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Eighteen different players have been full-time captains of the Boston Red Sox, an American professional baseball franchise also known previously as the Boston Americans. The list was created from scratch by baseball historian Howard W. Rosenberg in 2004. The Red Sox front office contacted Rosenberg in advance of Jason Varitek being named captain that year, after learning that Rosenberg, author of a 2003 book featuring captains in 19th-century baseball, had disputed the official count of captains in New York Yankees franchise history.
In Major League Baseball, a captain is an honorary title given to the member of the team primarily responsible for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. This role has been particularly important during eras and situations in which managers and coaches have been precluded by the rules from interacting with players on the field while the game is in progress. As is the case with the National Hockey League, then- and now-retired captain Varitek wore a distinctive "C" on the left side of his jersey.