All-Star Absence Puts Red Sox Offensive Struggle in Historic Context

All-Star Absence Puts Red Sox Offensive Struggle in Historic Context

The last time the Boston Red Sox didn’t have a single offensive player honored as an American League All-Star, John F. Kennedy was serving his first year as President of the United States.

That year was 1961, and AL was 12 years away from installing a Designated Hitter.  The Yankees’ Roger Maris was in the process of setting a new single-season home run record, and the Red Sox were about to make it 43 straight seasons without a World Series victory.

Now it’s 2014 and the Sox have won 3 championships in the last decade.  They’ve employed the most successful DH of all-time in David Ortiz, and Maris’ record was left in the dust by the steroid era.

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Ace Jon Lester was named to the 2014 All-Star roster, with closer Koji Uehara a near-lock to join him as the first pitching alternate.  But as the Red Sox struggle to a .244 team batting average and a 39-50 record, no offensive player was deemed worthy of an All-Star nod.

There isn’t much to complain about- Red Sox manager John Farrell picked the team! Farrell will manage the AL All-Stars this year, as is customary for the manager who wins the league pennant in the previous season. 

If anyone could defend the Red Sox anemic offense this season, it’d be Farrell.  The Sox skipper didn’t have many appealing choices in his own lineup, however, and told ESPN Boston that Ortiz essentially ceded consideration for a roster spot to hitters Big Papi felt were more deserving.

The Red Sox rank tied for last in the American League with 334 runs scored this season.  Only 5 Red Sox hitters are batting over .240 (minimum 100 at-bats).   The Sox were shut out for the 9^th time this season on Monday against the Chicago White Sox.

Nothing seems to break Boston’s way this season, a sharp contrast to last year’s surprising World Series run.  While Lester and Uehara have had fine individual seasons, the lack of offensive production has doomed the Red Sox all season.