The Boston Red sox are a storied franchise, and over the years they have had thier share of great players, they have also had their share of true American hero' s,  men that served thier country at the expense of their careers, real life heros who put thier lives on the line so you and I could remain free. Today I would like to pay tribute to these men,

One of these men is none other than the greatest hitter who ever lived, Ted Williams whos credentials were above reproach , he lost three years of his prime to WW ll,  and another to the Korean conflict, the 17 time allstar won two mvps , and was jobbed out of two more, as he did not win it in either of the two years he won the triple crown, he was a seven time batting champ and the last person ever to hit 400 hitting 406 in 1941, he was a nine time leader in slugging percentage a four time leader in home runs he led the league eight times in base on balls , Teddy ballgame had a more than decent shot at Babes home run record had he not lost these years in service to his country , Ted Williams  was a true american hero , a John Wayne in Baseball cleats.

Another of these men to serve was the Little professor, Dom Dimaggio the diminutive and lesser known brother of Yankee Great,  Joe Dimaggio , The  yankee clippers brother was quite a ballplayer in his own right,  and if not for his service to his country may have made the hall of fame himself.   This seven time all star led the league in runs twice , in triples once , stolen bases once,  and was the main reason Teddy ballgame had so many rbi's . his 34 game hitting streak in 1949 still stands as a red sox record to this day . and in 1948 his totals of 503 put outs and 526 chances stood as american league records for nearly 30 years

And let us not forget Johny Pesky , that fiesty shortstop with a career 307 batting average,  Johnny led the league in hits in  1942, 1946, and 1947 collecting over two hundred hits in each of those seasons ,he lost the 1943 and 1944 seasons to the war . Nicknamed needles he was in the top ten in on base percentage six times   A left handed hitter who threw right handed Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out , he was the first american league player to score 6 runs in a nine inning game .

These three players among others,  were true american heroes,  as each sacrificed prime years of thier playing careers to fight for our right to be free.  Each of these men chose to serve our country,  and forsake personal and professional goals to do so , today we honor these men and others like them , for this is thier day .  God bless them , and god bless all who served .

Keeper of Red Sox Faith