Comparing the Yankees & Red Sox Lineups

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox rivalry is one of the most storied and at times hated rivalries in all of North American sports. While the rivalry has taken a back seat in recent years these two teams are always a high-and-tight fastball away or two good teams away from rekindling the flame. That season could come in 2016 as the Red Sox look to rebuild and retool in hopes of getting back to the playoffs and out of the cellar of the American League East Division. We will do a run of these lineup comparisons now, as they stand, today and we will have to do another the closer we get to the regular season. A trade in Boston is coming, you don’t give former Yankees outfielder Chris Young a multi-year deal if you’re not about to trade one of your talented outfielders, and that trade may change the entire landscape of the AL East. 

Catcher

Brian McCann/ Ryan Hanigan

First Base

Mark Teixeira/ Hanley Ramirez

Second Base

Robert Refsnyder/ Dustin Pedroia

Third Base

Chase Headley/ Pablo Sandoval

*could be a push. Homer in me makes me go Headley

Shortstop

Didi Gregorius/ Xander Bogaerts

Left Field

Brett Gardner/ Rusney Castillo

Center Field

Jacoby Ellsbury/ Jackie Bradley Jr.

Right Field

Carlos Beltran/ Mookie Betts

Designated Hitter

Alex Rodriguez/ David Ortiz

Looking at the final tally I have the New York Yankees “winning” five spots out of the nine. Remember, bolded player wins. I think we all thought the Yankees would have the advantage in the lineup department over the Red Sox, especially now, but I think we all know a lot of change is coming to Bean Town. With Dave Dombrowski at the helm and a plethora of prospects for him to trade for established talent I don’t expect the Red Sox to stay down long, especially in David Ortiz’s last season. I can see the Red Sox going all in this season with their young core and established farm system. This is not good news for the New York Yankees so enjoy the “victory” while you still can.

Also it’s worth mentioning that the Boston Red Sox had one of the worst records in the American League in 2015. They finished in last place in the AL East Division and were a whopping 15 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place. I’ve already shown why I think the Yankees have a better offensive player in six or seven of the nine positions over Toronto but have  New York winning less positional battles here. This goes to show you that it is a team sport, not a sport for individuals, and it all comes down to actually putting in the work and getting the job done. Winning on paper is fun, winning in real life is so much better. This is the perfect example, to answer a question I received on the Toronto vs. New York lineup comparison, of how the Blue Jays can outscore the Yankees by over 120 runs and lead the league in offense and still “lose” the head-to-head battles.