan Duquette.

But once Clemens put on a Yankees uniform, the ace who won three Cy Youngs and an MVP with the Red Sox became the most despised man in the ballpark. He was even booed when introduced at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway as one of the century's top pitchers, and the anger only got worse when the Rocket helped the Yanks to four pennants and two World Series titles.

Only when more than 15 years had passed and Clemens was voted on to the All-Time Fenway Team in 2012 did he hear cheers at Fenway again -- and there were a few boos in there too. Given his history and the steroid rumors swirling around him, this will likely always be the case. 


JOHNNY DAMON

What a difference a year makes.

First he was Jesus, then he was Judas. That just about sums up the relationship between Boston fans and Johnny Damon.

The tough, fleet center fielder was one of the key players in the Red Sox Miracle of 2004, hitting two home runs (including a grand slam) against the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS. He even looked the part of a biblical savior with his shoulder-length hair and long beard.

Then, after another great year in 2005, the star pupil of Scott Boras took the highest offer and signed as a free agent with New York. That's when the "Damon is Judas" tee-shirts started popping up on Yawkey Way, and the moniker seemed even more appropriate when Steinbrenner made Damon cut off his heavy mane and beard. Johnny did get a mixed ovation on his first at-bat at Fenway with the Yanks, but by his second many fans were booing loudly.

Still, deep down it's a good bet many of them were jeering their former rock star hero as part of the newer, more good-natured Red Sox-Yankees rivalry than pure anger. People have a much different feeling toward Damon than they do Clemens and Boggs, Had 1986 not ended as it did, perhaps this would not be the case. But it did.

Damon may have defected, but he still won't ever have to buy a beer in Boston.


KEVIN YOUKILIS

Youk should get another hand like this one next July.

Which brings us back to Youk. Because the Yankees don't come to Boston until July 19-21 next year (what's up with that?) , there is a good chance that the injured Alex Rodriguez will be back manning third base for New York and Youkilis will be in a reserve role. 

Still, it's hard to imagine Youkilis won't get at least one chance to bat during the three-game series, and as he steps to the plate he will almost surely hear the greatest cheers given a Yankee since the ovation for Mariano Rivera on Opening Day, 2005 (in thanks for helping New York blow the ALCS the previous October). 

If Damon got a half-free pass for helping Boston win one World Series, Youkilis will get a full freebie for his part in two championships. Plus, more importantly, it wasn't Youk's choice to leave -- and if most Boston fans had it their way, he and Tito Francona would both still be wearing white at Fenway.