Dwight Evans is the best all-time Red Sox player whose last name starts with "E"

Editor's Note: This is the fifth column in an off-season series detailing the best Red Sox players from A-Z, one letter at a time. Each column includes tidbits about some of the players whose last names start with the respective letter, not all of the players. At the end of the series, I will compose the list and you can vote on the all-time Red Sox team. To review the previous columns, go to the Categories section on the right side of the site and click on "Best Red Sox Players: A-Z."

Dennis Eckersley is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. He started the trend of the one-inning closer and accumulated 390 career saves, most with the Oakland A's. During Eck's tenure in Boston, he was a starter who had two superb seasons (20-8, 2.99 ERA in 1978 and 17-10, 2.99 ERA in 1979. His last full season with the Red Sox (9-13, 5.61 ERA in 1983) was forgettable, and he was 4-4 with a 5.01 ERA when he was traded to the Cubs in 1984.

Simply put, though Eckersley is one of the game's best all-time closers, he was a marginal starter in five of his seven years with Boston, thus the reason he is not the best all-time Red Sox player whose last name starts with "E." That honor belongs to - no surprise, here - Dwight Evans.

The consummate professional baseball player, Dewey (as he was better known) was a force at the plate and in right field. Evans slugged 385 home runs in his 20-year career (1972-1991), and he also earned eight Gold Glove awards. He was one of the most skilled outfielders of his era, and with Jim Rice and Fred Lynn, he formed what was arguably the best outfield in the 1970s.

Only Carl Yastrzemski (3,308) played more games than Dewey (2,505). Evans hit .300 just once (when he batted .305 with 34 home runs and 123 RBI in 1987), but he finished with a respectable .272 career average to accompany 1,384 RBI. In the 1980s, Evans hit more home runs and extra base hits than any other American League player.

One of the most beloved figures in modern Red Sox history, Evans wore the number "24" during his career. Unlike Manny Ramirez, who helped Boston win two World Series titles but quit on his team multiple times, Evans exemplified the grit and spirit of a true ballplayer, much like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell on the current team.

Because he did not hit 500 home runs and was not close to a .300 career average, Evans numbers are not good enough to gain induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he was named to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000.

Perhaps Jacoby Ellsbury will one day eclipse Evans as the best all-time Red Sox player whose last name starts with "E." I find it amusing that critics claim that the 25-year-old center fielder was a disappointment in 2008. True, he did not hit .353, as he did in 115 at-bats in 2007. However, Ellsbury did steal 50 bases and bat .280 with nine home runs in 554 at-bats. He accomplished this while having his playing time periodically interrupted by Coco Crisp.

Ellsbury's name has recently been included in rumors involving a blockbuster trade to bring another big bat to Boston. If he remains with the Red Sox, expect a breakout full season for him now that Crisp is in Kansas City and Ellsbury is the full-time center fielder. Ellsbury has the potential to not only hit .300-plus every season, but he could also add more power. And, like Crisp, he plays an exceptional center field.

Overall, there are only 20 Red Sox players whose last name starts with "E." You know about Dwight Evans, but are you aware of Bill Evans and Al Evans? Both played for Boston in 1951. Bill Evans was a pitcher who had no record and a 4.11 ERA in nine games in his only year with the Red Sox. He was 0-1 with 4.98 ERA in 13 career appearances over two major league seasons. Al Evans had a more substantial career. He was a backup catcher for the Washington Senators from 1939-1950 and retired after 12 games and 24 at-bats (.125) for the Sox in 1951.

Alan Embree was an effective left-handed reliever for Boston from 2002-2004 and then seemingly forgot how to retire hitters in 2005, when he went 1-4 with a 7.65 ERA before he was let go and claimed by the Yankees. Now 39, Embree remains in the game after rebounding with decent years with San Diego and Oakland from 2006-2008. He signed with Colorado in the off-season.

Remember Carl Everett, the volatile slugger who played for the Red Sox in 2000 and 2001, when the team did not care who it placed in the clubhouse? Everett had 34 home runs and 108 RBI with a .300 average in 2000, but he would definitely not fit in with the current team concept in Boston.

Nick Esasky had a brief tenure with the Red Sox, but it was successful. He hit 20-plus home runs twice in six seasons in Cincinnati, but never saw more than 413 at-bats because played for the Reds during the same time that Pete Rose returned as a part-time first baseman and manager. Esasky was shuttled around the infield and outfield, never given a full-time position.

Boston acquired Esasky for Todd Benzinger after the 1988 season. He had 30 home runs and 108 RBI with a .277 average with the Sox in 1989. That off-season, the free agent Esasky cashed in with Atlanta by inking a three-year, $5.6 million contract, which was a lot of money for a baseball player at the time. He only played nine games for the Braves, though, after developing vertigo from an inner-ear infection. In 35 at-bats as a member of the Braves, he had six hits, no home runs and no RBI. He was just 30, but he could not recover from vertigo and never played another major league game.