Sports

Boston Red Sox 2013: The Connecticut Connections

East Lyme's John McDonald and Trumbull's Craig Breslow are the latest two of a long line of Connecticut natives to play for the Boston Red Sox in their 112-year history.

By Philip R. Devlin

In 1915, Jack Barry of Meriden, CT, became the first Connecticut native to be a member of the Boston Red Sox. An infielder and teammate of Babe Ruth, Barry had an 11-year major league career in which he played over 300 games for the Sox — about the equivalent of 2 seasons.

Jack Barry was one of 182 Connecticut natives who have played in the majors, several of whom have spent at least part of their career with the Red Sox. One of the more notable Connecticut natives to have played for the Sox was Mo Vaughn of Norwalk. Mo played eight seasons in Boston and had prodigious power at the peak of his career in the early- to mid-1990s.

Waterbury native Jimmy Piersall broke in with the Sox in 1950. Talented but controversial, Piersall spent eight years of his 17-year career with the Red Sox. He is still alive at 84. Piersall was the subject of both a movie and book entitled "Fear Strikes Out."

Big Walt Dropo of Moosup began his 13-year major league career with the Bosox in 1949. He spent his first four years in Boston. In 1950, Dropo batted .322 and hit 34 home runs — his most productive year.

Farmington native Dick McAuliffe spent 16 productive years in the major leagues. A three-time All-Star infielder, McAuliffe spent his first 14 years with the Detroit Tigers before signing with the Red Sox for his final two years, 1974 and 1975.

Berlin High School graduate Gary Waslewski pitched for Boston in 1967 and 1968. Waslewski was a member of the "Impossible Dream" team of 1967. That team has some parallels with this year's Red Sox. The 1966 version of the Sox finished in 9th place in the American League (out of 10 teams). The 2013 team has gone from "worst to first," having finished dead last in the league last year under manager Bobby Valentine, who is from Stamford. Another interesting parallel is that Waslewski's Impossible Dream team had a new manager — Dick Williams — who had been with the Toronto Blue Jays organization the year before. The Red Sox manager for 2013 — John Farrell — was with the Blue Jays organization last year!

This year's version of the "Impossible Dream" features two Connecticut natives: John McDonald and Craig Breslow. An East Lyme native, John McDonald played for UConn's perennially good Avery Point baseball team. McDonald went on to star on the Providence College baseball team before joining the major leagues. McDonald has played for seven teams in the majors as a versatile utility infielder whose defensive prowess has made him a fan favorite. While with Toronto, his nickname became the "Minister of Defense."

Like John McDonald, Breslow has played for seven different Major League teams. He is an effective relief pitcher this year, usually serving as the "set-up" man for the Boston staff. A graduate of Trumbull High School, Breslow later attended Yale University, where he majored in molecular biology. He was dubbed the "smartest man in baseball" this year by a Minnesota reporter. Breslow has been in the majors for eight years and has an impressive career ERA of 2.82.

Since major league baseball began over 130 years ago, 17,444 men have played in the pros. Of that number, 182 of them have been natives of Connecticut — just over 1%. Since Jack Barry's appearance with the Boston Red Sox in 1915, many Connecticut natives have been a part of the team on a regular basis, often making significant contributions. This year is no exception, as Connecticut can take pride in watching two of its native sons try to help the Sox win their eighth World Series championship in their 112-year history.


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