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J.D. Drew played five seasons for the Boston Red Sox. By any
objective standard, he performed extremely well during his stay in Boston—with nearly identical numbers to his
six years in St. Louis. As a member of the Sox, Drew hit .264, with 80 HRs and 286 RBIs. He had a stellar on-base percentage of .370 and slugged .455. His OPS while in
Carmine Hose was .824. Pretty good numbers. But, of course, expectations were
extremely high (even for Boston) after Drew signed a five-year, $70 million contract (a big deal back in 2007). There were injuries along the way that didn't help his position with the fans—but he only dipped below 100 games
once during his stay here (his final season in 2011). And, lest we forget, he had a huge first-inning grand slam in the 2007 ALCS that pretty much cemented the series for Boston—leading to an eventual World Series championship. Oh, and he hit .333 in that World Series. He did
not deserve the scorn he got from many in the fanbase. So, let's lighten up on old J.D.—
and wish him a happy 43rd birthday today.
