Jason Schwanz dot com

I Live in the Red Sox Nation

Filed under Baseball, Red Sox

I was a fairly stereotypical boy growing up. I loved climbing trees, riding my bike, and in the summers I loved playing and watching baseball. I turned 8 in October 1986, and that month has shaped my life since then.

1986 was the first calendar year I really watched any major sporting events. In January my teacher had us do some kind of project on the Super Bowl. That was the year Phil Sims led the Giants over the Broncos. I remember that for two reasons: my school assignment had to do with the Super Bowl (very cool assignment idea), and that year Elway led the Broncos on “the drive” to defeat the Browns in the AFC Championship game (I have family in Cleveland, so I didn’t like the Broncos after that game). Then in October I watched every game of the World Series between the Red Sox and Mets.

I was in 8-year-old bliss that month. I was so caught up in the WS spectical that I couldn’t decide who I wanted to cheer for. My dad took to calling me a flip-flop fan. I didn’t really care who won, I just thought both teams were great. For the Mets it was Doc Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, Gary Carter, and Co. For the Sox it was Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, and Co. Seriously, it was a crazy up-and-down series, with the defining ERROR by Bill Buckner. We all know how that series ended.

The Mets became my favorite NL team, and the Red Sox my favorite AL team. There was not interleague play back then so I didn’t have to worry about when they played each other during the season. Over time I started following the Mets less and less, and I became solidified as a member of the Red Sox Nation. I think it was in the fourth grade I did a report on Ted Williams. Man his swing was pretty. I remember watching a clip, I think during the 1989 WS, comparing Ted’s swing to Will Clark’s swing and how nearly matching they were.

Ok, so if I had to make a lineup out of all those that played for Boston from 1986 to today, who would be on it? Granted this is with good health and “in their prime” in mind (which for some is now), here goes:

• Mo Vaughn - 1B
• Marty Barrett - 2B
• Nomar Garciaparra - SS
• Wade Boggs - 3B
• Jim Rice - OF
• Mike Greenwell - OF
• Johnny Damon - OF
• Jason Varitek - C
• David Ortiz - DH

And my starting rotation would be:

• Roger Clemens
• Pedro Martinez
• Curt Schilling
• Derek Lowe
• Tim Wakefield

There are some guys I left off these lists that I’d love to include — Scott Hatteberg, Shea Hillenbrand, Dwight Evans, Ellis Burks, Manny Ramirez, Bill Mueller, Bruce Hurst, Bret Saberhagen — but there just isn’t room for them.

That’s all for now. I’m sure you’ll get more thoughts on how the current team is doing at a later date.