October 4, 2009 at 4:54 PM
2009 Service Time
Fifty-two players earned major league service time for the Red Sox in 2009, and fifty of those players saw game action during the season. Twenty-nine players who appeared for the Sox in 2009 earned a full year of major league service time: Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, JD Drew, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, Nick Green, Rocco Baldelli, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, George Kottaras, Casey Kotchman, Jed Lowrie, Adam LaRoche, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Brad Penny, Tim Wakefield, Ramon Ramirez, Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Takashi Saito, John Smoltz, and Billy Wagner. Miguel Gonzalez, who sent the entire season on the disabled list, also earned a full year of major league service time. A full year of service time is considered to be 172 days. Players earn service time for each day during the regular season that they spend on the active major league roster or the major league disabled list. While certain players may have spent more than 172 days on the active roster, 172 is the most days that a player may accrue in a single season. Additionally, if a player is optioned to the minors and then recalled in less than twenty days, those days spent in the minors are also counted in terms of service time.
Twenty-two other Sox players earned major league service time in 2009. Each appeared in at least one game for the Sox, with the exception of Marcus McBeth.
Approximate service time in 2009 (unofficial)
Brian Anderson - 155 days
Daniel Bard - 147 days
Jeff Bailey - 87 days
Chris Woodward - 85 days
Clay Buchholz - 79 days
Josh Reddick - 65 days
Joey Gathright - 65 days
Junichi Tazawa - 58 days
Hunter Jones - 57 days
Gil Velazquez - 37 days
Paul Byrd - 35 days
Javier Lopez - 34 days
Jonathan Van Every - 31 days
Dusty Brown - 31 days
Michael Bowden - 31 days
Fernando Cabrera - 17 days
Aaron Bates - 16 days
Chris Carter - 16 days
Dustin Richardson - 6 days
Enrique Gonzalez - 5 days
Marcus McBeth - 2 days
Billy Traber - 1 day