Editor's note: NESN.com is teaming up with WhatIfSports.com to crown the greatest Red Sox team of all time with the "Red Sox Showdown for the Ages." Click here for more information on the 16-team simulation tournament.
Before the "Red Sox Showdown for the Ages" can begin, the final two teams in the bracket must be filled. One of the teams up for those final two spots is the 1977 team.
1977 Boston Red Sox
Record: 97-64
Finish: 2nd in AL East
Managers: Don Zimmer
Best Player: Jim Rice (.320 average, 39 home runs, 114 RBIs
Best Pitcher: Luis Tiant (12-8, 4.53 ERA, 124 K's)
Breakdown: Just a couple of years removed from a seven-game defeat in the '75 World Series, and a year before the infamous '78 campaign, the 1977 Red Sox kind of get lost in the shuffle of great Boston teams of all time. Aside from the light-hitting Denny Doyle at second base, you'd be hard-pressed to find an easy out in an incredibly tough Sox lineup. A 24-year-old Jim Rice was coming into his prime with a season in which he hit .320 with 39 home runs and 120 RBIs. It was an All-Star season for Jim Ed, leading a lineup featuring names like Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Butch Hobson and some guy named Carl Yastrzemski. As was all too often the case, though, the '77 Sox were overshadowed by another World Series title for the Yankees, but the 97 wins are still good for the sixth-most in Boston history.
You can click here to vote on which two teams will be added to the bracket. Voting closes on June 13, and the opening round results will then be revealed on June 20.
