Wade Boggs leads a team of all-time Red Sox greats to a World Series title
When you're assembling a lineup of legends from throughout Boston Red Sox history to compete against 19 other teams that are also loaded with iconic Red Sox, it's a safe bet that any players emerging from the fray will be truly special.
A few months ago, WhatIfSports.com challenged 20 individuals to assemble 25-man rosters of present and past Boston greats. After a draft determined each team's rosters, the owners set lineups and rotations, competing in a 162-game simulated regular season in SimLeague Baseball. Ted Williams swept the NL and AL MVP awards (his 1942 and 1946 seasons, respectively), while 2000 Pedro Martinez and 1905 Cy Young proved to be the league's best pitchers. But it was 1988 Wade Boggs who led his team, the Blood Sox, to a World Series title.
Boggs' 1988 season was one of his best. The then-30-year-old posted a .366 batting average with a .476 OBP. In addition to 214 hits, he was walked 125 times, crossing home plate on 113 occasions. The Red Sox won the AL East in 1988 with an 89-73 record, but were swept in the ALCS by the Oakland A's.
The simulated version of '88 Boggs would not suffer the same fate. His Blood Sox squad trailed 0-3 in the Division Series to MH On Huntington Ave II. With impending elimination on the line, the team fought back to tie the series and force a Game 7. Boggs was lethal in the rubber match, collecting five hits and four RBI as the Blood Sox cruised to a 20-11 blowout.
The World Series pitted the Blood Sox against the Curse of the Who?, a team that had overcome an 0-2 deficit to the Dirty Water in the Division Series before winning in six games. But luck was on the side of the Blood Sox in the Fall Classic, as the team won the series in five games to claim the championship hardware.
Check out the Blood Sox' full roster:
| Pitchers | |||||
| Player | W-L | SV | IP | ERA | WHIP |
| 2011 Daniel Bard | 2-9 | 1 | 73.0 | 3.33 | 0.96 |
| 2015 Rich Hill | 2-1 | 0 | 29.0 | 1.55 | 0.66 |
| 1944 Tex Hughson | 18-5 | 5 | 203.1 | 2.26 | 1.05 |
| 1914 Dutch Leonard | 19-5 | 3 | 224.2 | 0.96 | 0.89 |
| 2014 Andrew Miller | 5-5 | 1 | 62.1 | 2.02 | 0.80 |
| 1912 Buck O'Brien | 20-13 | 0 | 275.2 | 2.58 | 1.19 |
| 2011 Jonathan Papelbon | 4-1 | 31 | 64.1 | 2.94 | 0.93 |
| 1914 Ernie Shore | 10-5 | 1 | 139.2 | 2.00 | 0.98 |
| 1972 Luis Tiant | 15-6 | 3 | 179.0 | 1.91 | 1.08 |
| 1907 George Winter | 12-15 | 1 | 256.2 | 2.07 | 1.01 |
| Catchers | |||||
| Player | R | H | RBI | AVG | OBP |
| 1934 Rick Ferrell | 50 | 130 | 48 | .297 | .390 |
| Infield | |||||
| Player | R | H | RBI | AVG | OBP |
| 1988 Wade Boggs | 128 | 214 | 58 | .366 | .476 |
| 1942 Jimmie Foxx | 43 | 69 | 33 | .226 | .320 |
| 1997 Jeff Frye | 56 | 126 | 51 | .312 | .352 |
| 2003 Lou Merloni | 24 | 48 | 18 | .265 | .355 |
| 1945 Skeeter Newsome | 45 | 127 | 48 | .290 | .322 |
| 2010 Dustin Pedroia | 53 | 87 | 41 | .288 | .367 |
| Outfield | |||||
| Player | R | H | RBI | AVG | OBP |
| 2005 Johnny Damon | 117 | 197 | 75 | .316 | .366 |
| 1966 Don Demeter | 43 | 87 | 41 | .268 | .284 |
| 1976 Fred Lynn | 76 | 159 | 65 | .314 | .367 |
| 1968 Reggie Smith | 78 | 148 | 69 | .265 | .342 |
| 1969 George Thomas | 9 | 18 | 8 | .353 | .400 |
| 1931 Earl Webb | 96 | 196 | 103 | .333 | .404 |
| 1953 Ted Williams | 17 | 37 | 34 | .407 | .509 |
| 1966 Carl Yastrzemski | 81 | 165 | 80 | .278 | .368 |
Try building your own SimLeague Baseball team, or assemble a Dream Team of your favorite players and simulate your squad against any MLB team in history.
For more from the Red Sox league, view our draft recap, first-round breakdown, All-Star break article or playoff preview.
