Which player has meant the most to the Red Sox franchise?
As we count down to Opening Day, we at SouthCoastToday.com thought we’d set up a bracket-style tournament of all-time Red Sox greats.
Those of you who have ever filled out an NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket (and, really, who hasn’t?) will recognize the format immediately. In each round, we’ll ask you to choose between Red Sox stars of the past and present to see who makes it to the next round based on the answer to one question: “Which player has meant the most to the Red Sox franchise?”
We think that’s a little bit different than asking which player is the best player in Red Sox history (which would probably a month-long countdown to the inevitable crowning of Ted Williams).
It’s also a little different than asking who your all-time favorite Red Sox player is (which would probably too heavily favor recent players over some of the guys who played in the early 1900s).
The time-frame for voting in each round will be as follows:
Round 1 (Field of 64): Feb. 23- March 1
Round 2 (Field of 32): March 2 – March 8
Round 3 (Field of 16): March 9 – March 15
Round 4 (Field of 8): March 16 - March 22
Round 5 (Field of 4): March 23 – March 29
Round 6 (Field of 2): March 30 – April 6 (Red Sox home opener)
We invite you to discuss the matchups on the forums section of this tournament page.
How does it work?
For each round and before the cuttoff time, pick which player in each match-up has meant the most to the Red Sox franchise. At the of each round, the Sox star who has amassed the most votes will advance to the next round until a winner in crowned.
Are there any prizes?
This is not set up to be a contest, per se, in which individuals casting ballots are awarded prizes for correct predictions. In essence, it is something that's just for fun that will hopefully generate some spirited debate among Sox fans.
How do I vote?
You must be a registered user with UPickem to vote. The good news is, regitration is easy and free. If you have registered for previous UPickem contests (such as our recent Pet Photos and Red Carpet Movie Awards contests), you should be able to use that username and password. Notes on voting: This particular bracket is not set up to display which players are leading in the individual matchups, so we'll have to wait for each new round to find out which players advance. Be sure to cast your votes in each of the 4 "quadrants" of the bracket.
