For Red Sox fans of a certain age — say, those born after the Impossible Dream season of 1967 — the debate over the franchise’s best defensive center fielder usually comes down to two names.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Fred Lynn.
There are historians who will swear by Tris Speaker, old-timers who will tell you all about the defensive exploits of Dom DiMaggio and Jimmy Piersall, and more recent diehards will give a tip of the cap to Ellis Burks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Johnny Damon, and Coco Crisp.
But for the vast majority, if you don’t believe Bradley is the finest defensive center fielder the Sox have featured, it’s because you’re making the case for Lynn.