1981 BOSTON RED SOX ...

Ralph Houk was hired to manage the Red Sox for the new season. He was the kind of manager who cared about each one of his players and protected them from outside influences. He would pump up his players, but would always challenge and be honest with them. And if a player needed to be disciplined, he did it privately in his office

On the other hand Sox GM Haywood Sullivan was dismantling the team. He decided not to pay anyone more than Jim Rice, who was earning $700K a year. The Sox liked the play of Glenn Hoffman last season, so Rick Burleson was offered $350K up from $165K. But Burleson, Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn all wanted contracts in the same price range as what Rice was earning.

On December 10th Sullivan traded Butch Hobson and Burleson to the California Angels for Rick Miller, pitcher Mark Clear, and young thirdbaseman Carney Lansford.

A few days later, Sullivan and Buddy LeRoux made the biggest front office blunder ever in the history of baseball. They failed to deliver a contract to neither Carlton Fisk nor Fred Lynn by the December 20th deadline.

Arriving with a postmark of December 22nd, both players noticed the error. Fisk's contract was for the same $210K he had made the year before. It would rank him the 17th highest paid catcher in the majors. Marvin Miller immediately informed both players that he would file a grievance on their behalf, seeking immediate free agent status. Haywood Sullivan maintained that the players were still bound to the Red Sox for the option year under their 1976 contracts.

On the eve of the January 23rd hearing, Fisk was offered three years for $1.5M plus incentives. Lynn was making $275K and was offered $4.2 over six years. Agent Jerry Kapstein gave a firm "no" to each offer.

So Sullivan decided to immediately trade Fred Lynn He went to the California Angels, along with Steve Renko, for pitchers Frank Tanana, Jim Dorsey and Joe Rudi.

Meanwhile, other free agent players like Dave Winfield and Darrell Porter were signed to lucrative contracts with new teams. Three weeks later, on February 12th, Carlton Fisk was ruled a free agent by arbitrator Raymond Geotz.

The Red Sox announced that they would still try to sign him. Kapstein's counter-offered to the Red Sox was for five years and $2.5M. The Sox didn't come back with an answer for the next month. Finally Haywood Sullivan offered him a guaranteed $2M guaranteed plus incentives over four years, but refused to get into a bidding war.

But a far as Fisk was concerned, he was a New Englander and his heart and soul had always been with the Red Sox his whole life. But he also remembered how upset he was when Haywood Sullivan said a year ago in training camp, that "Carlton Fisk was more worried about his contract than he was about his elbow". Fisk took the remark as a personal affront and as one of the top catchers in baseball, he was not going to take a home town discounted salary at about half of what mediocre catchers were now making.

While all this was developing, Fisk, Jerry Remy, Bob Stanley and Walt Hriniak continued their workouts at Tufts, in preparation for the new season. While the others left to head south to Winter Haven, Fisk flew out to San Diego to work out.

On February 22nd, the Sox started to arrive in Florida for spring training under the eyes of manager Ralph Houk and his pitching coach, Lee Stange. Catcher Gary Allenson went to work catching the pitching staff along with Rich Gedman, John Lickert and Roger LaFrancois. Bill Campbell arrived in camp with a healthy pitching arm, for the first time in recent years.

So Carlton Fisk listened to the other offers and decided to sign with the Chicago White Sox on March 9th, for $3.5M over five years. In later years, Fisk would admit that when he looked at himself in the mirror, wearing a White Sox uniform, it never felt right and he would ask himself "What am I doing here?"

But what was done was done. It was finally over and Red Sox fans were not happy. Probably the best catcher in the history of the franchise was given away for nothing in return.

Meanwhile in camp, Ralph Houk went about the business of getting ready for the new season. Reid Nichols as one of the big surprises in camp, and Houk said he planned to use both him and Rick Miller in centerfield.

Catcher Dave Schmidt was heading north to backup Gary Allenson, while Rich Gedman was sent to play with Pawtucket. The prospect who Houk liked the most, was secondbaseman Marty Barrett, who would also play in Pawtucket.

On April 8th, Dick Drago was traded to Seatte for reliever, Manny Sarmiento.

As the opening of the new season approached, Carl Yastrzemski found himself at the UMass Medical Center in Worcester, getting treated for his sore back. He would spend most of the season being the designated hitter.

With standout third baseman Carney Lansford on the team, Houk moved Glenn Hoffman from third base to shortstop. Jerry Remy's knee was feeling fine and he had a good spring training. Houk would have him filling in at both second and shortstop, behind Dave Stapleton and Hoffman.

The most improved player was outfielder, Garry Hancock. After a March 29th game in which Hancock doubled, homered, and raised his spring average to.343, when the season started Hancock joined Rick Miller and Reid Nichols as the new outfielders on the 25-man roster. Tom Poquette started the season on the injured list.

Carlton Fisk and the White Sox were the Red Sox opening day opponent at Fenway Park on April 10th, and Glenn Hoffman’s father, Ed, sang the National Anthem at the Sox’ home opener. In the eighth-inning, Fisk came up with two on and the Red Sox leading 2 to 0. Bob Stanley threw a sinker that didn't sink, and Fisk bounced a three run homer over the top of the left-field wall to give the White Sox a 3 to 2 win. 

But in the next game, Jim Rice's eighth inning grandslam brought the Red Sox from behind to win 5 to 4, on April 12th. Yaz's 1981 debut included three RBIs in a 7-2 win over the Orioles on April 15th.

Carney Lansford's defensive skills at third base that saved the Red Sox in their 8-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on April 17th. The White Sox hit three home runs and even got a little divine help in the form of hailstones the size of golf balls that stirred them in the eighth inning. However, by then it was much too late, because the Red Sox' bullpen was in command and Lansford had already saved the day by making his heads-up defensive play - a double play he pulled off in the sixth inning that helped preserve a 5-3 lead and snuff out a promising Chicago rally. Lansford also was hot at the plate, going 4 for 5, including a hustle double, a line-drive home run to center and two singles, one of which went 400 feet.

If the three home runs that Carlton Fisk hit against the Red Sox so far this season carried any message, then so did the game-winning three-run home run by Gary Allenson in Chicago on April 19th, in a 9-4 Red Sox win.  He also showed his ability to a establish himself as a tough cookie behind the plate, as the Red Sox took two of three from the White Sox.

Against Texas at Fenway, on April 20th, Mike Torrez was in full control, dominating the Rangers, 4 to 2 allowing seven hits. Dwight Evans was the big bang with a single and a tremendous two-run homer.

Carney Lansford was on this tear. On April 21st, he banged out three hits in a 10-4 decision over the Rangers, He was hitting .485, 16 for 26, on base 19 times in 36 plate appearances, had 23 total bases in 33 at-bats and six multiple-hit games.

The Sox lost to the Rangers the next night, on April 22nd, in spite of a big game from Dwight Evans. He had a double, a triple and two singles, bringing home three runs.

On April 26th, Dennis Eckersley was down, 4-0 in Baltimore, after the first four batters he faced, and then won. Eck survived the early shelling (4-0 and 5-3 deficits) to pitch a complete game. The Sox began the chipping-away process with a two-run homer off Jim Palmer in the second. From top to bottom, the Red Sox had contributions: from Rick Miller's three hits (two in key situations) to Jerry Remy's two-run eighth-inning single to his scoring from second on a Yaz sacrifice fly. All of which added up to a 7-5 Red Sox win over the Orioles.

But the Sox then went to Texas and, not only got shutout in three straight games, but gave up 24 runs. They came home and were swept in a four game series with the Twins, for seven straight losses. Their record was 7-12, and were in 6th place, five games behind. The Sox batters were hitting only .174 as a group.

Yaz was presented a gold watch as the Red Sox "Player of the Month" for April, during which time he batted only .156 

The Red Sox went to Kansas City and got three runs in the 12th inning to beat the Royals, 8 to 7 on May 4th. Jerry Remy, Dwight Evans (3-for-3) and Yaz all came up with big hits.

But Gary Allenson (.207 BA) hurt his groin in the game and was put on the DL four days later. Rich Gedman was called up and got most of the work behind the plate for the remainder of the season.

On May 6th, just when it looked like the Red Sox had run themselves out of an inning, Dwight Evans made sure they didn't with a two-run home run. His fifth homer of the season, gave the Sox a 2-1 lead in the eighth and Dennis Eckersley made it stand up in a 3-1 victory over the Royals, giving the Sox 2 of 3 games in Kansas City.

Dwight Evans (.361 BA) had three hits in five trips and Mike Torrez held down the last place Blue Jays in Toronto, 4 to 2 on May 8th.

The next night, May 9th, the Sox teed off on the Jays, beating them, 10 to 3, pounding out 13 hits and getting some solid relief pitching from Bob Stanley after the starter, Steve Crawford, had to leave with a groin pull. Dwight Evans' homer and single were good for five RBIs.

In the 10th inning  on May 10th, Joe Rudi took Roy Lee Jackson's fastball downtown and crashed a three-run homer, his first with the Red Sox, to wrap up a 9-5 Red Sox victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto. Frank Tanana was pounded for four runs by the third inning, but the Sox crawled out of a 4-2 hole. Dwight Evans homered and cut down a runner at the plate.

Evans was producing the most in the early part of the season. He was not only second in the league in hitting, but his .491 on-base percentage was leading the AL, his 20 walks tied him for first, his 19 RBIs tied him for second, his 57 total bases ranked third and his .667 slugging percentage was also third. 

Gary Allenson had five RBIs the next night, on May 11th, while Rick Miller went 5-for-5 with a record-tying four doubles against Toronto. The Sox won the game 7 to 6 and swept the series with the Jays, making it five straight.

Yaz slugged a three-run homer on May 13th in Minnesota while Jim Rice and Tony Perez added another four hits. It all helped Mike Torrez to get a 4-0 lead. Mark Clear got the final seven outs for a save of the 5-2 victory.

Dave Schmidt hit his first major league homer in the 11th inning to break up a 7-7 tie in the May 14th game against the Twins. Schmidt's game-winning clout helped the Red Sox forget blowing a 6-0 lead. The Twins’ fielding and baserunning slapstick got the game into extra innings and sent the Sox home to Boston with an 11-inning, 9-7 victory over the Twins. Bill Campbell strongly finished off his first win of the season by striking out three of the final four batters

The Red Sox returned home from an 8-2 road trip that brought them over .500 (15-14). 

In their first game home back at Fenway, the Sox battled back from a 3-0 deficit with Dwight Evans and Yaz homers, and held on thanks to another brilliant performance by Mark Clear and, with a two out, bottom-of-the-ninth rally culminated by Carney Lansford's bases-loaded walk-off single, beat the Royals, 4-3, on May 15th. The Sox had now won eight of their last nine games and were three games out.

Lansford then went 5-for-5 on May 17th's 5-4 loss to the Royals at Fenway.

The Sox overhauled the Mariners, 8-5 on May 18th at Fenway. In a game of you take it and I don't want it, Bill Campbell finally brought some order to the chaos.

On May 19th, Frank Tanana allowed five singles, struck out a 1981 team-high nine Mariners and allowed one runner as far as second base, going through Seattle for the 4-0 victory, his first in any uniform but that of the Angels. It was not only the Red Sox first shutout of the year, but the first for Tanana since June 5, 1979 against Toronto.

What he needed he got from Yaz who knocked in two runs with a drive off the Wall in the fifth. Then, for last-inning insurance, Tony Perez drove his fifth homer into the center-field bleachers in the eighth for the final two runs. He also had Jerry Remy (.364 BA) and Dwight Evans (.346 BA) on base five times.

The Sox put the Oakland A's in a tailspin on May 20th, beating them, 5 to 3. Rick Miller got the game winning hit and Tom Burgmeier got the last six outs easily to preserve the win.

On May 21st, Jim Rice's graceful home run swing had been completed in the ninth inning and the Red Sox had a 3-0 walk-off victory over the A's and a sweep of their two-game series. Dennis Eckersley pitched one of his best games, allowing just two hits in the complete game shutout.

In Milwaukee on May 22nd the Sox beat the Brewers, 7 to 3. John Tudor however, was not able to finish after holding a 7-1 lead and retiring 13 straight batters. The Sox rolled over the Brewers the next night also, on June 23rd. Mike Torrez got his fourth win, 8 to 1.

As a team, the Sox had hit .302 in their last 19 games. The bullpen had won or saved 16 of the Sox' 22 victories and the Sox were 18-5 in games where the reached the seventh inning tied or ahead.

The Sox had won six in a row and 14 of their last 17. The starting pitchers collectively had also sported a 2.13 ERA in the six game winning streak.

On May 25th, standing at center stage on the night of his 3000th major league game was Yaz. With three stirring rallies, the Sox stormed back to beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-7. The winning hit went only about 30 feet. But it was a high chopper with the bases loaded in the ninth inning by Carney Lansford, and Cleveland shortstop Tom Veryzer could only helplessly wait for the ball to come down. His throw to the plate was too late to get the sliding Yaz, who had begun the decisive rally with a leadoff walk.

The Sox beat the Indians on May 27th, 10-5. Rick Miller knocked out his first home run of the year, a three-run job, to highlight a six-run explosion by the Sox. Jim Rice bashed out two solo homers.

Dwight Evans bashed a Rollie Fingers pitch in the ninth inning for a three-run homer that tied the game, 6-6, on May 30th against the Brewers. It set up the Red Sox' 10-inning, 7-6 triumph. The Brewers had appeared to be certain winners, carrying a 6-1 lead into the ninth inning. The home run was a crusher. Just as disastrous was a fielding misplay in the 10th, which was aggravated by an apparent umpiring mistake on a sacrifice bunt. Jim Rice had singled to open the inning. Joe Rudi followed with the bunt. Fingers bobbled the ball and thus was charged with an error when Rudi was called safe. That meant that when Rice moved to third on a fly ball, there was only one out, a much better situation for Dave Stapleton, because the infield had to be drawn in and he is a contact hitter. And he capitalized on it by poking the winning single.

After a month in which he had nine homers, 26 RBIs, 27 runs, 25 walks, slugged .581 and was on base 44.4 percent of the time, Dwight Evans was named American League "Player of the Month" for May.

Mark Clear, 6-0 with three saves, a 1.09 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings and nine leads or ties preserved in nine tries, was also named AL "Pitcher of the Month", a rare double feature. No club has won both outright in two years. The Sox were 18-12 in May.

Dwight Evans began June as he ended May, with an RBI double and his 13th homer that presented Dennis Eckersley with his first two runs, as Rich Gedman continued his impressive work, Eckersley threw a four-hitter at the Indians for a 4-0 victory at Cleveland Stadium on June 2nd.

Dave Schmidt's 15th and final game was on June 3rd in Cleveland. He was 1-for-4. With Gary Allenson coming off the DL, Schmidt (.238 BA) was returned to Pawtucket and never made it back to the majors.

When the Red Sox walked off the field as 6-5 winners over the Cleveland Indians on June 4th, there were handshakes all around for those who had come through and helped the Sox win the rubber game of this three-game series in Cleveland.

Yaz drilled a homer over the right field fence in Oakland, on June 5th. Jim Rice followed with another long ball and Bill Campbell finished it off for Frank Tanana, striking out the last two batters to preserve a 4-1 win.

The Sox lost the next three games however, before winning two of three. Frank Tanana picked up his third win by beating the Mariners 4-2 in Seattle on June 10th. The Sox hitters helped him by banging out 12 hits.

On June 11th, the Sox lost to the Angels before play stopped and a players strike began on June 12th. The Sox were 30-26, in 5th place, four games behind the Yankees in fifth place, at the time of the work stoppage.

The players’ strike was in response to the owners wanting to win back the prerogatives over the players. The owners had already lost at the bargaining table and in the courts, on the issue of the free agency draft. At issue during the negotiations was the owners demanding compensation for losing a free agent player to another team. The compensation in question was a player who was selected from the signing team's roster (not including 12 "protected" players). The players maintained that any form of compensation would undermine the value of free agency.

When the strike ended in August, MLB decided to crown the first half champion and also the second half champion, thus adding another tier to the playoffs.

On August 9th, the All Star Game was played in Cleveland. Dwight Evans was on the American League squad and got a pinch hit for Reggie Jackson in the fourth. He drew a walk and singled his next time up. The National Leaguers beat the American League, 5 to 4. Yaz didn't make the team but flew to the game on Air Force II as a guest of Vice President George Bush.

The Sox re-opened against the White Sox at Fenway and split a four game series. Joe Rudi had a two-homer game on August 12th as part of an 8 to 1 Red Sox win. In his first start since being brought back up, Bobby Ojeda pitched a complete game victory on seven hits.

The next game on August 13th, saw the Red Sox stump the White Sox, 9 to 6. Yaz nailed a two-run homer and a run-scoring double. Rookie shortstop, Julio Valdez, also brought home a run.

With too many outfielders, Tom Poquette was placed on waivers and claimed by the Texas Rangers.

Then in Texas, run-scoring singles by Yaz and Carney Lansford in the 10th inning rallied the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Rangers on August 15th. But they lost 2 of 3 in Texas.

In Oakland on August 20th, Dwight Evans calmly hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to lead the Sox to a 6 to 4 win over the A's. But they lost another 2 of 3 in Oakland.

The Sox had won two of the six games on the current road trip and were hitting .200 ... The 3-4-5 hitters were 8-for-54 with one RBI, Jerry Remy was 3 for 24 and the Sox had no home runs on the trip.

In Seattle on August 21st, Bob Stanley got them into the ninth inning with a chance to win. His 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief kept them within a run. Joe Rudi pinch-hit a towering two-run homer for the lead, Jim Rice lined out another two-run job for the insurance, and when Garry Hancock (3-for-4) culminated his memorable night by throwing Jerry Narron out at the plate. The Red Sox had pulled off a 7-4 win over the Mariners.

The next night on August 22nd, Bobby Ojeda led the Sox to a 5-3 win over the Mariners, with some help from Jim Rice, who had four hits. Tony Perez who had gone 0-for-15 singled in two runs and keyed a 7 to 5 sweep of Seattle on August 23rd.

In Anaheim, the Sox season was shown in microcosm in a game on August 25th. Jim Rice hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and that should have been enough to give the Red Sox a 7-6 victory. But, instead, the Angels came back to load the bases in the bottom of the inning and won the game, 8-7, on a two-run single by Bobby Grich.

The Sox simply didn't play like they wanted this game, even though the Angels spotted them six runs in the first inning, thanks to two errors. The Angels, who stole a club record of seven bases, scored four runs in the third inning off Dennis Eckersley, and single runs off Mark Clear in the eighth and ninth innings to create a 6-6 tie. Rice put them ahead again briefly. But neither Tom Burgmeier nor Bob Stanley could stem the tide.

The Sox returned home and faced the Athletics to start the home stand. On August 27th, Dwight Evans took an effortless-looking swing that carried the ball over the left-field screen in the eighth inning and brought the Sox back from a 5-4 deficit. Evans had nailed his 15th home run. It was a drive that not only brought the crowd to its feet but also gave the Sox an important victory at home after a two-game losing streak and a 5-6 road trip.

In a 12-5 rout of the Oakland A's the next night, on August 28th, Rich Gedman who played far better than anyone dared suspect, slammed a two-run single in the second inning to highlight a three-run inning.

A four run eighth inning, led by Carney Lansford's three-run homer, gave the Sox a 7-6 win over the A's on August 29th, that got the Sox off to its third straight and seventh victory in the last nine games. Yaz passed Stan Musial into third place with his 3027th game played.

On August 31st, Jerry Remy was a one-man wrecking crew, driving in a pair of runs to lead the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Angels at Fenway Park. His double in the fifth inning scored Glenn Hoffman from second base and broke a 1-1 tie, and Remy's single in the seventh scored Dave Stapleton with the fourth run. Remy was now hitting .417 with men in scoring position. Dennis Eckersley went the distance for the Sox, allowing just seven hits. 

The Sox were 11-9 in the second half and 1 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL East, at the end of the month.

Dave Stapleton’s ability to play practically every position in the infield has always made him valuable. And on September 2nd, he showed the kind of intelligent hitting that got him to the majors in the first place. Stapleton's two-run homer in the fourth inning and was all the Sox needed for a 3-1 victory over the California.

Jerry Remy continued the hitting tear that has suddenly vaulted him among the top hitters in the American League. On September 3rd, he accomplished the rare feat of collecting six hits in a game, going 6-for-10 in a 20-inning loss against the Seattle Mariners.

Remy then went 4 for 4 in the 12-5 victory over the Mariners on September 5th, raising his average to .331 ... He had 12 hits in 19 at-bats over the last three games. Jim Rice, had 17 hits in his last 38 at-bats with men on base, now leading the club with 15 RBIs to tie games or put the Red Sox ahead.

Yaz's game-winning two-run home run on September 8th, that produced a 5-3 victory, certainly was a familiar sight to Tiger fans. He had hit 63 of his 425 career homers against the Tigers. Thirty-five have been hit in Tiger Stadium. Glenn Hoffman had a 4-for-4 game with a double.

Yaz, despite a nagging pull in his left hamstring muscle, led the Red Sox with 16 game-tying or game-winning RBIs. In the second-half season, Yaz was hitting .307 (23-75 and 15 RBIs). In the last three games, Yaz was 5-for-12, .417, with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs.

For the 25th time in 49 victories, on September 9th, the Red Sox bailed out Frank Tanana. They came from behind, being down 4 to 1, to beat the Tigers, 6-5 in 11 innings. A walk followed by three straight singles tied up the game in the ninth.

On September 12th, Bobby Ojeda pitched the game of his (14-game) career. He had stood out there in Yankee Stadium, with a no-hitter that he had painted into the ninth inning. It ended when pinch hitter Rick Cerone led off the ninth with a shot to right-center that ticked off the outstretched glove of the diving Dwight Evans, and when Dave Winfield pinch hit another double that made the game, 2-1, with a runner in scoring position and none out, Ojeda had had to leave and be saved by Mark Clear.

The pitching and defense that had made the first two games of the Yankees series a delight for the Sox, vanished, and New York took the rubber game despite the fact that the winners got only one more hit, 12, than the losers.

The Sox returned to Fenway on September 14th, and Jerry Remy sliced a bases-loaded single past short in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and helped spark the Red Sox to a 5-2 victory over the first place, Detroit Tigers.

Of all the off-season deals the Red Sox made last winter, the one that brought Carney Lansford has borne the ripest fruit. Lansford's line-drive single in the 10th inning on September 16th, brought home Jerry Remy with the winning run and gave the Red Sox a 2-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader. It also gave Dennis Eckersley, who went the distance, his eighth victory and pinned loser Jack Morris with only his fifth defeat in 17 decisions.

In the second game, Dave Stapleton's two-run, two-out single with the bases loaded, gave the Sox a 5 to 4 win over the Detroit Tigers and a sweep of the doubleheader at Fenway.

The Sox swept their series with the Tigers by winning the finale on September 17th, 6 to 1, behind the pitching of Bobby Ojeda and the hitting of Jim Rice who went 4-for-5 with a double and a homer. They had gone from fifth place, 4 1/2 games behind Detroit, to second place and 1/2 game behind them.

The Yankees were next at Fenway. On September 19th, Rick Miller became the toast of Kenmore square in the eighth inning when the Red Sox overcame a 5-1 deficit with their two-out rally, winning the game 8-5.

In the final game of the series, on September 20th, They had been down, 1-0, after the first three batters against Tommy John and won. And they had culminated a 6-1 week to the cheers of the fans who returned to Fenway. They were now in second place in the American League East, a half-game back of the Tigers, .005 ahead of the Brewers.

Dave Stapleton capped a five-run third inning with a three-run homer as the Red Sox came from behind to wallop the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-3, on September 21st. Dennis Eckersley survived a rocky start to chalk up his ninth victory, surrendering nine hits.

The spotlight fell on Gary Allenson on September 23rd and he responded with a dramatic grand slam, that keyed an eight-run rally to whip the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-5. Each night, it seems, there is a new hero for the Red Sox, and it was finally Allenson's turn. Inspired by a noisy crowd, Allenson responded with his slam in the seventh inning off Reggie Cleveland that broke up 4-4 tie.

Catcher Rich Gedman was one of the reasons that the Red Sox were still in the pennant race in the Second Season. His third base hit of the night, a double past first in the fifth inning, scored Carney Lansford with the tiebreaking run and gave the Sox a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on September 25th.

The win put the Sox in a tie for first place. But then the Sox lost the next two games they played against Cleveland, and were slipping out of the race.

Next, the Brewers' Pete Vuckovich outlasted Frank Tanana at County Stadium on September 28th, 1-0.

The next night, on September 29th, Mike Torrez pitched one of the biggest games of his four-year Red Sox career. He completely overpowered Milwaukee on two hits until the ninth inning while his friends pounded out three homers and 12 hits. Dave Stapleton went 4-for-5 with two home runs. In the ninth, Torrez needed two outs of Mark Clear in relief, for a 7-2 win over the Brewers which put the Red Sox one game behind Detroit and a half-game back of second-place Milwaukee.

The Red Sox self-destructed on September 30th, three games before the end of the pennant race on a night at County Stadium. Their final big game in a string of big games came, and the Red Sox were lost from beginning to end, flat  andjust plain awful, losing 10-5 to the Brewers.

His final gesture said more about the way Frank Tanana felt about the season more than any words, on October 3rd. He flung his glove high into the air and his sigh of relief could almost be felt through Cleveland's huge Municipal Stadium. Two long ordeals for the California-born left-hander finally ended with his last game with the Red Sox with a 4-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians, and his tenure in Boston.

On the final day of the season, October 4th, Dwight Evans collected 10 total bases with two home runs and a double, for a 6 to 2 win in Cleveland.

Although the Red Sox played better in the second half, they didn't make the cut. In the first half of the season, the Red Sox finished fifth in the American League East with a record of 30 wins and 26 losses, four games behind the New York Yankees. In the second half of the season, the Red Sox finished second in the division, with a record of 29 wins and 23 losses, 1 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Red Sox' overall record for the season was 59 wins and 49 losses.

On most nights it was possible to go to Fenway Park at the last minute and get a decent seat for almost any game. Most nights only 10,000 or 12,000 fans sat scattered throughout the ballpark. Fans in the bleachers could hear the home plate umpire calling balls and strikes, and the turnstiles were usually abandoned by the fifth inning, allowing people from the street to wander in for free.

CARNEY LANSFORD

On the bright side, Carney Lansford hit .336 to win the American League Batting Title, the first right-handed batter to do so since Jimmie Foxx. He led the Sox with 23 doubles and 15 stolen bases.

Glenn Hoffman played a solid defense at shortstop in the strike-shortened season, but he struggled at the plate, hitting .231 with 20 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

Unable to replicate his rookie success, Dave Stapleton lost the starting second baseman duties to Jerry Remy, who hit .307 in his return to action. Stapleton batted .285 and it was the start of a trend that saw his batting average drop each season for the remainder of his career.

Beginning with this season, Dwight Evans underwent a remarkable offensive transformation, and was one of the best all-around players in the league for the next several years. He finally fulfilled his promise, displaying offensive skills that matched his defensive prowess.

Although he manned right-field better than anyone since Harry Hooper, he was all promise and little production at the plate until now. Besides his fourth Gold Glove award, under the tutelage of batting coach Walt Hriniak, Evans put it all together, tying for the league lead with 22 home runs and hitting .296 with 71 RBIs. He finished third in the balloting for Most Valuable Player.

Rick Miller was the Sox regular center fielder with a .291 batting average, which was his Red Sox high. He was named the Red Sox "Unsung Hero” by the baseball writers.

Unfortunately, Jim Rice ended the spectacular run he was on since his rookie year. Still very good, but no longer great, he missed the protection offered to him by the bat of Fred Lynn.

Rice and the fans never embraced each other in the first place, but things got worse for him. All Rice ever wanted from the fans was to be judged by his numbers and left alone. As Yaz was transformed into a beloved icon, Jim Rice sank down to a level of his team. Bleacher fans turned vicious as Rice, Dennis Eckersley and Mark Clear all got blamed for the lousy ball club, and were jeered regularly. The taunts sometimes turn racial and as result Rice became even more remote.

Reid Nichols spent the whole season with the Red Sox. He was the backup outfielder and played in 39 games, with 55 plate appearances, and batted .188.

After the 60-day labor dispute was settled and the Red Sox returned to play, Garry Hancock reprised his role as a pinch-hitter and part-time outfielder. He struggled and posted a .156 batting average for the season. Hancock suspected he was the only Red Sox position player in history to be on the club for an entire season and not get a hit at Fenway Park.

Rich Gedman started the season at Pawtucket and played in one of the minor leagues’ most fabled games, the 33-inning contest between Pawtucket and Rochester that began on April 18th. As the starting catcher, Gedman caught the first nine innings, going for 1-for-3, before being lifted for a pinch-hitter. The game was suspended after the 32nd inning. When it resumed on June 23rd, the PawSox won it in the 33rd.

Gedman was called up to the Red Sox in mid-May, after catcher Gary Allenson went on the disabled list. Seizing the opportunity, Gedman batted .288 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 62 games. He finished second in the baseball writers’ American League "Rookie of the Year" voting, but was named "Rookie of the Year" by The Sporting News.

Gary Allenson finished the year appearing in only 47 games, with five home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .223 batting average. His season was under-rated, His run production placed him just behind Dwight Evans. He was also among the club leaders hitting with runners in scoring position.

After a slow start (1-2 with a 6.50 ERA) Mike Torrez finished with a 10-3 mark and an ERA of 3.68.

In the strike-shortened season, Bill Campbell’s fastball was back in the low 90s. Although he pitched in only 30 games, he earned seven saves while the Red Sox used a bullpen by committee, with Tom Burgmeier, Bob Stanley, Campbell, and Mark Clear.

Bob Stanley (10-8, 3.83 ERA) was used almost exclusively in relief, making but one start. Clear had nine saves with a 4.11 ERA. They shared the bullpen duties with Burgmeier, who picked up six saves with an excellent 2.87 ERA.

"I stunk," Frank Tanana summarized his performance for the Red Sox. He pitched for a single season, earning only four victories against 10 losses (the 10 losses tied with five others for 8th in the AL). While his 4.01 ERA was better than the previous season, he struggled to pitch at Fenway Park, where he had a 5.36 ERA.

Bobby Ojeda pitched well, but his stay in Pawtucket was prolonged by the strike. He was called up when play resumed, by which time his record was 12-9 with an ERA of 2.13. At season’s end he was named the International League’s "Pitcher of the Year". Ojeda was the best pitcher on the Red Sox staff after the strike, posting a 6-2 record with a 3.12 ERA.