​20 Red Sox Legends Named in 140 Greatest Baseball Players Ever Project by The Sporting News originally appeared on NESN.
Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Boston Red Sox have been home to some of baseball’s most recognizable names, from early stars who helped shape the sport to modern legends who delivered on its biggest stage.That history is reflected in The Sporting News 140: Baseball’s Greatest Players, a project celebrating 140 of the greatest players in MLB history. The collection groups its selections into 14 distinct categories featuring 10 players, each connected by a common thread.Leading off in July just after the All-Star break, the 14-week project included weekly drops and culminated with an unveiling of The Inner Circle, the 10 greatest of all-time, which included Ted Williams.In all, 20 players with Red Sox ties earned spots on the list, representing generations of Boston baseball and a wide range of accomplishments.Here is a closer look at the Red Sox legends featured in the project and what helped distinguish their careers.(Editor’s note: Player write-ups are courtesy of Paul Hembekides and Greg Thompson, co-authors of Baseball’s Greatest Players.The ImmortalsCy Young (1901-1908)What is the most unbreakable record in major-league baseball history? You would be hard pressed to find a more compelling answer than the 511 wins collected by Denton True Young.Cy Young led his league in walk rate (lowest) 14 times, most by any player in any major statistical category (pitching, hitting, or fielding). Louis Van Oeyen/ WRHS / Getty Images Pedro Martínez (1984-2004)It was the apex of the steroid era, the most hitter-friendly environment in history, in which Pedro Martínez delivered the most dominant two-year run any pitcher ever has.Through the 1998 season, only once had a pitcher struck out 10 hitters in seven consecutive games (1977 Nolan Ryan), a feat Pedro achieved twice in 1999. In 2000, Pedro became the first qualified pitcher to record twice as many strikeouts (284) as hits allowed (128) in a season.WATCH:The Pedro Martinez collection, now streaming on NESN360 Mandatory Credit: Photo By Imagn Images The ArtistsTom Seaver (1986)Known mostly for his dominance with the Mets, Seaver ended his career in Boston where he started 16 games at the age of 41.“I would like to be a great artist,” Tom Seaver said. “I would quit pitching if I could paint like Monet or Rousseau. But I can’t. What I can do is pitch, and I can do that very well.”Tom Seaver is the all-time leader in career strikeouts (3,640) among those with a sub-3.00 ERA.SN Archive (1986):Red Sox Finally Land Tom Seaver SN The UnicornsJohn Smoltz (2009)John Smoltz fashioned two separate runs as a frontline starter, separated by a dominant three-year stretch as a closer after Tommy John surgery.Like Seaver before him, you’d be forgiven for letting slip his fleeting time spent with the Sox. Smoltz pitched 7