A few weeks ago, the Boston.com sports staff set out to answer a complicated question in a fun way: “What were the best individual seasons of all-time for Red Sox players?”
Would you rather have 2004 David Ortiz or 1999 Pedro Martinez? Which version of Ted Williams was the best? Where do Manny, Nomar, Yaz, Fred Lynn, and early-stage Babe Ruth stack up?
Those were the kinds of things we had in mind.
So, we made a spreadsheet of Red Sox players, ranked by bWAR (wins above replacement) in their strongest seasons. Then we used the spreadsheet, along with other statistical research, as a guide for a snake-order fantasy draft, pitting the Boston baseball legends against each other.