Red Sox induct Pedroia, Papelbon, Nixon into Hall of Fame (2024)

BOSTON —

The Boston Red Sox inducted three World Series champions and fan favorites into the team's Hall of Fame during a special ceremony at Fenway Park Wednesday night.

Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon and Trot Nixon were selected in December 2023 to join the Red Sox Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.

Pedroia, 40, spent his entire 17-year professional career in the Red Sox organization after the club made him a second-round draft pick in 2004. He was the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL Most Valuable Player. The four-time All-Star (2008-10, 2013) earned four Gold Glove Awards at second base (2008, 2011, 2013-14) and a Silver Slugger Award in 2008.

In his major league career, Pedroia batted .299 with 140 home runs, 394 doubles, 725 runs batted in, 922 runs scored and 138 stolen bases. He made 11 consecutive Opening Day starts from 2007 through 2017 and was the Red Sox's starting second baseman in all 51 of the team's postseason games over those 11 years. Pedroia was a big part of Boston's World Series-winning teams in 2007 and 2013. He only played in three regular-season games during the 2018 championship season due to injury, but the Red Sox still awarded him a World Series ring because he remained an important presence in the clubhouse and dugout that year.

"This is the only team I know, so to get this honor is pretty special for me and my family," Pedroia said.

Papelbon, 43, pitched in 396 games over seven seasons with the Red Sox (2005-11), with all but three of those appearances coming from the bullpen. A fourth-round draft pick in 2003, Papelbon was a four-time All-Star with Boston (2006-09) and was named the team's Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in 2006 after the right-hander recorded a 0.92 earned run average with 35 saves in his first full major league season.

He still holds franchise records with 219 career saves, 35 saves by a rookie in a single season (2006), 20 consecutive saves converted to start a season (2006) and six consecutive seasons with 30 or more saves (2006-11). Papelbon saved 104 games at Fenway Park, the most in the history of the 111-year-old ballpark. The 2007 World Series champion earned seven postseason saves for the Red Sox — a mark that is tied for the most in franchise history — while posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 games.

Nixon, 50, was drafted 7th overall by the Red Sox in 1993 and played in 982 games for Boston over 10 seasons (1996, 1998-2006), during which he had a .278 batting average with 133 homers, 523 RBI and 547 runs scored. The outfielder earned team MVP honors in 2001 and the 1999 BoSox Club Man of the Year award for his community service.

He appeared in 38 postseason games for Boston and notably hit a walk-off home run in Game 3 of the 2003 American League Division Series before adding three homers in the 2003 AL Championship Series. The 2004 World Series champion ranks fourth in Red Sox history with 869 games played in right field.

"It's like I'm floating and I don't really know how to explain it," Nixon said of his Red Sox Hall of Fame induction. "I'm very grateful."

In addition, longtime Red Sox front office executive Elaine Weddington Steward was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame as a non-uniformed member.

Steward is one of the longest-tenured members of the Red Sox front office, as the 2024 season is her 37th with the organization.

She joined the Red Sox in 1988 as an intern in the legal department, and just two years later, she broke a significant barrier in Major League Baseball when — at only 26 years old — she became the first woman to be named assistant general manager for a team and only the second African American to hold the position.

Steward assisted in all areas of baseball operations as assistant GM under Lou Gorman and later Dan Duquette, including contract negotiations for star players such as Mo Vaugh, the 1995 AL MVP, and eventual team captain Jason Varitek. During Steward's run in that position, the Red Sox won the 1995 AL East title and averaged 86 wins per season from 1995 through 2001.

After 12 years as assistant general manager, Steward returned to the Red Sox's legal department when the club was sold by the Yawkey Trust to Fenway Sports Group. Steward currently holds the title of senior vice president/assistant general council for FSG. She has also been featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Women in Baseball exhibit in Cooperstown, New York.

"I'm walking around the ballpark. I'm at work, so it feels normal. And then I saw my plaque and I'm like: 'Oh my gosh,'" Steward said.

The Red Sox selected Billy Rohr's 1967 one-hitter against the New York Yankees as the "Memorable Red Sox Moment" in this year's Hall of Fame class.

On April 14, 1967, Rohr made his major league debut in Yankee Stadium, and the 21-year-old left-hander came within one pitch of becoming the first MLB player ever to throw a no-hitter in a debut. He finished the game with two strikeouts and five walks while allowing the lone hit with two outs in the ninth inning, outdueling Hall of Famer Whitey Ford.

Rohr's performance helped propel the Red Sox to their "Impossible Dream" season in which they would go on to win the American League pennant with a 92-70 record, their first winning season since 1958 and first World Series appearance since 1946.

Wednesday night's Hall of Fame induction event also included the presentation of the Fenway Honors award to the late Tim and Stacy Wakefield for their charitable achievements.

Tim Wakefield, who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2016, died in October 2023 shortly after it had been revealed he had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He was 57 years old.

Stacy Wakefield, Tim's wife of more than 20 years, died in February after her own battle with cancer. She was 53 years old.