Frank Malzone

Not since the World War I days of Larry Gardner (1908-1917) had the Red Sox seen so reliable a third baseman as they had in Frank Malzone. 

He came up through the Sox farm system and immediately established a name for himself at the hot corner. With teammates like Jimmy Piersall, Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen and Pete Runnels, Malzone was a perfect compliment to a strong nucleus. 

In his Boston debut in 1955 Malzone batted 6-for-10 in a doubleheader against the Orioles, giving Boston fans a taste of what was to come. 

His rookie year wouldn't come until 1957, and by then Malzone was ready to do it all. Leading his position in games played, putouts, assists, errors, double plays and fielding percentage, Malzone became the first player in modern baseball history to lead in all of those categories as a third baseman. And if that wasn't enough, he hit a career-high 103 RBI and won the first of his three consecutive Gold Gloves. His high mark defensively that year came on September 24 when he tied an American League record with 10 assists. 

Malzone continued his brilliance in his sophomore season of 1958. His 627 at-bats was tops in the American League and his .295 batting average was a career high. Malzone's impressive numbers earned him a trip to the All-Star Game every year from 1957-1960 and again in 1963. 

In 1961 he led third basemen in double plays for the fifth straight year, tying another American League record. He rarely missed games and averaged over 80 RBI for eight years. 

Malzone was a mainstay at the hot corner for the Sox for nine years before spending the final year of his career in 1966 with the Angels.