116 Fun Facts About Boston Red Sox

Before adopting the name Red Sox for 1908, what was the club commonly called in the newspapers?

The Americans, after the American League, was a common press name; 'Pilgrims', long listed as the club's early nickname, was barely used at the time, researcher Bill Nowlin found.

Which manager led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007?

Terry Francona, hired for 2004, ended the club's 86-year championship drought in his first season, won again in 2007 and stayed until 2011.

Boston won the very first World Series in 1903 against which team?

Boston beat the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in the best-of-nine 1903 Series, urged on by the Royal Rooters' endless choruses of 'Tessie'.

Which pitcher won the pitching Triple Crown for Boston in 1901 and holds the all-time record of 511 wins?

Cy Young won 33 games for Boston in 1901 and finished with 511; he was dubbed 'Cyclone' in 1890, reportedly after his fastballs tore up a wooden fence.

On 26 December 1919, the Red Sox sold which player to the New York Yankees?

Babe Ruth, fresh off a record 29 home runs in 1919, went to the Yankees for $100,000, the most ever paid for a player; Boston's next title came in 2004.

The 'Curse of the Bambino' only entered common use after which sportswriter's 1990 book of that name?

Dan Shaughnessy, a Boston Globe columnist, made the phrase part of Red Sox lore with his 1990 book; after the 2004 title he wrote a follow-up, Reversing the Curse.

Who bought the Red Sox in 1933 and owned them for over four decades?

Tom Yawkey bought the club in February 1933 and owned it until his death in 1976; Yawkey Way outside Fenway reverted to Jersey Street in 2018 over his record on race.

Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941; what is that figure's significance?

Last .400 season in the AL or NL: offered the final day off to protect an average that rounded up to .400, Williams played a doubleheader and went 6-for-8.

Ted Williams missed most of the 1952 and 1953 seasons serving as what in the Korean War?

A Marine combat pilot, Williams flew 39 missions in Korea and once crash-landed his flak-damaged jet; he had already lost 1943-45 to World War II service.

What did Ted Williams do in his final major-league at-bat in 1960?

Williams hit a home run off Baltimore's Jack Fisher in his last at-bat on 28 September 1960; John Updike immortalised the moment in 'Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu'.

What does the lone red seat in Fenway Park's right-field bleachers mark?

The longest home run hit there, a 502-foot shot by Ted Williams on 9 June 1946, punched through the straw hat of a fan named Joseph Boucher.

The Red Sox were the last major-league team to field a Black player, promoting whom in 1959?

Pumpsie Green debuted on 21 July 1959, twelve years after Jackie Robinson broke the colour line; the club had given Robinson a sham tryout at Fenway in April 1945.

A Red Sox left fielder's 1967 Triple Crown was the last in the majors until which player repeated the feat in 2012?

Miguel Cabrera hit .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBI for Detroit in 2012; the 1967 winner sealed his by going 7-for-8 in the season's last two games, both must-wins.

Which Red Sox star was the first American Leaguer to collect 3,000 hits and 400 home runs?

Carl Yastrzemski, who took over left field from Ted Williams in 1961, hit his 400th homer in July 1979 and singled for hit 3,000 that September.

Whose 12th-inning home run off the left-field foul pole won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series?

Carlton Fisk was caught by a camera inside the left-field scoreboard waving his arms to will the ball fair; the Reds still won Game 7 the next night.

Whose three-run homer over the Green Monster put the Yankees ahead in the 1978 tiebreaker?

Bucky Dent's seventh-inning homer off Mike Torrez put New York up 3-2 in a game it won 5-4, and Boston fans gave him an unprintable middle name.

Roger Clemens first struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning game in 1986 against which team?

Seattle Mariners hitters, who had already struck out 166 times in 19 games, went down 20 times that night; Clemens matched the feat against Detroit in September 1996.

Whose slow ground ball rolled through Bill Buckner's legs to end Game 6 of the 1986 World Series?

Mookie Wilson has always maintained he would have beaten the hobbled Buckner to the bag even on a clean pickup; the Mets won Game 7 two nights later.

Bill Buckner had earlier led the National League in hitting with which club in 1980?

Chicago Cubs first baseman Buckner hit .324 in 1980 to lead the National League; in 2008 Fenway fans gave him a standing ovation as he threw out the first pitch on Opening Day.

Which Red Sox general manager, hired in 2002 at age 28, was then the youngest in MLB history?

Theo Epstein got the job only after Oakland's Billy Beane turned down $12.5 million to take it; he won titles in 2004 and 2007.

Pedro Martínez came to Boston in a November 1997 trade with which team?

Montreal Expos management dealt Pedro Martínez, their league's best pitcher in 1997, a year before free agency, while they could still get something back: Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr.

Which Pedro Martínez number did the Red Sox retire two days after his 2015 induction?

45 was retired on 28 July 2015, two days after Martínez entered the Hall of Fame; at Fenway's 1999 All-Star Game he had struck out five of the six batters he faced.

'Big Papi' came to Boston in 2003 after parts of six seasons with which team?

Minnesota Twins management released Big Papi after the 2002 season; in Boston he hit 483 of his 541 home runs and entered the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Whose ninth-inning stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS sparked the Red Sox comeback?

Dave Roberts, pinch-running in the ninth, stole second off Mariano Rivera and scored on Bill Mueller's single; Boston became the first MLB team to win a series after trailing 3-0.

Which pitcher won Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS with sutures in his ankle bleeding through his sock?

Curt Schilling pitched seven innings in Game 6 with a tendon sutured in place, a fix the team doctor first tried on a cadaver, then won Game 2 of the World Series the same way.

Which long-haired 2004 Red Sox star cheerfully described his team as 'idiots'?

Johnny Damon said of the loose, long-haired club, 'In essence, we're idiots', and after it won the title he called his memoir Idiot.

Whom did the Red Sox sweep in the 2004 World Series to end the 86-year drought?

St. Louis Cardinals batters never saw a lead: Boston swept without trailing, the last four of eight straight wins after standing three outs from elimination against the Yankees.

Whom did the Red Sox sweep in the 2007 World Series?

Boston swept the Colorado Rockies, who had won 21 of 22 games to reach their first World Series; Mike Lowell was named Series MVP.

Which award did Dustin Pedroia win in 2007 after hitting below .200 that April?

AL Rookie of the Year: kept in the lineup through the slump, Pedroia hit over .400 in May, and a year later he was the league's MVP.

Where did players set down the World Series trophy during the Red Sox's 2013 parade?

The Boston Marathon finish line: six months after the bombing there, Jonny Gomes, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia beside him, set the trophy on the line as 'God Bless America' was sung.

Who was named MVP of the 2013 World Series?

David Ortiz hit .688 and reached base nine times in a row; by the end pitchers were giving him intentional walks rather than pitch to him.

How many regular-season games did the record-setting 2018 Red Sox win?

The 2018 Red Sox went 108-54, breaking the club record of 105 wins set by the 1912 team.

Who managed the 2018 Red Sox to the World Series title in his first year as a manager?

Alex Cora won it all as a rookie manager; Boston parted with him before the 2020 season over his part in Houston's sign-stealing scheme, then brought him back for 2021.

Whom did the Red Sox beat in the 2018 World Series despite losing an 18-inning Game 3?

The Los Angeles Dodgers won only that 7-hour-20-minute game, ended by Max Muncy's homer off Nathan Eovaldi in his seventh inning of relief; Boston took the next two games and the Series.

In 2018 Mookie Betts was the first to win MVP, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, World Series and what else in one season?

The batting title: Betts hit .346 that year; in February 2020 Boston traded him and David Price away for three young players.

How many consecutive home games did the Red Sox sell out from 2003 to 2013, then a North American major-league record?

820: 794 regular-season games and 26 in the postseason, topping the Portland Trail Blazers' 814 for what was then the longest run in the major leagues; minor-league Dayton had already passed 814 in 2011.

Which English football club did Fenway Sports Group, the Red Sox's owner, buy in 2010?

Liverpool was bought in October 2010 by Fenway Sports Group, then called New England Sports Ventures; ten years later the club ended a 30-year wait for a league title.

Which song is played in the middle of the eighth inning at every Red Sox home game?

Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond's 1969 hit, has been played at Fenway since at least 1997; the Standells' 'Dirty Water' follows every home win.

What covered Fenway's left-field wall until it was painted green?

Advertisements covered the wall until it was painted green in 1947, and it then stayed almost free of ads for half a century.

What happens if a batted ball goes through a hole in Fenway's manual scoreboard?

It is a ground-rule double: Fenway's rules give two bases for a fair ball through the scoreboard, on the bound or in flight, and operators still post its numbers by hand from behind the wall.

Fenway's right-field foul pole is nicknamed for which light-hitting Red Sox shortstop, who hit only six homers there?

Johnny Pesky. Mel Parnell, a teammate turned broadcaster, is credited with naming the pole, 302 feet from home, for a contact hitter with just 17 career homers.

Which Red Sox third baseman, a five-time batting champion, was nicknamed 'Chicken Man' for his pregame meal?

Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game, one of many rituals: he also drew the Hebrew word 'chai' in the dirt for luck.

Duffy's Cliff was what feature of early Fenway Park?

A slope before the left-field wall, ten feet high: left fielder Duffy Lewis fielded on it so well that it took his name, and it was levelled when the park was rebuilt for 1934.

What was built atop the Green Monster in 2003?

Rows of seats replaced a 23-foot net that had hung above the wall since 1936 to keep home runs from hitting the storefronts on Lansdowne Street.

Wally the Green Monster, the Red Sox mascot, first appeared in which year?

Wally debuted in April 1997; his backstory says he had lived inside the left-field wall for fifty years before finally coming out to meet fans.

Fenway Park joined which list in 2012?

The National Register of Historic Places listed Fenway on 7 March 2012; thirteen years earlier the club had announced plans to replace it, before new owners renovated instead.

Whom did the 1912 Red Sox, powered by Smoky Joe Wood, beat in the World Series?

Boston beat the New York Giants 4-3-1 (one tie) in a Series remembered for Fred Snodgrass's dropped fly ball in the deciding game.

Whose 'mad dash' from first base won the 1946 World Series for the Cardinals?

Enos Slaughter, on first when Harry Walker hit one over the shortstop's head in the eighth inning of Game 7, never stopped running; St. Louis won 4-3.

Which Red Sox slugger became the youngest American Leaguer to hit his 100th home run?

Tony Conigliaro reached 100 home runs in July 1967 at age 22, the youngest American Leaguer ever to do so; an August 1967 beaning derailed his career.

Which nickname did Roger Clemens carry through 13 seasons as the Red Sox ace?

The Rocket left Boston in 1996 as his general manager spoke of the 'twilight' of his career, then was voted his league's best pitcher in each of the next two seasons.

Whom did the Red Sox trade at the 2004 deadline, sending the star shortstop to the Cubs?

Nomar Garciaparra went to the Cubs in a four-team deal on 31 July 2004; Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz came back, and Boston won the title three months later.

Whom did Boston sign after the 2000 season to an eight-year, $160 million contract?

Manny Ramírez's eight-year, $160 million deal was signed in December 2000; he was traded away in a 2008 three-way deal that brought Jason Bay to Boston.

Which distinction does Carlton Fisk hold from his 1972 rookie season?

First unanimous AL Rookie of the Year in 1972, Carlton Fisk left Boston after 1980 because the club mailed his new contract after the deadline, making him a free agent.

Which chant did Yankees fans use to taunt the Red Sox about their long title drought?

"1918!" named the year of Boston's last title; the chant echoed at Yankee Stadium whenever the Red Sox visited, until the 2004 championship ended it.

Which NHL franchise did Fenway Sports Group, the Red Sox's owner, buy in 2021?

Pittsburgh Penguins control passed to Fenway Sports Group on 31 December 2021; a year later the Penguins met the Bruins outdoors at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic.

Where did the Red Sox play from 1901 to 1911, on what is now Northeastern University's campus?

Huntington Avenue Grounds was laid out on a former circus lot and had a tool shed in play in deep centre field; when the club left for Fenway, it took the sod along.

The 1967 Red Sox's 'Impossible Dream' slogan came from a hit song in which musical?

'The Impossible Dream (The Quest)' is the signature song of Man of La Mancha, which opened in 1965; the 1967 Red Sox rose from ninth place to the pennant.

The 'Williams Shift', devised in 1946 to counter Ted Williams, packed most fielders where?

The right side of the field: Cleveland's Lou Boudreau devised it between games of a July 1946 doubleheader, after Williams had hit three homers in the opener.

How did GM Dan Duquette describe Fenway Park in 1999 while pushing for a new stadium?

Duquette called Fenway 'economically obsolete' while unveiling plans for a replacement next door; the new-park push collapsed and the ownership group that arrived in 2002 renovated instead.

Whose challenge to his teammates gave the 2003 Red Sox the nickname the 'Cowboy Up' team?

Kevin Millar's 'Cowboy Up' became the 2003 team's rallying cry; the run ended on Aaron Boone's 11th-inning homer in Game 7 of the ALCS.

What did Boston's starter call the blooper Tony Pérez hit out in 1975's Game 7?

Bill Lee called his blooper the 'Leephus pitch', a pun on the eephus; Pérez's two-run homer off it cut Boston's 3-0 lead and the Reds went on to win 4-3.

How many games did Boston lose in 1906 on the way to a last-place finish?

Boston went 49-105 in 1906, finishing last, 45½ games behind; Tris Speaker arrived in 1907 and anchored the rebound to the 1912 title.

Boston's $51.1 million bid in 2006 bought the right to negotiate with which Japanese pitcher?

Daisuke Matsuzaka never saw the $51.1 million: the posting fee went to his Japanese club, the Seibu Lions, and Boston then signed him for six years and $52 million.

Which theatre producer sold the Red Sox in 1923?

Harry Frazee sold a last-place club to a group fronted by Bob Quinn; two years later his musical No, No, Nanette reached Broadway and became one of the decade's biggest hits.

Which closer did Boston trade to Seattle in 1997 for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe?

Closer Heathcliff Slocumb went to the Mariners on 31 July 1997 for two prospects, Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe, who became cornerstones of the 2004 champions.

Which submarine-style pitcher stormed off the mound for Boston in 1919, forcing a trade to the Yankees that split the American League?

Carl Mays quit the team mid-game; when league president Ban Johnson tried to block his move to New York, Boston, the Yankees and the White Sox defied him as the 'Insurrectos'.

Which disaster, five days earlier, overshadowed press coverage of Fenway Park's first official game?

The sinking of the Titanic was filling the front pages when Boston opened its new ballpark. The home side beat New York 7–6 in 11 innings.

Which sitcom bartender was written as a former Red Sox reliever whose career was ruined by drink?

Sam Malone, the bar owner in Cheers, pitched for Boston under the nickname Mayday and wore number 16. The writers first imagined him as a retired football player.

Which code spells out two former owners' initials on Fenway Park's left-field scoreboard?

Morse dots and dashes run down two vertical stripes in the American League section of the hand-operated scoreboard, easy to miss unless a fan knows where to look.

Which Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore film rewrote its ending after the Red Sox won the 2004 title?

Fever Pitch was in production as the title run unfolded, so its two stars were rushed to the final game and filmed kissing on the field while the real players celebrated.

Which sky event was visible overhead as the Red Sox won the deciding game of the 2004 World Series?

A lunar eclipse hung over the ballpark that night, the first ever to take place during a World Series game, as Boston ended a wait of 86 years.

What carried the 2004 champion Red Sox through Boston and into the Charles River on parade day?

Duck boats, 17 of them fitted with loudspeakers, carried the players past a crowd put at more than three million, the largest gathering the city had ever seen.

Which food did superstitious Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs insist on eating before every game?

Chicken before every game earned Boggs the nickname Chicken Man, and in 1984 he published a cookbook of his favorite recipes under the title Fowl Tips.

Which horror novelist put Red Sox closer Tom Gordon in the title of a 1999 novel?

Stephen King, a devoted Red Sox fan, made the reliever the imaginary companion of a young girl who strays from a family hike and gets lost deep in the forest.

Which 1960s garage-rock hit by the Standells plays at Fenway Park after every Red Sox home win?

Dirty Water is a mock tribute to Boston and its once-polluted harbor and river. The Red Sox adopted it for home victories two years after hockey's Bruins began playing it.

Which oil company's giant sign looms over the Green Monster in television shots of Fenway Park?

Citgo has no gas station beneath its Kenmore Square sign, which fans nicknamed See It Go for the long balls hit toward it. A 2018 vote to make it an official city landmark was vetoed by the mayor.

Which Boston punk band recorded a new version of the Red Sox anthem "Tessie" in 2004?

Dropkick Murphys said they wanted to bring back the spirit of the fan club that sang the original at the first World Series, and Boston won the title that same year.

Which outdoor NHL showcase brought the Bruins and Flyers to Fenway Park on New Year's Day 2010?

The Winter Classic put a hockey rink inside the ballpark, and the Bruins won 2–1 in overtime to become the first home side to win the annual outdoor game.

Which cancer charity, tied to Dana-Farber, has been an official Red Sox cause since the 1950s?

The Jimmy Fund took its name from a young patient whose real identity, Einar Gustafson, stayed secret for 50 years after a 1948 radio appeal made him famous.

In which Florida city did the Red Sox build a spring training ballpark with a replica Green Monster?

Fort Myers got a ballpark with the same field dimensions as the Boston original, though its replica wall has seats built inside it to satisfy local wind codes.

To which Massachusetts city did the Red Sox's top minor-league club move from Pawtucket in 2021?

Worcester won the club after its owners rejected a financing deal for a new stadium in Rhode Island, ending a Triple-A stay in Pawtucket that went back to 1973.

Which Red Sox principal owner bought The Boston Globe newspaper for $70 million in 2013?

John Henry, who built his fortune trading commodity futures, paid cash for a paper that had cost its previous owner $1.1 billion two decades earlier.

Which nickname for the Red Sox fan base did a Boston Globe writer coin during the 1986 World Series?

Red Sox Nation first appeared in an article about Connecticut fans whose loyalties were split between Boston and New York during that fall's championship series.

Which star shortstop did Boston agree to get from Texas before the players' union vetoed the deal?

Alex Rodriguez had agreed to a voluntary pay cut to make the trade work, which the union would not allow. Texas sent him to New York instead early in 2004.

Whose 11th-inning homer for New York ended Boston's season in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS?

Aaron Boone hit the first pitch of the inning into the left-field seats, becoming only the second player to end a postseason Game 7 with a walk-off blast.

Which 72-year-old Yankees coach charged at Boston's starter during a brawl in the 2003 ALCS?

Don Zimmer lunged at the Boston ace, who stepped aside and pushed him to the ground. The coach later accepted responsibility for the clash.

Which manager did the Red Sox fire after one turbulent, last-place season in 2012?

Bobby Valentine feuded with players, coaches and reporters all year, and was fired a day after the final game with a year left on his contract.

What did the 2013 champion Red Sox grow all season as a bonding ritual that fans soon copied?

Beards earned nicknames of their own, such as The Ironsides and The Siesta, and teammates tugged each other's whiskers to celebrate a big hit.

Which unusual pitch kept Tim Wakefield on the Red Sox staff for 17 seasons?

The knuckleball became his trade only after a scout told him he would never rise above Double-A as a position player, so he remade himself on the mound.

Besides Cooperstown, Ted Williams was inducted into a hall of fame for which outdoor pastime?

Fishing was his second calling: he hosted a television program about it and spent many summers after retiring casting flies on a river in New Brunswick.

Which former Red Sox second baseman spent 33 years as the team's television color commentator?

Jerry Remy was known to viewers as RemDawg, a nickname he also gave to the hot dog stand he owned just outside the ballpark.

Which 2010 crime thriller builds to a gang in police uniforms robbing Fenway Park's cash room?

The Town sends its thieves in disguised as Boston police officers to steal $3.5 million in gate cash, and the film held its American premiere at the ballpark itself.

At which larger rival ballpark did the Red Sox play home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series?

Braves Field could seat far more fans than Fenway Park, so the club borrowed the brand-new home of the city's National League team and won both championships.

Which 1989 Kevin Costner film sends its hero to a Fenway Park game to find a reclusive writer?

Field of Dreams spent a week shooting on location in Boston, and two local teenagers who later became Hollywood stars worked as extras in the ballpark scene.

What do Fenway Park regulars call the deep center-field corner that sits 420 feet from home plate?

The Triangle is formed where two walls meet at an angle, 30 feet deeper than true center field, which goes unmarked at 390 feet.

Which midseason pickup from Toronto was named MVP of the 2018 World Series for the Red Sox?

Steve Pearce homered three times in the five-game series, twice in the clincher, to become the first Boston hitter with three in a World Series since 1967.

Which defending World Series champions did the 2018 Red Sox beat in five games to win the pennant?

The Houston Astros had won 103 games and took the opener at Fenway Park, but Boston answered with four straight wins, the last three of them in Texas.

Which executive assembled the 2018 champion Red Sox, only to be fired ten months after the title?

Dave Dombrowski traded four prospects for an elite closer and signed the lineup's biggest bat, then was dismissed in September 2019 with the defending champions at 76–67.

Which Red Sox utility man hit the first postseason cycle in MLB history during the 2018 ALDS?

Brock Holt finished it with a ninth-inning homer off a catcher who had been sent out to pitch, capping a 16–1 rout that was New York's most lopsided postseason loss.

Which 2018 Red Sox signing became the first player to win two Silver Slugger Awards in one season?

J.D. Martinez split the year between the outfield and designated hitter and was honored at both, after signing for five years and $110 million that February.

Which Red Sox ace came out of the bullpen to strike out Manny Machado and end the 2018 World Series?

Chris Sale struck out the side in the ninth inning as a starter working in relief, right after a teammate had fanned all three hitters he faced in the eighth.

Which starter, long winless in postseason starts, won the 2018 World Series clincher for Boston?

David Price pitched into the eighth inning and allowed one run on three hits. Ten days earlier he had earned his first win in 12 career postseason starts.

Which Red Sox pitcher threw 97 relief pitches in the longest game in World Series history in 2018?

Nathan Eovaldi had been due to start the next night but worked six innings instead, a record pitch count for a World Series reliever, and took the loss on a walk-off blast.

Whose diving catch with the bases loaded ended Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS and saved a Red Sox win?

Andrew Benintendi dived in left field to snare a dipping line drive after Boston's closer had walked three batters in the ninth inning to fill the bases.

Where did the 2018 Red Sox manager take the World Series trophy to share it with his hometown?

Puerto Rico greeted the trophy in the city of Caguas days after the title. Boston's rookie skipper was the first manager from the island to win a World Series.

Which Red Sox slugger ran from the dugout in 1982 to carry a badly injured young fan to safety?

Jim Rice carried a four-year-old boy struck by a line drive into the clubhouse for treatment, played on in a blood-stained uniform and later paid the family's hospital bills.

Which Red Sox left-hander threw a no-hitter in 2008, less than two years after a lymphoma diagnosis?

Jon Lester returned from cancer treatment midway through 2007, started and won the final game of that year's World Series, then blanked Kansas City the following May.

In which other sport did Red Sox star Mookie Betts record a perfect game at a 2017 pro event?

Bowling ran alongside baseball for him: he was Tennessee's boys bowler of the year in 2010 and rolled his 300 at the World Series of Bowling.

Which Caribbean island is the homeland of longtime Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts?

Aruba knighted him after he helped the Dutch national team win the 2011 Baseball World Cup, and a school on the island was later renamed in his honor.

Which switch-hitting Red Sox third baseman hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in one game?

Bill Mueller launched them in consecutive at-bats on a July visit to Texas, the first time anyone in the major leagues had hit one from each side in a single game.

Which Red Sox center fielder became the first player of Navajo descent to reach the major leagues?

Jacoby Ellsbury is descended through his mother from the 19th-century Navajo leader Ganado Mucho, and a Navajo relief fund shared in the proceeds of a wine he released.

Which Red Sox first baseman, nicknamed the Hit Dog, was the American League's MVP in 1995?

Mo Vaughn got the nickname from his fraternity brothers at Seton Hall, and his award-winning season carried Boston into the playoffs.

Which Red Sox center fielder was the first player named MVP and top rookie in a single year?

Fred Lynn did the double in 1975, and it went unmatched for 26 years until Ichiro Suzuki arrived from Japan and repeated it.

Which Cuban-born Red Sox ace of the 1970s turned his back on hitters in the middle of his windup?

Luis Tiant, known as El Tiante, pitched a World Series shutout in 1975 in front of his parents, who had been allowed to visit from the island on a special visa.

Which Hall of Fame outfielder did the Red Sox trade to Cleveland in 1916 after he refused a pay cut?

Tris Speaker played so shallow that he turned six unassisted double plays in his career, and in Cleveland he became the highest-paid player in the game.

What happened to Ted Williams's remains in 2002, despite the wishes he had set down in his will?

Frozen cryonically was the choice of his son and younger daughter, although his will had asked for cremation and for his ashes to be scattered in the Florida Keys.