1982 BOSTON RED SOX ...

1982 began on a difficult note for Red Sox fans. In early January, Tony Conigliaro came to Boston to interview for a broadcasting position, and on January 9th, he suffered a massive heart attack as he was being driven back to Logan Airport by his brother Billy. In the aftermath of the heart attack, Tony C spent nearly eight years bedridden before he passed away in 1990.

For five years in the minors, Wade Boggs had hit .300 without impressing anybody in the front office. The organization was more focused on what he couldn't do, like run and hit for power, while ignoring that he collected base hits better than anybody in the system. When Ted Williams met him in spring training, he asked Boggs if he thought he was a good hitter. Boggs confidently answered "Yes I am" ... Ted responded "We'll see"

Boggs however, was trapped behind reigning American League batting champion Carney Lansford, the Sox third baseman, but he had a good spring and Ralph Houk kept him as a utility infielder.

RALPH HOUK

Just before preseason exhibition games started, Houk said that the difference he saw in pitcher, Chuck Rainey from a year earlier was “like night and day,” while Rainey himself said the difference was “like life and death. I feel pretty good throwing the ball. This year I know what I can do…all the hard work I did over the winter conditioning and rehabilitating myself has paid off.”

Bruce Hurst overcame a seriously sprained rib cage muscle in spring training to earn a spot on the Red Sox pitching staff.

Unfortunately for pitcher Steve Crawford, he developed bone chips in his elbow from throwing the slider in winter ball. The Red Sox team physician, Dr. Arthur Pappas, performed surgery and the timetable was for Crawford to be throwing by the end of spring training and be back on the field by the All-Star break.

After an off-season with no notable changes, there was no reason to think about the Red Sox. But the early part of the season quickly changed that.

The Sox started the season in Baltimore and manager Ralph Houk was treated to two shutouts in the first three games. Dennis Eckersley began the season with a six-hit shutout, 2-0, and John Tudor fired his own six-hitter for a 6-0 win over the Orioles.

They then returned to Fenway Park and just like in 1981, former Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk helped lead the White Sox to victory over his old club, going 2 for 3 at the plate in the 3-2 Chicago win on April 12th. The Red Sox were swept in the opening Fenway series with the White Sox.

Glenn Hoffman's three-run homer let the Sox finally win their first game at home on April 17th, giving John Tudor his second win of the young season.

The next day on April 18th, the Sox beat the Jays, 4 to 3, when a wild pitch brought Glenn Hoffman home with the winning run, in the bottom of the ninth. Catcher Rich Gedman was the star of the game, gunning down three of the four Jays runners, who tried to steal on him. The Sox found themselves third in the American League in ERA (2.92).

The Sox then went on a 13-1 stretch from April 20th to May 4th.

With the Orioles in town, on April 20th, the Red Sox won 8-3, by bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit as Glenn Hoffman hit what proved to be a game-winning, two-run homer, to highlight a three-run rally in the fourth inning. Jim Rice stretched a hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single in the third.

Scoring six runs in one inning, the Sox beat the Orioles the next day on April 21st, 6 to 5. Mark Clear struck out the last Oriole batter in the ninth, with two men on base, to cinch the victory.

In Toronto on April 23rd, John Tudor (3-0) went seven strong innings before he was lifted in a 5-4 Sox win. Luis Aponte struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth in the next game on April 24th, to preserve an 8-7 Sox win. Glenn Hoffman, Rick Miller and Jerry Remy teamed up to produce two runs in the 12th inning of the series finale in Toronto, on April 25th, winning 5 to 4. The Sox defense, especially Remy and Dwight Evans, was responsible for the sweep.

Offensively, the Sox were sputtering even though Yaz had five home runs and was batting .380, and Rick Miller, who went 6 for 13 in the three-game series, raised his average from .156 to .289. Players such as Glenn Hoffman and Jerry Remy were getting clutch hits while Dwight Evans (.200), Jim Rice (.236), and Dave Stapleton (.190) were still trying to find a comfortable groove.

The Sox headed into Chicago and swept a doubleheader from the White Sox, 3-2 and 5-0, for their sixth and seventh straight wins on April 26th. They trotted out three pitchers they didn't have last fall in Bruce Hurst, Luis Aponte and Chuck Rainey, and walked out of Comiskey Park with a chunk of first place

They only had three extra-base hits in the doubleheader, two by Glenn Hoffman. Rainey shut out Chicago in the second game, allowing five scattered hits.

Back at Fenway on April 27th, Ralph Houk brought Bob Stanley into a 5-5 game with two on in the fifth inning and when the game was over, Stanley's sinker had produced 13 of his 15 outs, and the Red Sox had extended their winning streak to eight with a 7-5 victory over Kansas City. In the game, Carney Lansford pulled a muscle in his right arm during batting practice and was replaced by Wade Boggs.

Mike Torrez beat the Texas Rangers on April 30th, 7 to 1, allowing only four hits, as the Red Sox record was the best ever in April (13-7) and they were up 1/2 game in the AL East.

On May 1st, the Sox beat the Rangers in 12 innings on a muffed double play ball, but that wasn't the big story. The capacity crowd eagerly waited for Ted Williams to do his thing during the first Red Sox Old-Timers Game ever at Fenway Park. But Ted failed to deliver, going hitless in two at-bats, lofting a routine fly to right off Jim Lonborg, and striking out against Lee Stange. The spirit was willing, but the flesh wasn't.

Jimmy Piersall drew laughter from the crowd when he made an imaginary slide into a base after being introduced. As fate would have it, Bob Montgomery was the only "old-timer" to hit a homer. And the Whites beat the Reds, 7-6, when Gary Geiger belted a three-run double in the third and final inning.

Dennis Eckersley pitched an eight-hit, 6-0 shutout over the Rangers on May 2nd. The staff ERA was 3.28 and the Sox were batting .281 and they had won 8 of 11 one-run games.

On May 3rd, fans witnessed a rare inside-the-park home run. Dave Stapleton's home run against the Twins was the first by a Red Sox player since Rick Burleson did it in Chicago in 1979. 

Bruce Hurst and Luis Aponte held off the Twins, while Glenn Hoffman knocked in the winning runs to give the Sox a 5-3 win on May 4th. Hoffman had hit in 14 of 16 games at a .371 clip (23 for 72). Meanwhile, Yaz had hit .350 over the last 17 games, with 20 RBIs, slugging .575 and hitting .338.

On the road in Texas on May 6th, the Sox won 5 to 2 on homers by Tony Perez and Jim Rice.

Then on May 8th, Reid Nichols made a superb running catch two steps from the wall in right-center on a shot by Buddy Bell. He started a game-winning two-run rally in the sixth off Jon Matlack with a single off Bell's glove. And, in the ninth, he made a catch off Billy Stein that Ralph Houk called "the catch of the year."

But it was the pitching that made everyone take notice. The triad of John Tudor, Bob Stanley and Mark Clear carved a nine-hit shutout on May 9th, 1-0, giving the Sox three wins in the four-game set with the Rangers.

In Minnesota on May 10th, the Red Sox broke out with a season-high nine runs and seven extra-base hits, including a pair of moon-shot home runs, in a 9-5 victory over the Twins.

Dennis Eckersley (4-2) struck out a season-high 11 batters against the Twins on May 12th. The Sox took 2 of 3 in Minnesota and owned a 22-10 record which was baseball's best, and they were leading the AL East by 3 1/2 games over Detroit. After a 2-5 start, the Sox had won 10 out of 12, and 18 of 22. The Sox were 12-3 on the road.

The Sox bullpen continued to dazzle. In their last eight appearances, the Red Sox pen was 3-0 with four saves and an ERA of 0.32. Spanning 28 stellar innings, the bucket brigade had allowed only 15 hits and three walks while striking out 19. Enemy batters were hitting .161 (15-93) in the eight-appearance stretch

During a 10-5 blasting of the Royals in Kansas City on May 15th, Dwight Evans collected four walks, two doubles, three runs and three RBI. He had reached base eight consecutive times and raised his average from .216 to .277 in two weeks. But he was not alone: the 2-3-4-5-6 spots in the order, which hadn't meshed all season, had 10 of the 11 hits, knocked in all 10 runs, and reached base 19 times, with Jim Rice (3 for 5, walk, .295), Tony Perez (2 for 5, 3 RBI, .308), Carney Lansford (2 for 4, .299) and Dave Stapleton (home run).

The Sox lost 2 of 3 in Kansas City, however, and finished a road trip that featured seven home runs by the Sox. But the middle of the order started to hit, the defense committed only two errors and, with few exceptions, the bullpen continued to dazzle.

After losing the series opener back at Fenway, the Sox got a 12-inning walk-off, 6-5 game-winning double from Gary Allenson that scored Dave Stapleton, to save a good relief effort by Mark Clear, on May 19th against the Mariners.

Jim Rice's first Fenway homer and five RBIs, Yaz's three smashes, including a homer and a wall double, and another homer from Rich Gedman (.313 BA), in the next game, gave the Red Sox an 11-2 win over the Seattle Mariners  The Sox ran off to 7-0 lead by the fourth inning, 11-0 by the sixth, and when John Tudor had finished off his fourth win, the Red Sox had their first Fenway blowout of the season on May 20th, winning 2 of the 3 games in the series.

The Red Sox pounded three home runs among their season-high 18 hits with an 8-7 victory over the Oakland A's on May 21st. Jim Rice (.299 BA) had four hits, Dwight Evans and Yaz (.340 BA) had three hits and all hit home runs, as the Red Sox continued their offensive onslaught, which had now produced 25 runs, 47 hits and seven home runs in the last three games.

Bob Stanley turned a 3-0 loss into another win on May 22nd. For 8 1/3 innings in long relief, he allowed three hits and beat the A's, 7 to 4.

On May 23rd, Dennis Eckersley (5-3) endured a 67-minute rain delay and allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out five. The Eck, who could have been 8-0 (his losses were by 1- 0, 2-0, and 3-0), lowered his ERA to 2.11 and raised his strikeout total to 52. In 68 1/3 innings, he had allowed only 57 hits and 13 walks. He had six of Boston's 10 complete games and three of the staff's six shutouts.

In Seattle on May 28th, Carney Lansford nailed a two-run homer in the eighth, and Mark Clear finished off Eckersley's sixth victory for his ninth save of the season, as the Red Sox squeezed out a 3-2 win over the Mariners in the Kingdome. But the Sox lost three of the four games in Seattle.

Bobby Ojeda paired with Bob Stanley on a five-hitter in Oakland. That Rick Miller's grand slam gave them a 5 to 2 win on May 31st.

Tony Perez was the top hitter for May at .325, followed by Dwight Evans (.324) and Rich Gedman (.317), but as a team, the Sox were batting .219 as June began. The team was only 47 for 90 with runners in scoring position, barely 50%. The worst was Glenn Hoffman (4 for 16) and the best was Yaz (7 for 9). They were in first place with a slim 1/2 game lead.

After losing 2 of 3 in Oakland, the Sox moved down the coast and swept the Angels. With Carney Lansford's home run sparking a seven-run barrage in the 11th inning, the Sox beat the Halos 11 to 4 on June 4th. Yaz had tied the game in the ninth inning with a two-run single.

In the next game on June 5th they had another seven-run inning starting with a blast by Jim Rice and ending with one by Rich Gedman, they beat the Angels, 7 to 2. In the finale on June 6th, the Sox won again, beating the Angels, 5 to 1. They had scored 23 runs on 34 hits against a pitching staff with the lowest ERA in the league.

They finished their 5-5 western road trip, tied for first with the Tigers.

On June 8th, the Sox returned home to face the Yankees and beat them in a classic wrestling match. First, they took care of deficits of 1-0 in the first and 2-1 in the seventh against Ron Guidry. Then Jim Rice and Yaz greeted Goose Gossage with hits in the eighth, a double-play grounder that tied it up and Mark Clear rolled along until Gossage could go no longer. Then Rice, Yaz and Carney Lansford did it again in the 10th for a walk-off 4-3 win.

The next night, June 9th, with the superb pitching of Bruce Hurst and Mark Clear, the hitting of Tony Perez and Reid Nichols, and a laser throw by Jim Rice, the Sox beat the Yankees again, 3 to 2.

On June 11th, against the Indians, Yaz (.331 BA) came up with his fifth game-winning hit of the season, a single in the seventh inning that broke a 3-3 tie as the Sox went on to a 6-2 victory. The Sox registered their seventh victory in the last eight games on June 12th, beating the Indians, 6 to 4. Yaz came up with his fifth game-winning hit of the season, which broke a 3-3 tie.

Next, in New York, the Sox were swept by the Yankees. So, the Sox headed to Cleveland on June 17th, where their bats, which were so unproductive against the Yankees, were more lethal than the Indians. The Sox had a 6-3 win and wound up with 14 hits in the game.

Dave Stapleton got a clutch hit after going 5 for 28 with runners in scoring position, in the June 19th game. It sent the Sox to a 7-3 win over the Indians. They lost the next game, split the series, and left town with a two-game lead over the second-place Tigers.

In an early season showdown with the Tigers at Fenway Park, the Sox swept all three games and increased their lead in the A.L. East to five games. 

John Tudor handcuffed the Tigers and beat them, 5 to 1 on June 21st.

In the middle game of the series on June 22nd, Dwight Evans hit a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth, and Wade Boggs, who came in for Glenn Hoffman, lined a home run in the 11th inning, over the Green Monster, for the walk-off game winner, 4 to 2.  It was the first homer of his Hall of Fame career. 

In the final game of the series, on June 23rd, Hoffman's homer paced the Sox to a 10-4 sweep of the Tigers. The sweep put the Sox up by five games over the Tigers and the Brewers.

But the important event happened when Carney Lansford was sliding into Detroit catcher Lance Parrish, trying to complete an inside-the-park home run in the third inning, and badly sprained his ankle. It was a "Wally Pipp" moment. Just as Lou Gehrig replaced Pipp, Wade Boggs replaced Lansford and began a Hall-of-Fame career that ended with him being one of the greatest contact hitters in baseball.

Infielder Ed Jurak was called up from Pawtucket on June 26th after Lansford hurt his ankle. He had been hitting .270, with eight homers and 34 RBIs.

The Milwaukee Brewers made a managerial change, hiring Harvey Kuenn, in late May and when the Brewers found their footing, they got very hot, very fast. In late June, they came to Fenway Park for a four-game weekend series. After taking the Friday opener, Saturday afternoon’s game was tied 8-8 after seven innings. Mark Clear came on, walked the bases full, gave up a two-run single and the Red Sox lost.

After losing three straight, Jerry Remy's seventh inning bases-loaded double that scored three runs, they salvaged a win over the Brewers on June 28th but ended up losing 3 of the 4 games.

In Detroit on June 29th, Dennis Eckersley made it look easy with a 79-pitch performance that gave the Red Sox a 4-2 victory. Of the 79 pitches, 59 were strikes. He went to counts of balls on only six batters and had no three-ball counts. The Sox lost 2 of 3 to the Tigers and saw their hold on first place slip to two games over the Brewers.

However, aside from the "Eck" and John Tudor, the Sox starting pitching was ineffective. The Sox staff had an ERA of 8.40 over the last eight games.  as the Red Sox made a return trip to the Milwaukee over Fourth of July weekend.

Milwaukee battered Sox pitching on July 2nd, 14-3. One game Chuck Rainey would no doubt wish to forget was the 7-0 loss to the Brewers on July 3rd when he gave up four home runs in 5 1/3 innings.

But Dennis Eckersley shut down the Brewer's bats in a 4-1 win on Sunday, July 4th.  The Sox lead that was five games, when first these teams had met nine days ago, was now just one game. 

In Kansas City on July 5th, the Sox and Royals split a doubleheader. But the Sox lost 2 of 3 in Kansas City before beating the Rangers in Texas, 8-5, on July 7th.

Wade Boggs continued his remarkable play, both at the plate and on the field. He had three singles and a walk, which meant that in the last 14 games, he had hit .448. 

On July 8th, Chuck Rainey went out and restored the Sox two-game lead over the Brewers with a six-hit, 3-0 shutout of the Rangers. Rainey was backed by the clutch hitting of Jerry Remy and Dwight Evans.

Carl Yastrzemski was selected to the American League All-Star team for the 17th time in his 22-year career. Yaz was hitting .303 with 11 homers and 45 RBIs. Yaz's selection was expected, and made him one of three Bostonians in the game, joining Mark Clear and Dennis Eckersley. Fresh of his selection, Eck (9-7), got raked for 12 hits when the Sox returned to Fenway and lost to the Twins, 4-1, on July 9th.

The next day, on July 10th, Dwight Evans produced the deciding run with a homer in the fifth inning, as the Sox held on with the pitching help of Bob Stanley, whose 3 2/3 shutout innings earned him his sixth save. After three dismal outings at the start of the season, Stanley had allowed just 22 runs for a 2.25 ERA.

As baseball stopped for the All-Star break, the Sox sat tied with the Brewers at first place in the A.L. East.

The All-Star Game was played on July 13th in Montreal. The National Leaguers beat the American League, 4 to 1. Dennis Eckersley got the loss, starting the game and giving up three runs. Yaz pinch-hit in the sixth inning and struck out.

The Sox started the second half by beating the Royals at Fenway on July 15th. With a 3-1 lead, Dwight Evans hit a crunching three-run homer. It was his 10th in his last 24 games. In the seventh inning, Evans lined a run-scoring single to lead the Sox to a 5-3 win.

Behind the pitching of Dennis Eckersley in the next game on July 16th, and the heroics of Rick Miller in the third game, the Sox took 3 of 4 games in the series. Rick Miller made a big catch in the sixth on July 17th and led the Sox 14-hit onslaught with three hits, including a tie-breaking, game-breaking, three-run triple in the six-run eighth inning. But the Brewers stayed hot and pushed the Sox out of first by 1 1/2 games.

Fireworks erupted against the Rangers on July 19th at Fenway Park. For 6 1/2 innings the Rangers had the Sox shut out 5-0. But the locals came back to score four runs after two were out in the seventh and five in the eighth, in a tsunami of singles, culminating in Yaz's three-run homer.

A doubleheader was split with the Rangers on July 21st. The Sox won the late game by a score of 6 to 1. Dennis Eckersley got whacked in the opener, but then Mike Torrez slammed the door on the Rangers. Wade Boggs got four hits in the two games.

Boggs continued to impress. Since July 1st, his batting average had risen from .316 to .358. In 123 times at bat, he had 44 base hits. With Carney Lansford about to return from the DL, it was hard to ignore Boggs' ability to get base hits against all kinds of pitching. As the Sox headed to Minnesota, Boggs began the trip with a six-game (10-22, .455) hitting streak, and so it was Dave Stapleton, who took a seat on the bench.

The Sox lost the first two games to the Twins, but in the final game, on July 25th, both Lansford and Wade Boggs hit home runs, while Mike Torrez mowed down the Twins, 5-0, to salvage the final game of a three-game series, remaining 1/2 game behind Milwaukee. Boggs had now hit safely in nine straight games and Jerry Remy in eight.

On July 28th, at Fenway, the Sox found themselves in a 7-1 hole against the Blue Jays. Dwight Evans followed what appeared to be an innocuous third-inning homer with a fifth-inning three-run shot. Then Carney Lansford slammed another three-run smash to give the Sox the lead. Bob Stanley came in and tossed four shutout innings to cap off a stunning 9-7 victory.

Opening an eight-game trip on July 29th, the Sox put on a pretty impressive offensive show in a 7-3 victory over the White Sox at Comiskey Park. Dwight Evans (.290 BA) had four of the Red Sox' 13 hits, while Jim Rice (.307 BA) broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a two-run, bases-loaded single to keep his 10 game hitting streak alive. Rice had driven in 14 runs in the last 14 games. Yaz hit a tremendous home run in the top of the ninth, making it six straight games in which the Red Sox had homered. Wade Boggs was hitting .378 since being inserted into the lineup regularly. But the Sox lost 3 of 4 in Chicago and now were behind the BHrewers by a game.

Then the Sox moved on to Baltimore where they split the four-game set with the third-place Orioles. John Tudor teamed up with Bob Stanley to beat the O's, 5-2, on August 2nd.

After losing the first game of a doubleheader on August 3rd, the Sox bounced back to take the second game, 7 to 6. It was their 32nd come-from-behind victory. Home runs by Jim Rice and Carney Lansford brought them within one and then Dave Stapleton blasted a two-run shot that put them ahead for good.

Back at Fenway, the Sox then lost 2 of 3 to the White Sox. More importantly, four-year-old Jonathan Keane was struck and injured by Dave Stapleton's vicious line drive in the bottom of the fourth inning of the August 7th White Sox game. Attending the game with his parents and brother, the youngster was watching from the second row of seats on the left side of the Red Sox dugout when Stapleton's foul rocket screeched into the crowd. The ball struck Keane over the left eye. Instantly, there was profuse bleeding from the child's head.

Jim Rice acted quickly. He darted to the railing and the child was passed into his arms. Rice carried the youngster through the dugout runway, into the Red Sox clubhouse, and to the trainer's room. Red Sox physician Dr. Arthur Pappas, who'd been watching from his customary box seat, beat Rice to the trainer's room, called Children's Hospital, and ordered an ambulance. According to Pappas, Keane was conscious when he left Fenway. Officials at Children's Hospital reported that Keane suffered a laceration over the left eye and a fractured skull, but was in "good condition." Rice played the remainder of the game wearing a blood-stained uniform. The box score says he was 1 for 4 with two RBIs and grounded into two double plays, but the heart says he had one of his best days ever. 

Their win, on August 8th was a 12-6 blowout. Rice (.310 BA) had three hits, including a double and a triple, while Carney Lansford (.293 BA) went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs. Once again, the starting pitching wasn't there, but the bullpen was solid. Since May 23rd, Red Sox starters had a 5.12 ERA. But of the Sox' 61 victories, the pen had been responsible for 45, getting a win, save, or both.

The Sox continued their slide, being swept in Toronto and found themselves now 5 1/2 games behind the Brewers, having won only three of their last 13 games.

The Baltimore Orioles continued to hang around in third place, behind the Sox, and by the middle of August would begin a sustained push that led them and Milwaukee to race to the season’s final day in a fantastic race. But first, they came to Fenway to face the Sox where they lost 3 of 4. They lost to John Tudor, 5-2 on August 13th. Tudor struck out six batters and walked but one.

On August 15th, in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Red Sox sent 14 men to the plate, pounded 6 singles and 2 doubles, drew 3 intentional walks, and scored eight times. The 1/2-inning aberration was more than Bob Stanley needed, as he and the Red Sox cruised to an 8-0 victory.

In the final game of the series, Carney Lansford's three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth sealed a 9-4 victory.  It was the first time the Sox had won two games in a row in almost three weeks. It brought them to within four games behind the Brewers.

But the Sox euphoria was short-lived on the west coast. In Anaheim, they lost 2 of 3 but were embarrassed on August 19th. The Red Sox bullpen blew a 5-0 lead in an embarrassing bombardment that ended up an 8-5 Angels victory. The shelling first of Bob Stanley, then of Mark Clear and finally of Tom Burgmeier provided the worst bullpen collapse of the season.

Then in Oakland, another 5-0 third-inning lead went up in smoke on August 21st, as the tattered pitching staff again couldn't overcome adversity. Chuck Rainey couldn't hold the five-run lead and Bob Stanley blew up again as the Red Sox stumbled another step closer to the inevitable, that teams without pitching must face.

The starters as a group were 40-42, 5.01 ERA. Since the last week in May, when the club was 28-13 and the starters were 17-11, 3.86 ERA, they had gone 21-31, 5.13 ERA. John Tudor was the only bright spot. In his last six starts, his ERA was 1.55, and in his last three starts, he had allowed three runs and 14 hits and struck out 21 in 21 2/3 innings.

As the minor-league season began to wind down, Brian Denman got the call to Boston on August 20th after Bobby Ojeda had fallen in the shower and sprained his shoulder. On August 22nd, Denman got his first major league start in Oakland and gave the Sox a brief lift, beating the A's, 4 to 2.

The injuries then started piling on. Dennis Eckersley pulled the bicep muscle in his pitching arm and Jim Rice hurt his back and ended up in traction.

On August 23rd in Seattle, Nichols came to the plate against Mariners closer Bill Caudill with the Red Sox down 3-2 and Dave Stapleton on first base. Nichols hit a home run to deep left field and the Red Sox won, 4-3.

The next night on August 24th, Nichols homered twice, off Bob Stoddard with a man on in the fourth, and the game-winner off Caudill in the top of the 10th for a 5-4 Red Sox victory over the Mariners.

Gary Allenson was somewhat of a clubhouse prankster. He stopped at a local store in Seattle and purchased exploding caps. He put the caps into some cigars. After the Red Sox victory, while awaiting the bus taking the players back to the hotel, Allenson distributed the cigars to a few players, including Jerry Remy and Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz and Remy lit their cigars and were all proudly celebrating the Sox win while puffing on their stogies. All of a sudden, the cigars exploded, scaring the players half to death. The rest of the players broke into hilarious laughter as Allenson’s prank worked to perfection and thankfully nobody was hurt, except for their pride.

The Sox concluded the west coast trip at 4-4 and were 5 games behind the Brewers as they headed home in the last week of August.

Their bats had kept them in it. Jerry Remy was hitting .338 in 17 games, Dwight Evans was .335 in 61 and Carney Lansford was .437 in 19. Reid Nichols was 19 for 48, .396 in the last 18 games.

Back home, one of the most exciting games of the season took place on August 28th against the California Angels. Gary Allenson's surprise bunt single in the 10th inning, scored Lansford from third, giving the Red Sox a much-needed victory. It capped a a remarkable comeback, where the Sox overcame a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the seventh inning, then squandered a 6-5 lead in the ninth, before Allenson saved them.

The Sox put on an offensive show on August 29th, rampaging past the Angels, 9 to 3. Wade Boggs, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans all hit home runs off Luis Tiant, who was now playing on the West Coast with a sore back.

Boggs continued his hot rookie season. He had hit safely in 15 of his last 20 games (23-59, .390). Since June 25th, he was hitting .377 (40-106) and was batting .423 (39-92) with men on base. On August 30th, along with Tony Perez, Boggs homered in the 8th inning to bring the Sox from behind against the Athletics.

Chuck Rainey's third shutout of the season was on August 31st against Oakland, 4-0.

Boggs was the top Red Sox hitter for August at .386, followed by Reid Nichols (.368), Carney Lansford (.364) and Jim Rice (.345). Yaz had the roughest month, batting .144 with no homers and only six RBIs in 97 at-bats. Marty Barrett and Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd were September call-ups. Rich Gedman, the 22-year-old catcher had been second in the "Rookie of the Year" voting in 1981 and continued his development, splitting time with veteran Gary Allenson. The Red Sox (73-58) went 16-15 in August and were still perched in second place,4 1/2 games out of first.

On September 1st, Brian Denman retired the first seven Oakland A's batters he faced, then allowed a harmless bunt single. The Sox scored four runs in the top of the fifth. Through five full, he held a 4-0 lead. Come the Oakland sixth, each of the first three A’s batters singled and one run scored. Houk brought in Tom Burgmeier to relieve Denman, and an inherited runner scored on a sacrifice fly. Burgmeier closed out the game with four full innings of one-hit relief. He got the save, and Denman got the win.

On September 3rd, the Seattle Mariners almost wiped out a 9-0 Red Sox lead. But the locals held on for a 10-8 victory. The Sox exploded for 16 hits, including three home runs and six doubles. But the Mariners then pounded three Sox pitchers for 17 hits until Bob Stanley shut the door, earning his 12th save.

With the Sox already trailing, 4-0, in the top of the third, on September 4th, Luis Aponte came on with two on and none out. He got out of the jam and ended up throwing seven innings of shutout ball, during which he gave up only two hits and one walk while striking out four. But the Sox lost to Seattle, 4-3.

On September 5th, the team that wouldn't quit won a dramatic ball game from the Mariners at Fenway.  Down 4-0, they rallied to tie up the game in the bottom of the 9th inning and won it in the 10th. Clutch hits by Carney Lansford and Dave Stapleton tied it in the ninth, and in the 10th, Yaz's ground ball and an ensuing off-home throw by Julio Cruz scored Jerry Remy for their 41st come-from-behind victory of the season.

Yaz was 14 for 97 (.144) with no homers, four extra-base hits, and five runs batted in during August. In the first week and a half of September, he was hitting .389, with two homers, five extra-base hits, and 10 RBIs. This, at 43 years old.

On to Cleveland, where Jim Rice helped his Red Sox roll over the Indians, 10-3 on September 6th. Rice had four hits including a mammoth home run and drove home five runs.

But the Sox lost the next three games, before beating up the Tigers, back at Fenway on September 11th, 13 to 3. They did it without a home run and only got two doubles off six Detroit pitchers. The Tigers' defense committed seven errors in the game.

The next day, on September 12th, Detroit continued to give the Sox 15 hits and a 10-7 win. Gary Allenson had two hits and three RBIs. Yaz had a double a single and two walks. He was hitting .389 in September thus far, with two homers, three doubles and ten RBIs.

Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd got his first start against the Cleveland Indians on September 13th in the first game of a doubleheader. He gave up one run in the first inning and one more in the fourth, but that was enough to cost him the game. He worked 5 1/3 innings, giving up just the two runs, but the Red Sox offense scored only one run, in the bottom of the ninth, and lost the game, 3-1. 

The next day, September 14th, the Sox staked John Tudor to an eleven-run lead en route to a 12-1 victory. Carney Lansford and Glenn Hoffman led a five-run outburst in the fifth inning with homers, that pushed to Sox out front. But the Sox lost 3-of-4 to the tribe.

On September 18th, after Rich Gedman broke his collarbone, Haywood Sullivan's son, Marc Sullivan, was called up. The Sox beat the Tigers, 6 to 2, on homers from Gary Allenson and Yaz.

On September 19th, Wade Boggs (.374 BA) had a hitting streak stopped after 14 games and 21 of the last 22. The Sox had beaten the Tigers again, 6 to 4 on the back of John Tudor. In his last eight appearances, he was 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA, striking out 57 in 54 2/3 innings.

But in a fourteen-game stretch from September 6th thru September 19th, games against Detroit and the Cleveland Indians, who won 83 and 78 games respectively, saw the Red Sox struggle to 5-9. The hopes of another October chance for Carl Yastrzemski were all but gone.

There was some hope when they went to Milwaukee to face off against the first-place Brewers, but they lost two of the three games and fell eight games behind with just eleven to go.

Young Brian Denman pitched a six-hit shutout against the New York Yankees on October 2nd, winning 5-0.

As catcher, Roger LaFrancois approached the final day of the season, October 3rd, he had only been in seven games, with five at-bats and only a double and a single to show for it. Still, he was batting .400. Then Houk allowed him to start the season’s final game. LaFrancois faced a dilemma like the young Ted Williams had faced in 1941. Should he sit out the game and preserve his .400 average, or should he go for it? “There was a lot of pressure on me that last day, but I didn’t want to sit on my average,” The game turned out to be an 11-inning affair. He hit a solid single up the middle earlier in the game, then saw his average sink to .333 as the game went into extra innings and he’d gone 1-for-4. Rookie, Mike Brown worked four innings, allowed five hits and a base on balls, but no runs, and picked up the win, 5 to 3.

The 1982 Red Sox had little character and was a boring and faceless collection of players rather than a team of glittery superstars. They weren’t one that’s remembered in the rich lore of this franchise. But a team that over-achieved, contended all year, and provided the groundwork for what would be three division crowns and a pennant, left a legacy worth remembering. They won 89 games and achieved more than anyone would have thought possible, finishing in third place, six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

And the most heartening part of the season? Yaz, then 42 years old, had an OBP of .375 and popped 16 home runs, batting .275 with 72 RBIs at age 42.

Jim Rice delivered what had now been expected, a reliable season hitting for power and average. He batted .309, hit 24 home runs, and had 97 RBIs. Dwight Evans had a huge year, on-base percentage of .402, to go with 32 home runs and 98 RBIs.

Rick Miller had another solid year, playing in center field between Rice and Evans and batting .254 in 135 games. Reid Nichols also filled in the outfield and batted .302 in 265 plate appearances.

Jerry Remy had off-season knee surgery and after intensive rehab, had a great season. He played in 155 games, scored 89 runs, and had a solid .280 batting average.

After batting a team-leading .300 in Pawtucket, Marty Barrett was called up to the Red Sox in September. He got into eight games, with his first major-league hit coming on September 22nd, but it was his only hit that season, as he finished 1-for-18. 

Dave Stapleton overtook Tony Perez for the starting first-baseman job. His numbers dipped, as he posted a .264 BA and a .305 OBP. Perez batted .260 but was released after the season.

Glenn Hoffman was the Red Sox’s everyday shortstop again. Questions persisted about his lack of range at shortstop, but he fielded the position well again. He struggled at the plate though, hitting a mere .209 but enjoying an uptick in his power with seven home runs and 49 RBIs.

Carney Lansford was a talented 25-year-old third baseman, who hit .301. When he sprained his left ankle and suffering a torn ligament, he was batting .288 at the time.

Wade Boggs would finish third behind Cal Ripken Jr. and Kent Hrbek, in the "Rookie of the Year" voting and would set a rookie record by batting .349. Coming off the bench to replace Carney Lansford, Boggs was hitless in two at-bats. his batting average dropping to .242. Houk said, “We’ll find out about Boggs," and Boggs took the opportunity with both hands, playing in 89 of the team’s last 96 games, hitting .358 while filling in for Lansford and playing first base when he returned a month later.

Gary Allenson and Gedman shared the catching duties throughout the season. Allenson started 50 of the final 61 games of the season. He had career highs in HRs (6), 2Bs (11), walks (38), and RBIs (33), but still only carried a .205 batting average. He was the team leader with men in scoring position, hitting a robust .309 in the clutch. In addition, he played a solid backstop, throwing out 32 of 73 potential base stealers. It was his best defensive season as a Red Sox catcher with a robust fielding percentage of .992. He was also fifth in the league in caught-stealing percentage at 43.8%

Rich Gedman was the starting catcher, but his batting average tailed off to .249 in 204 at-bats, and his playing time declined.

Roger LaFrancois made the club out of spring training as a backup catcher behind Allenson and Gedman and he spent the full 162-game season with the Red Sox, making every home stand and every road trip. He didn’t miss a game. He was 3-for-9 on the year and in his major-league career.

Outfielder Garry Hancock produced for the PawSox with a .294 batting average, 21 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 27 assists (20 at first base and seven in the outfield). He was called up to the Red Sox after the Pawtucket season ended and used mostly as a pinch-hitter in 11 games. He did not get a hit in 14 at-bats for Boston.

Ed Jurak was up and down from Pawtucket, finishing with a .296 average for the PawSox. By season’s end, he had seven RBIs in 12 games for the Red Sox and was 7-for-21 (.333).

Pitching was a problem though. Dennis Eckersley (13-13, 3.73 ERA) and John Tudor (13-10, 3.63 ERA) each had good years, but neither was an ace, and that was the role they had to fulfill in a Red Sox rotation where every other starter had an ERA over 5.00. Mike Torrez was 9-9 with a 5.00 ERA.

Chuck Rainey started 25 games and appeared in two others. He was 7-5 with a 5.02 ERA

In an injury-plagued season, Bobby Ojeda was 4-6 with a 4.00 ERA. In three of his starts, he was unable to get past the first inning. He was knocked out, literally, in the first inning of a game against Kansas City on May 16th when he was hit on the shin by a line drive. He pulled his left hamstring muscle on June 11th, and after returning to action two weeks later he was sent to the bullpen. On August 18th, he took a fall in the bathtub in his hotel room in Anaheim and injured his shoulder. He did not pitch again for the rest of the year. 

Bruce Hurst was 24-years-old and this was his first season of regular work. He got hit hard, with a 5.77 ERA in 19 starts, but he got his feet wet. Near the end of the season, his elbow swelled up after each time he pitched and he wasn't able to fully extend his left arm. Dr. Arthur Pappas discovered bone chips in the elbow and operated on them after the season.

The bullpen relied heavily on Bob Stanley and Mark Clear, who combined to log 273 innings and won 26 games between them. But there are a lot of innings in a baseball season, and being top-heavy in the rotation and the pen wasn’t a recipe for surviving the summer.

Stanley established an American League relief record of 168 innings. His 3.10 ERA was the Sox's best. Used primarily in long relief, he had 14 saves.

1982 was one of Mark Clear’s best seasons. He notched a 14-9 record with 14 saves in 55 appearances, and 109 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched. He was named to the All-Star team but did not see action. He won more games than any of the Sox starters. But there were troubling signs during the season. After the All-Star break, batters got to Clear more frequently, notably in six of his last 30 games.

Steve Crawford started 10 games and compiled a 1-4 record with a 4.11 ERA, striking out only 21 batters in 46 innings in Pawtucket, rehabbing from his elbow surgery. He was called up in September and fared better in the majors. He pitched in five games in relief, winning one game with a 2.00 ERA.

Luis Aponte had his best season in the majors, going 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA and three saves over 40 appearances.

Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd pitched in Connecticut for the Eastern League’s Bristol Red Sox, and recorded a 14-8 mark, with a 2.81 ERA. He was dubbed “the hottest pitching prospect in the Red Sox farm system." His 191 strikeouts (in 205 innings) led the Eastern League. At the very end of the season, Boyd was a September call-up and was given a look in the majors. In three games he was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA, throwing 8 1/3 innings.

Mike Brown also pitched for the Bristol Red Sox. There, he made 15 starts, going 9-6 with a 2.45 ERA, and also earned a September call-up to the Red Sox. He pitched a total of six innings and got a win on the final day of the season against the Yankees.

Over the final six weeks of the season, Brian Denman started nine games. They were the only nine times he appeared in the majors. He finished his only year in the majors with a record of 3-4 (4.78). He had a 1.306 WHIP and a 1.000 fielding percentage in 11 chances.