C-40
NEW AGE POSTING
Papelbon, Nixon join Pedroia in Red Sox HOF Class of '24
The two newest electees to the Red Sox Hall of Fame include the team’s all-time leading closer in Jonathan Papelbon and one of the grittiest players to wear the Boston uniform in right fielder Trot nixon. They will join Dustin Pedroia, who received automatic election during his retirement ceremony at Fenway Park in 2021, as the team’s Hall of Fame class of 2024.Papelbon took Fenway by storm with his brilliant rookie year in 2006 (0.92 ERA, 35 saves). He was in top form the next season, saving 37 more games for the World Series-champion Red Sox. In all, Papelbon notched a team-record 219 saves over 393 relief appearances for Boston.
Trot Nixon, a key member of Boston’s fabled ’04 champs, played with Papelbon and Pedroia in ’06, Nixon's final year with the club. Nixon patrolled Fenway’s challenging right field with abandon for years and had a knack for coming up with the big hit when the Red Sox needed it most. With the count 3-0, Nixon smashed a two-run double that wound up being the key hit in the World Series-clinching Game 4 against the Cardinals in 2004, Boston’s first championship since 1918. When the Red Sox were in the process of bouncing back from a 0-3 deficit in the American League Championship Series that year against the Yankees, Nixon made a pair of game-saving diving catches in Game 5, a 14-inning thriller at Fenway.
Click Here For Full Story
