But what I do want to talk about is… the Red Sox “two timers.”
The re-taking and subsequent dropping of Josh Bard got me thinking about Red Sox players who did repeat tours of duty with the Sox. The guys who left or were let go only to be re-acquired further down the road. In my lifetime, the following names spring to mind:
— Doug the Mirabelli, traded to San Diego in 2006, then brought back (with a goddam police escort, no less) once it was confirmed that no one else could catch Tim Wakefield’s knuckler.
— The Eck, who was a staple of the early ’80s Sox teams, got traded away, then returned in 1998.
— Mighty Jeff Suppan, who was gone in 1997 only to return for a 2003 cameo.
— George “Boomer” Scott, who was a member of the Impossible Dream team, got traded to Milwaukee in the early 70s, and came back to Boston in 1977.
— Mild Mike Stanley, who came to us from the Yankees in 1996, then went back to New York and then Toronto before returning to Boston in 1999/2000.
— Bill Buckner, who, of course, left us in 1987 but made a semi-triumphant (at least from an emotional perspective) return in 1990.
The grand-daddy of Red Sox Boomerangers is “Psycho” Steve Lyons, who pulled a three-peat with Boston: He was drafted by the Sox in ’81 and made the team in ’85, got traded halfway through ’86 to Chicago, was re-acquired in 1991, then traded to Atlanta the following year, then came back to the Sox for a third tour of duty midway through 1992. He is most fondly remembered for dropping trou on national TV after sliding into first, John Davidson-esque good looks and the occasional hit.
I believe that Psycho is the only Red Sox “three-timer,” but my research skills have been dulled by years of drinking, womanizing and prolonged exposure to KISS Alive II. This is where you come in. Are there any other players who’ve pulled three stints with the Sox?
