Get to know the Red Sox for HRDX

The Boston Purple Sox are some of the iconic groups in baseball historical past and one in every of 4 groups collaborating within the first House Run Derby X, an occasion that can convey a beloved American custom to London – with a number of twists. Lengthy referred to as the underdogs to their rivals in New York, Boston has received 4 World Collection championships since 2004 and have turn out to be some of the feared groups within the sport. As we gear up for the primary HRDX event on July 9 with its all-new guidelines and twists, this is what it’s good to know in regards to the franchise.

Franchise historical past
Based in 1901, Boston was one of many American League’s eight constitution members. Formally referred to as the Individuals, the membership was additionally referred to by the media because the Somersets — after proprietor Charles Somers — in addition to the Plymouth Rocks, Pace Boys, Puritans and Pilgrims in its infancy. However on Dec. 18, 1907, the franchise adopted the title Purple Sox. The change got here after the Nationwide League’s Boston Doves — beforehand referred to as the Purple Stockings and presently the Atlanta Braves — deserted the purple hosiery they usually wore because of issues that the purple dye might trigger infections in spike wounds.

Since its 1969 inception, Boston has competed within the AL East, which has lengthy carried the fame of being MLB’s finest and most ruthless division.

World Collection titles: 9
Years: 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018

Boston wasted little time establishing itself as one in every of baseball’s most dominant groups, defeating the Pirates within the first-ever World Collection in 1903 and profitable 4 extra championships by 1918. However from 1919 to 2003, the staff endured one of many longest championship droughts in baseball historical past, dubbed the “Curse of the Bambino” in recognition of proprietor Harry Frazee’s determination to promote Babe Ruth — one of many sport’s all-time greats and the so-called “Bambino” — to the rival New York Yankees in 1920.

In 2004, the Purple Sox lastly broke the curse, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees within the best-of-seven AL Championship sequence after which sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for his or her first World Collection title in 86 years. Boston has since added three extra championships, giving it essentially the most of any staff this century.

Carl Yastrzemski, LF, 1961-83: Confronted with the unenviable job of changing Williams in left area, Yastrzemski finally grew to become a legend himself, hitting 452 homers and capturing seven Gold Glove Awards in 23 seasons for the Purple Sox. Yaz was the driving power for some of the impactful seasons in staff historical past in 1967, profitable the AL Triple Crown with a .326 common, 44 homers and 121 RBIs.

Roger Clemens, RHP, 1984-96: Dubbed by teammate Bruce Hurst as “The Rocket,” Clemens received three of his record-setting seven Cy Younger Awards whereas with the Purple Sox, in addition to the 1986 AL MVP. He’s tied with Cy Younger for essentially the most wins (192) and shutouts (38) in franchise historical past and holds the staff document with 2,590 strikeouts, highlighted by a pair of 20-strikeout video games in 1986 and ’96.

Pedro Martinez, RHP, 1998-2004: As nice as Clemens was, Martinez owns the title of finest pitcher in Purple Sox historical past, posting a 117-37 document, a 2.52 ERA and 1,683 strikeouts in 1,383 2/3 innings. His 1999 and 2000 seasons have been each for the ages, as he went a mixed 41-10 with a 1.90 ERA en path to back-to-back Cy Younger Awards. His most vital achievement, although, was serving to the membership win the 2004 World Collection.

David Ortiz, DH, 2003-16: One of the impactful clutch hitters in baseball historical past, Ortiz’s hitting heroics fueled Boston’s World Collection championship seasons of 2004, ’07 and ’13. Massive Papi ranks within the high 5 in membership historical past in a number of offensive classes — together with second in homers (483) — and can turn out to be the thirty seventh former Purple Sox participant to be inducted into the Corridor of Fame on July 24 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Largest present star: Xander Bogaerts
Signed out of Aruba in 2009, Bogaerts quickly rose up the Minors and made his Main League debut at simply 20 years outdated, serving to the Purple Sox win the 2013 World Collection. 9 years later, the shortstop is among the many most achieved gamers in staff historical past, with two World Collection rings, three All-Star appearances and 4 Silver Slugger awards below his belt.

HRDX LEGEND: Jonny Gomes
Gomes solely spent components of two seasons in Boston amid a 13-year profession, however that’s all it took for him to ascertain himself as a fan favourite. The journeyman outfielder proved to be instrumental in serving to the Purple Sox to the 2013 World Collection, batting .247 with 13 homers and 52 RBIs within the common season and belting a clutch three-run homer in Recreation 4 of the Fall Basic.

Largest rival: Yankees
The Purple Sox-Yankees rivalry is without doubt one of the most storied in all of sports activities, courting again greater than a century and a pair of,200 video games. Along with Boston’s historic comeback within the 2004 ALCS, the 2 groups have met three different instances within the postseason — most not too long ago within the 2021 AL Wild Card Recreation, which the Purple Sox received 6-2. Among the many finest (and weirdest) moments between Boston and New York have been a handful of benches-clearing brawls, maybe essentially the most noteworthy coming within the 2003 ALCS, when Martinez grabbed a charging Don Zimmer, the Yankees’ 72-year-old bench coach, and threw him to the bottom.

Ballpark: Fenway Park
The Purple Sox’ dwelling since April 20, 1912, Fenway Park is MLB’s oldest ballpark. Due to its age and constrained location within the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, the park options a number of quirks, together with Pesky’s Pole — the right-field foul pole named after Purple Sox legend Johnny Pesky and that stands a mere 302 toes from dwelling plate — and “The Triangle” — an space in middle area the place the partitions type a triangle 420 toes from dwelling plate. The park’s most defining attribute, although: the Inexperienced Monster, the 37-foot excessive, 231-foot lengthy left-field wall.

Uniforms
The Purple Sox are recognized for his or her conventional white uniforms with purple lettering and their iconic navy caps that includes a purple “B.” In 2021, the staff unveiled yellow-and-powder-blue uniforms, impressed by the Patriots’ Day vacation and the Boston Marathon.