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1979 BOSTON RED SOX
Going into the year, the historically biased Red Sox also had been placed under scrutiny from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination for the team’s hiring practices. They only had two black players ... George Scott and Jim Rice. The 1978 playoff loss to the Yankees led to another round of finger pointing. Don Zimmer was blamed for the team’s collapse by Red Sox Nation and the vilification was relentless, especially on talk radio. Mike Torrez was also the victim of finger pointing and would hear constant booing from the stands every time he would take the mound in 1979.
The first victim of the collapse, however, was free agent Luis Tiant, who was 121-81 while wearing a Red Sox uniform. Haywood Sullivan had recently re-signed Jim Rice and Dennis Eckersley to long term deals. Tiant wanted to re-sign with the Sox, but Sullivan would only offer him a one year contract because of his age. The New York Yankees jumped on the opportunity and signed Tiant, as a way to get his positive influence out of the Boston clubhouse. They gave him for $840,000 for two years. Red Sox fans were stunned, not only by losing a beloved icon, but the prospect of seeing him in pinstripes would be unbearable. Sullivan then helped Zimmer and shipped his nemesis, Bill Lee, off to the Montreal Expos for infielder Stan Papi on December 7th. Zimmer didn’t like Lee, but the Red Sox now had lost a second valuable arm for a player who never made an kind of contribution. It may not have been the most lopsided trade in Red Sox history, but it definitely makes the short list. Poor Stan Papi. It wasn't his fault that he was traded for a folk hero. In the end the pitching staff was damaged badly by losing both Lee and Tiant, while getting nothing in return. And nothing had been considered about extending the contracts of Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson and Carlton Fisk. On January 19th, free agent pitcher Steve Renko, signed a one-year contract for about $120,000 to pitch with the Sox. On February 3rd, the Sox traded minor leaguer, Dave Coleman, to the Twins for infielder Larry Wolfe. After a vigorous off-season training program with teammate Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson went into spring training with high hopes. Going into the season, the 40 year old Carl Yastrzemski was nearing some milestones. He had 383 home runs and 2869 hits. If he reached 400 himers and 3000 hits he would be the first American Leaguer to do so. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial were the only ones to accomplish that, and they were all in the National League. Carlton Fisk had a sore right elbow from calcium deposits embedded in the muscle. It was felt to be scar tissue from an injury during the previous season when he changed his throwing style to compensate for his fractured ribs. Resting it over the winter hadn't helped. When trying to throw in spring training it got worse and he had to go on the DL when the season started. Catcher Gary Allenson came to the Red Sox training camp with a lot of intrigue. He tore up the International League the previous year and was named its most valuable player. Allenson and Mike O’Berry handled most of the catching with Fisk out. On March 15th, the Sox purchased outfielder Jim Dwyer from the San Francisco Giants to backup in the outfield. During spring training, there were a host of young pitchers aiming to make the team, including rookies John Tudor, Win Remmerswaal, Allen Ripley, Joel Finch and Chuck Rainey. Before the end of camp, Rainey was named as the Sox fifth starter.
The season opener was at Fenway Park on April 5th. Jim Rice belted a three-run homer while Dwight Evans and Fred Lynn belted solo shots, in support of Dennis Eckersley, who allowed only two hits in a 7 to 1 victory over thge Cleveland Indians. On April 8th, in the third game of the season, Chuck Rainey made his major league debut, when he relieved Bob Stanley on a damp 34-degree afternoon in Cleveland. Taking over in the sixth with a 6-5 lead, he held the Tribe to one hit over three-plus innings. Jim Rice scored on Jack Brohamer's infield out in the 12th inning, to give the Sox a 7-6 win. Then in Milwaukee on April 12th, Yaz slammed out four hits, including a grandslam homer, in a 12-10 battle that was put in the Sox win column. After a rainout, the Sox played the Indians again at Fenway, on April 15th. Jerry Remy, Rick Burleson and Fred Lynn combined to drive in seven runs and powered the Sox to a 14 to 4 victory. On April 17th, Lynn blasted a ninth inning home run into the right field stands, giving the Red Sox a 6 to 5 walk-off win over the Brewers. It was his sixth homer of the young season.
After losing the next game, the Sox (5-4) won six of eight in the mid-April homestand. Starting on April 19th, Chuck Rainey worked 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, and won his first major-league game, 5-3, over the Brewers at Fenway. Next, they swept the three-time defending AL West champion Kansas City Royals and scoring 25 runs in the three games. In the first game of the series, on April 20th, Yaz drove in three runs with his 386th career homer, a single and a double, leading the Sox to a 9 to 2 win. The next day,on April 21st, Fred Lynn hit his seventh homer of the year, along with homers from Jim Rice and Dwight Evans, in a 10 to 4 romp over the Royals. In the finale on April 22nd, Torrez walked five of the first nine batters he faced, but thanks to three doubleplays in the first three innings, he escaped unscathed and went on to shutout the Royals, 6 to 0. The Sox then started a west coast trip by sweeping the Mariners in Seattle. On April 24th, Larry Wolfe's sacrifice fly scored Butch Hobson with the winning run in the 12th inning, giving the Sox a 4 to 3 victory. In the second game, on April 25th Jim Wright retired the first 17 batters he faced and cruised to a win. He gave up just one hit in the six innings he worked and was removed after 65 pitches so as not to stress his arm. Chuck Rainey earned the save in this, his third outing. The Sox held a 4-1 lead with the Seattle Mariners batting in the bottom of the ninth. Tom Burgmeier got the first out in the ninth, but then gave up back-to-back singles. Zimmer called on Rainey, who induced a groundout and a fly ball to end the game. And in the last game in Seattle, Bob Stanley dominated and shutout the Mariners, 2-0. The Sox then headed down the coast to Anaheim enjoying a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL East. But the Angels weren't an easy pushover like Seattle. The Angels stopped the Sox seven game winning streak by taking the first two games. But in the last game, on April 29th, newcomer veteran pitcher, Steve Renko, took a 2-0 no-hitter into the seventh inning before Don Baylor broke it up with a double.
Then, after losing two in Oakland, the Sox finished the road trip with a 2 to 1 close win. Mike Torrez got out of two late inning, bases-loaded jams, before Dwight Evans homered in the top of the eighth. They ended the west coast trip going 5 and 4 and fell to second place, 1/2 game behind the Orioles. They then came home and the homestand with 10 wins of the next 16 games. On May 4th, Yaz drilled a sixth inning homer into the right field stands, powering the Sox to a 5 to 3 win over the Mariners at Fenway. On May 5th, in the next game, Jim Rice had a homer and a pair of singles, while Fred Lynn banged out his 10th home run, as the Sox blew out the Mariners, 11 to 4.
A six run first inning, keyed by Butch Hobson's three-run double off Nolan Ryan, and a Rice homer, lifted the Sox to a 9 to 4 victory over the Angels on May 7th. Two days later, on May 9th, Yaz's homer in the ninth inning gave the Sox a 9 to 8 walk-off win. The Sox ended up splitting their series with the Angels. Oakland was next to visit Fenway and were swept in three straight. The first game, on May 11th, Yaz and Hobson had two hits apiece, in an eight-run fourth inning, leading to an 11 to 2 rout of the A's. In the second game, on May 12th, Jerry Remy had five hits while George Scott and Dwight Evans added three apiece, leading to an 8-2 win. The Sox won the third game on May 13th, on homers by Scott and Hobson, that bolstered the three hit pitching of Chuck Rainey, in another 8 to 2 victory. The Sox trailed the Orioles by 1/2 game and then welcomed them in a four game series. After the May 14th game was rained out, Evans stole second and raced home with the winning run on Jerry Remy's 10th inning single that gave the Sox a 3 to 2 win on May 15th. On May 16th, the Sox lost 10 to 6. In that game, Rick Burleson was ejected and suspended for three games after he bumped an umpire while disputing a strike call. Homers by Rice and Hobson led the Sox to a 6-2 victory in the May 17th finale. The Sox, after taking 2-of-3 from the Orioles, were 1/2 game ahead of Baltimore in the AL East. On May 21st, Bob Montgomery went on the DL with a recurring problem with his elbow. Mike O’Berry was brought up from Pawtucket to take his place. After playing in just six games, Frank Duffy was designated for assignment and retired as a player and Stan Papi was activated to take his place, having spent the spring recovering from a knee operation. Next, the Yankees came to town and the Sox lost 2 of 3. In the first game the Yankees blitzed the Sox with 17 hits on their way to a 10-0 romp. On May 19th, in the next game, Jerry Remy and Fred Lynn hit Ed Figueroa for clutch RBI singles in the bottom of the seventh inning, leading to a 4-3 victory over New York. Tommy John out dueled Dennis Eckersley in the finale game on May 20th, 2 to 0. Then the Sox moved down to Baltimore, 1 1/2 games in second place. They won the first game on May 22nd. Fred Lynn hit a three-run homer in a seven-run second inning and the Sox held on for a 7 to 5 win. Then they lost the next two and left town 2 1/2 games behind. They split a two game series in Toronto. On May 27th, Chuck Rainey held the Blue Jays to six hits, shutting them out 1-0. Stan Papi, filling in for Rick Burleson came through with the game winning hit, a two-out double in the third inning. After singling in the ninth inningfor his second hit, Papi rounded second base on Fred Lynn's fly ball and then forgot to tag it on his way back after the catch. The Sox moved on to Texas and lost the first two games of the series. Then, on May 31st, the Sox and Rangers were tied up and took the game into extra innings. In the top of the 12th, after George Scott had drawn a walk, the always hustling Jim Dwyer was put in to run for him. Dwyer immediately stole second and scored when Jerry Remy singled up the middle for a 3 to 2 victory. The Sox ended the month, having gone 14-12, and were in second place, two games out of first.
The Sox won 2-of-3 in Minnesota to start the month of June. On June 1st, the Sox could only muster four hits. The key to their four runs in the first inning was not Butch Hobson's game-winning two-run single, but a previous bloop hit by Fred Lynn. Jerry Koosman proceeded to shutout the Sox for the next 8 1/3 innings until Hobson homered off him in the ninth for a 5-2 win. On June 3rd, the pitching of Steve Renko, with some help from Bill Campbell, stopped the Twins, 8 to 2. Butch Hobson homered once more giving him three in the last 11 games. With a 5-6 road trip, they were still just one game out of first place. On June 4th, Jim Rice and Yaz triggered an eight-run fifth inning including a grandslam by Rick Burleson, the first of his career, to crush the Rangers 13-5 in their return home to Fenway. Homers by Fred Lynn, Yaz and Rice led the Sox to a 9-3 win over the Rangers, the next night on June 5th. Then after losing the first game in the series with the White Sox, the Sox reeled off five straight wins. Rice slugged two homers against the White Sox on June 7th, in a 9 to 2 victory. Singles by Rice, Yaz and Carlton Fisk in the eighth inning led the Sox to a 2-1 win over the Twins on June 8th. Carlton Fisk reported to Fenway Park but told Don Zimmer has arm still was not string enough. Sox right-hander Jim Wright, was then placed on the 21-day disabled list after receiving cortisone shots in his elbow, and Joel Finch was summoned from Pawtucket. Finch had been 7-1 with a 2.64 ERA with the PawSox. Yaz, Fisk, Rice and Lynn, all slugged homers in a 17-hit barrage, as the Sox trounced the Twins, 12-6, on June 9th. In the next game on June 10th, Butch Hobson and Dwight Evans homered back-to-back and Dennis Eckersley blanked the Twins, 5 to 0 on four hits. After winning eight of the ten games at Fenway, the Sox left for Kansas City. The Sox finished their brief homestand, gaining no ground in the AL East standings. They finished just as they started, one game behind the Orioles. In the first match-up on June 11th, Bob Stanley blanked the Royals, 4 to 0 in 10 innings. Royals' pitcher, Jim Busby took a two hitter into the tenth, until two walks and a clutch double by Dwight Evans, spelled the end. Next, on June 12th, after two innings, the Red Sox had a 3-1 lead over the Royals, but in the bottom of the third, the Royals scored three times and had a runner on second base with still no outs. Rookie Joel Finch was brought in from the bullpen and shut the door. He pitched five innings in relief, allowing only two singles, one walk, and no runs, while seeing the Sox tie the game in the seventh and take a 6-4 lead on Yaz’s home run in the top of the eighth. Finch was in line for the win, but a two-out two-run homer by Steve Braun tied the score in the bottom of the ninth and a single, a bunt double, and Al Cowens’ sacrifice fly won the game for Kansas City, 7 to 6. The Sox then clobbered the Royals, 11 to 3 on June 13th. Larry Wolfe had his second two-homer game. The first one happened when he lead off the top of the third inning and the second followed Dwight Evans’ leadoff home run in the fourth. At the trading deadline on June 15th, the Sox sold Andy Hassler to the Mets. He had appeared in only eight games for a total of 5 1/3 innings with an ERA of 8.80 and a record of 1-2. George Scott was also traded to the Royals for Tom Poquette. The Sox then acquired Bob Watson from the Astros for Pete Ladd, Bobby Sprowl, and cash. On June 16th in Chicago, the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 11 to 5. Yaz had two hits, but when he doubled in the fifth inning, it was his 1000th extra base hit. In the next game, on June 17th, catcher Mike O’Berry hit a home run down the left-field line at Comiskey Park, leading off the third inning. It was his first run batted in and was also the only run the Red Sox scored in a 6-1 loss. The Sox lost 2-of-3 in Chicago and returned to Fenway 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore. At Fenway, on June 18th, Jim Rice's bases loaded single in the 8th inning, led the Sox to a 9 to 8 win over the Tigers. Two days later, on June 20th, the Sox slugged six homers to crush the Tigers, 13 to 3. The six home runs were hit by six different players: Fred Lynn, Yaz, Dwight Evans, Butch Hobson, Jim Dwyer and Bob Watson. Against Toronto, on June 22nd, Rice's two homers led the Sox to a 12-1 rout. The next night, on June 23rd, Bob Watson's 11th inning homer gave the Sox a 4 to 3 walk-off. The Sox concluded their 6-1 homestand by sweeping the Jays on June 24th, 8 to 4. Yaz was 3-for-4 with a single, a double and a home run, but couldn't gain any ground on the Orioles, remaining, as they started, 2 1/2 games behind. On June 27th in Detroit, the Sox scored two runs in the ninth inning on Butch Hobson's double, to escape with a 3-1 victory. They lost 2 of 3 in Detroit however and then went on to face the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. In the first game on June 29th, Jerry Remy's single in the 13th inning, scored Rick Burleson with the go-ahead run in a 3-2 victory. In the next game, on June 30th, Yaz's 399th career homer and 16th of the season, put the Sox ahead of the Yankees by another 3-to-2 score and beat Luis Tiant. But in the previous at bat, Yaz (.306 BA) had pulled his Achilles tendon and it would hurt him for the rest of the season. Going after 400 homers and 3000 hits became a tough chore.
On July 1st, the Yankees flattened Dennis Eckersley 6 to 5. But in the first inning Jerry Remy led of the game with a triple. Then when Rick Burleson hit a pop out to short right field, Remy broke for home after the tag, only to get thrown out at the plate, after trying to hook slide around the tag. In the process he caught a spike and rolled around in pain, having to be carried off the field by Jim Rice. The Sox split the series in New York, but now returned to Fenway 5 1/2 games behind Baltimore. Back in Boston on July 3rd, the Sox blasted the Royals 10-0, behind a pair of home runs by Bob Watson. Dwight Evans supplied the fireworks as he slammed his 100th career homer, a 2-run shot off Al Hrabosky, with two outs in the ninth inning, to give the Sox a 6 to 4 walk off win on July 4th. The Sox swept the Royals thanks again to Watson, who knocked out four singles, drove in a run and scored one, in a 5 to 4 win on July 5th. The Sox then took off to play Seattle and after losing the first game, Fred Lynn clubbed two homers to beat the Mariners, 10 to 8 on July 7th, to pull the Sox to within two games of the Orioles. The next night on July 8th, it was Carlton Fisk's two homers that won for the Sox, 8 to 2. But in Anaheim, Nolan Ryan shutout the Sox on July 9th. The Angels beat the Sox again the next night, but then on July 11th, Lynn went 4-for-4 in a 17-hit assault that gave the Sox a 9 to 3 win and salvage one game of the series. The Sox moved up to Oakland and swept three straight from the A's. In the first game on July 13th, Steve Renko took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, but Ricky Henderson broke up his dream with one out. Renko and the Sox ended up wnining the game 2-0. In the second game on July 14th, Butch Hobson hit his 12th homer of the year and drove in three runs, for a 8 to 7 victory. In the finale on July 15th, A's miscues gave the Sox a 3 to 2 win. The Sox stayed two games out going into the All Star break. Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, and Yaz were the three outfielders for the American League All Stars for the game in Seattle on July 17th. It was an all-Red Sox outfield for the first time. Lynn belted a two-run homer off Steve Carlton, to put the AL out front 3-2 in the first inning but the NL won the game 7 to 6. Yaz had two hits and an RBI and Rice played the whole game and went 1-for-5. Bob Stanley hurled two innings against the star-studded senior-circuit lineup, giving up one hit and one earned run. Rick Burleson (0-for-2) also played and scored a run. The Sox opened the second half, 1 1/2 games behing the Orioles, and hosting the Mariners at Fenway on July 19th. The Sox coasted to a 7 to 1 win, as Dennis Eckersley scattered six hits. Larry Wolfe earned himself a minor fine when he failed to comply with a bunt signal and hit a two-run homer instead. The fine was $2, issued by the "kangaroo court" in the Sox locker room. But that was a close a the Sox would get, losing the next two games. Now 3 1/2 games out, Bob Watson's single scored Fred Lynn with the winning run in the 10th inning against the Angels for a 6-5 victory on July 22nd. Yaz finally cracked his 400th career homer against Mike Morgan of the A's on July 24th in a 7-3 win. When he got to the dugout the fans were still cheering and he finally had to come out to salute the crowd with a wave, not once, but twice. Then on July 25th the Sox unloaded on the Athletics for 16 runs. Jim Rice slugged two home runs and Carlton Fisk added a three run shot in the 16-4 victory. The Sox split the homestand, falling five games behind the Orioles. In Texas, the Sox pulled off a triple play in helping Dennis Eckersley secure a 1-0 win on July 28th. On July 29th Mike Torrez found his long-lost control, getting outs with runners in scoring position, to beat the Rangers, 3 to 2. The Sox finished the month losing three games in Cleveland however and ended 7 1/2 games behind to Orioles who had won 12 of the 15 games they played since the All Star break.
Jim Rice hit two home runs on August 1st to give his team a 7-4 victory in Cleveland. The next night the Sox traveled to Milwaukee and swamped the Brewers, 10 to 1. Bob Watson and Dwight Evans each had three hit games that included two home runs apiece. But tragedy finalized the season for the Yankees and shook the baseball world. Yankee catcher and team captain, Thurman Munson, died in a plane crash, when the plane he was flying crashed short of the runway at Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio on August 2nd. After the crash, Munson lay motionless, his neck broken by the impact of the crash, and paralyzed. He was still alive and asking about the others in the plane, as flames began to engulf the fuselage. The two other people strained to free him from the wreckage, but couldn’t and finally had no choice but to make their own escape. Munson's relationship with Carlton Fisk symbolized the Sox-Yankees rivalry of the 1970s. The two rivals hated each other, but respected each other as the two top catchers in the American League. Fisk later said the losing Munson was like losing a part of his identity. European born, rookie pitcher, Win Remmerswaal, made his major-league debut on August 3rd in the second game in Milwaukee. Steve Renko left the game after five innings, and as author Tom Boswell described it, “Zimmer called the bullpen, barked ‘Get Win up,’ and was told, ‘He’s out in the bleachers buying peanuts.’ Remmerswaal pitched three innings, gave up three hits and one run. The Sox lost the game, 5 to 3. On August 5th the Sox took a doubleheader, as Fisk knocked out four hits and knocked in four runs in a 27-hit Sox assault. They blasted the Brewers 19-5 in the second game, to sweep the day. Fred Lynn's three-run homer earned Dennis Eckersley (14-5) his sixth consecutive complete-game victory in the first game. The Sox thus took three of four in Milwaukee, who would ultimately win 95 games. Joel Finch was 0-3 with a 5.35 ERA and returned to Pawtucket to make room for Jerry Remy who returned from the DL. On August 7th, back at Fenway Park, Fisk drove in three runs and hot a solo homer in a 12-3 victory over the Indians. Lynn also knocked out a homer, his 27th. The Sox lost both games in a doubleheader the next day, on August 8th, but bounced back behind Eckersley's 15th win, for a series split, 3-2 on August 9th. Yaz tied the game in the fourth with a base hit and the drove in the winning run with a sac fly in the sixth inning. On August 10th, Lynn cracked his AL leading 31st homer, as the Sox hosted the Brewers, 5 to 4. The Sox next swept three games from the Minnesota Twins at Fenway. In the first game, on August 13th, Butch Hobson belted his 20th homer with two outs in the eighth inning, to bring the Sox from behind to win 6 to 5. In the second game, on August 14th, Lynn slugged two homers and solo shots by Fisk and Yaz powered the Sox to a 12-1 win. Dennis Eckersley became the AL's first 16-game winner. In the third game, on August 15th, Yaz's two-run eight inning homer snapped a tie and led the Sox to a 9-5 decision. The Sox remained five games behind the Orioles. The Sox closed to within four games of the Orioles on August 16th, when Bob Watson knocked out his 150th career homer and Fred Lynn slammed his league-leading 35th blast, in a 7-5 win over the White Sox at Fenway. Rookie John Tudor made his major-league debut as his Peabody High School buddies yelled down to him from the bleachers. Unfortunately, he didn’t get past the third inning in that, his first start. On August 17th, the Cubs traded Ted Sizemore to the Red Sox for a player to be named later (Mike O’Berry), who were seeking an experienced utility player to replace the injured Jerry Remy. In his Red Sox debut against the White Sox on August 18th, the next night, Sizemore had three hits and drove in two runs in an 8-2 Sox win. But within a few days, he had torn a shoulder muscle and missed a week and a half before returning to the lineup. The Sox took 2-of-3 with Chicago and then lost 2-of-3 when they traveled to play Minnesota. On August 22nd, they beat the Twins, 9 to 4 and were 4 1/2 games behind. Next was three straight in Kansas City to fall 7 1/2 games behind. The Red Sox faced rookie Craig Chamberlain in the Friday opener at Royals Stadium on August 24th. Chamberlain had made two great starts to begin his career, and he made another that night, beating the Sox, 4-2. The next day, on August 25th, Mike Torrez gave up a leadoff home run to Kansas City’s Willie Wilson. Torrez pitched brilliantly the rest of the way, but lost a duel to KC’s Dennis Leonard. Wilson kept it going in the third game, on August 26th, with four hits and a 6-3 Sox loss completed the sweep. Now the Sox were 7 1/2 games out. Their problems at the catching position were hurting the team. Since the third week in June opposing teams had stolen 35 bases against the Sox. Fisk, with his bad elbow, had thrown out only three of 26. And Gary Allenson was batting only .216. Desperate to find help, the Sox promoted catcher Mike O’Berry up from the PawSox and placed Jack Brohamer on the DL. The Sox were in Chicago and split with the White Sox next. On August 27th, they won 4 to 3, behind Bob Watson, who knocked out three hits. Back in Boston, the Rangers took 3-of-4 to push the Sox out by 9 1/2 games. Bob Watson said that he had never seen a good team play this way.
Then the Sox went to New York and lost two of three. The only bright spot during the whole debacle was Bob Stanley's 5-0 hutout of New York on September 5th. The first place Orioles came to Fenway and buried the Sox, winning three of their four game set, pushing the Sox 13 1/2 games behind in third place. Bob Montgomery played his final game in the majors on September 9th against the Orioles. He was 1-for-2, scored a run, and also earned the distinction of being the last major leaguer to ever bat without a protective batting helmet on his head. On September 11th, the Yankees and Luis Tiant were in town to face the Sox. Yaz had 2999 hits and when Tiant walked Yaz in his second time up, "Loooie" got booed by the Fenway crowd. Yaz ended up going 0-for-3 and was in a slump. He had only 13 hits in his last 79 at bats and realized that he was pressing, trying to make #3000 a home run. Then while taking some batting practice after the game, Walt Hriniak reminded him that if he hit a homer, he might never get the ball back.
In the next game, on September 12th, Yaz had to face Catfish Hunter, who was pitching in his last game. He walked Yaz in the first inning, got him out on a fly ball to the warning track in the third inning and on a hard grounder in the fourth. Hunter departed in the fifth inning to a standing ovation and handed the ball over to Jim Beattie. Beattie got Yaz out in the sixth making him 0-for-10. Then, in the eighth inning, with the Sox up 8 to 2, Yaz limped up to the plate. He tried to do what he had done so oftern and hit a ground ball between first and second base. It bounced past Willie Randolph into right field, for his 3000th hit. The game stopped, the fans cheered, the scoreboard flashed "YAZ YAZ YAZ" and Reggie Jackson came in, hugged him, and handed him the ball. Yaz became only the 15th player to reach 3000nd hits.
A mirophone was set up and Yaz went over to give a brief speech. He thanked the Boston fans and wished that his mom and Tom Yawkey could have been there to see it. Things popped into Yaz's mind as he spoke. He had been around so long that Catfish Hunter had started his career four years after he has started his, and ended his career that day. And Haywood Sullivan, who had been a reserve catcher when Yaz started with the Red Sox, was now the club president ... he had seen it all come and go. Jim Beattie later reminisced, that when he was growing up in Maine, he was always a huge Yaz fan. Yaz was told that after the game that President Jimmy Carter wanted to call and congratulate him on his accomplishment. But since the Boston Press was mobbed around his locker, Yaz apologized and said that he couldn't wait for the phone call. On September 15th, after hitting a single in the second, a double in the fourth, and a triple in the eighth, Bob Watson completed a the cycle with a home run in the ninth inning of the Red Sox' 10-2 victory over Baltimore at Memorial Stadium. The Sox first baseman became the first modern major leaguer to hit for the cycle in both leagues, having accomplished the feat with Houston in 1977. Bob Stanley coasted to an easy win on September 19th, shutting out the Blue Jays, 8 to 0. On September 21st, John Tudor got his first win: a 4-1 decision over the Detroit Tigers at Fenway that was called after 6 1/2 innings because of rain. Joel Finch was brought back up and got a start on September 27th at Fenway Park against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. After seven innings, the Sox held a 3-1 lead. Leading off the top of the eighth, Alfredo Griffin tripled and Sox manager Zimmer decided to bring in closer Bill Campbell to secure the victory for Finch. Fans at Fenway booed the decision because they wanted Finch to continue and get the win. But Campbell allowed a double, got a fly out, and then allowed an RBI single that tied the score. After another fly out, Campbell allowed a two-run homer that would have given the Blue Jays the win but for the fact that Fred Lynn hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to re-tie the game and then Carlton Fisk led off the ninth with a solo home run for a walk-off win, 6-5. Baltimore would go on to win 102 games and coasted home to the AL East crown. The Red Sox still won 91 games, and finished with a better record than the AL West champion California Angels. The Red Sox finished the season in third place in the AL East, 11 1/2 games behind the Orioles. By the standards of today, the Red Sox may have been a wild card team with room to spare, but in the tougher world of 1979 MLB, they were getting further from October, not closer. The Red Sox still played good baseball. The Sox were defined by a potent offense and they led the league in runs scored. They simply hit the heck out of the ball and led the league in batting average, doubles and home runs, while being in the bottom half of the American League in walks. The penny pinching ways of the front office had hurt the team and as a result, they couldn't keep pace. They didn’t collapse, they just showed a slow but steady fade, like a slow leak in a tire.
Jim Rice came off his MVP season of 1978 and delivered 39 home runs and 130 RBI. He became the first player to have 35 homers and 200 hits (he had 201) for three consecutive seasons. Fred Lynn had an amazing year in centerfield. He led the American League in hitting at .333, on-base percentage at .423, and slugging at .637. He smashed a career-high 39 home runs, scored a career-high 116 runs, and had a career-high 122 runs batted in. He was named to the American League All-Star team for the fifth time and earned his third Gold Glove. He finished fourth in American League MVP voting. The outstanding outfield was rounded out by rightfielder Dwight Evans, who batted .274 with 21 homers. He finished with a .364 on-base percentage and a.456 slugging percentage, while having another terrific defensive year with 15 assists and a "Gold Glove". But the assault didn’t stop there. Carl Yastrzemski was 39-years old, but still hit 21 home runs and finished with a .346 OBP in his DH duties.
Tom Poquette optimized his opportunity by batting .331 for the Red Sox in 64 games, as the fourth outfielder, after being traded from Kansas City in June. Jim Dwyer got into 76 games and batted .265 and earned the nickname "Pig Pen" because his hat was pulled down over his ears, his pants pulled down on his hips and he was always dirty from diving somewhere. Dwyer had impressed his new teammates and become a media favorite right out of spring training. “Who the hell is Stan Papi?” fans immediately asked after his trade for Bill Lee. Stan Papi was . . . well, Stan Papi, putting up Stan Papi like numbers (1-6-.188 in 117 AB). He was a nice guy and he certainly didn't deserve all the anger that he received. And, unfortunately for Papi (and the Sox), Lee returned to his mid-1970s form, winning 16 games for the Expos. Fenway’s left field was suited for Bob Watson’s swing. In 84 games he hit .337 with 53 RBIs and 13 home runs. However, his place in the Boston lineup was dependent upon Yaz, who alternated between first base and left field. When Yaz took over at first, Watson was assigned the designated hitter slot. As DH he hit .368, but he never grew to like the role. Rick Burleson again made the All-Star team for the American League. After the season, he was awarded a "Gold Glove" for his fielding prowess and received the "Thomas A. Yawkey Award" as the team’s most valuable player. Hampered by injuries, Jerry Remy played in only 80 games and batted .297, leading the team with 14 stolen bases. Third baseman Butch Hobson played in 142 games at third base. He slugged a career-high .496, batting .261 with 28 homers and 93 RBIs. One only wonders how much offense this team would have produced, had Carlton Fisk (.272 BA) not been limited to 91 games. Bob Montgomery finished his career with his head held high, appearing in 32 games and batting a career-best .349 in 86 at-bats. The pitching was fifth in the American League in ERA, but they lacked depth and a clear stopper. Mike Torrez was reliable in taking his turn. He finished 1979 with the same record as the previous year, 16-13, though his ERA increased from 3.96 to 4.49. Bob Stanley, a starter/reliever hybrid, did most of his work out of the rotation and had a nice season with a 3.99 ERA. His relief appearances dropped to 10, but his starts numbered a career-high 30. He also won a career-high 16 games, four of them coming via shutouts. Dennis Eckersley was the best of the starters, going 17-10 with a 2.99 ERA. From July 11th to August 14th, he won eight straight games, with the first seven of those being complete game victories. He developed a sore arm and won only one game the rest of the year. Chuck Rainey, suffered shoulder problems and had to miss a couple of starts and was kept in the bullpen but not used until he was finally placed on the 21-day disabled list in July. He got in 17 innings of rehab work at Pawtucket and returned in September. He won his last three decisions, starting with the game in which Yaz collected his 3,000th base hit. Rainey’s record was 8-5. His 3.82 ERA was better than the team’s 4.03 average. He struck out 41 and walked 41. During the 15 games in which Joel Finch pitched in the majors, he threw 57 1/3 innings, striking out the same number of batters he walked (25) and recording a 4.87 earned run average. Hurt in winter ball, Jim Wright’s big-league career ended in June against the Chicago White Sox. He relieved Bob Stanley and worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs. With a regular spot in the starting rotation, Steve Renko posted an 8-3 record and 2.97 ERA in 118 1/3 innings through the All Star break. The big right-hander tailed off in the second half of the season and finished 11-9 with a 4.11 ERA in 171 innings. Relief pitching was similarly thin. Dick Drago won 10 games and saved 13, while Tom Burgmeier finished with a 2.74 ERA. But there weren’t good options after that. Bill Campbell continued to struggle with elbow and shoulder problems. He refused to get surgery and continued to play through his injury. He was no longer the Sox closer and was mostly used in a situational role to get out lefthanders.
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