1968 BOSTON RED SOX ...
THE CARDIAC KIDS COME BACK TO REALITY ...

Marvin Miller had been the Players Association lawyer since 1966. Before that time, players got a contract from the owner and had little choice but to sign it. They would not listen to what the player reps asked for, knowing that they had all the power. Miller, a labor lawyer, made the owners shudder. Under the threat of a strike, Miller forced them to negotiate. In 1968, he got the owners to sign a basic agreement, raising the minimum salary from $7K to $10K, among some other things. It was small, but it was a start.

Pitcher Ray Culp was picked up from the Cubs for Bill Schlesinger and cash on November 30th. Then on December 15th, catcher, Gene Oliver was traded along with left-handed pitcher Dick Ellsworth, from the Phillies, for 26-year-old catcher Mike Ryan and cash.

The Red Sox planned to build their pitching staff around Jim Lonborg. Along with Culp and Ellsworth, they had José Santiago, Gary Bell, John Wyatt and Sparky Lyle. It was thought that another pennant was almost certain and media coverage increased exponentially.

JIM LONBORG

But over the Christmas holiday, Lonborg spent his vacation on the ski slopes at Lake Tahoe. On Christmas Eve, during his last run of the day, he caught an edge and tore the ligaments in his left knee. He underestimated the injury, feeling he was indestructible as a 26-year-old would. When he underwent the surgery, early reports indicated he would return to the pitcher's mound on opening day. But in 1968, the surgery was much more invasive than it is today and rehabilitation was just a word in the medical dictionary. As spring training approached, Lonnie could hardly walk. He met his goal of a May return, but at a heavy price. In compensating for his knee, he unknowingly altered his pitching motion slightly and placed added stress on his right shoulder. The resulting muscle and tendon damage would plague him the rest of his career.

Carl Yastrzemski took advantage of his new notoriety and touted all sorts of things, including "Big Yaz Bread". Yaz, in spite of winning the Triple Crown in 1967, didn't work out with his trainer, Gene Berde, in the off-season.

One morning a dump truck pulled up in front of the Yastrzemski house. It was loaded with the sod from lefdt field at Fenway Park. The Boston Patriots played at Fenway in the fall, and the sideline stands were erected in left field. So Yaz paid workmen to give him the sod that would be pulled up under those seats before they were erected. It was his way of keeping a permanent memory.

All sorts of doors were open to Red Sox players that didn't exist before. Sox players could be seen everywhere during that off-season, signing autographs at car dealerships, speaking at banquets, and happy to do everything that was asked of them.

TONY C.

Despite the rumored trade offers, by the spring  Ken Harrelson was flying high. He had established himself as one of the baseball’s best golfers, and won a number of golf tournaments in the offseason. He was spending $6000 a year on clothes and flying to California just to get a haircut. He parlayed his Southern charm and eccentric personality into a local one hour variety show on WHDH TV entitled, "The Hawk".  But he totally dedicated himself to getting ready for a good year, and even gave away his golf clubs so he could focus on baseball.

Dick Williams wanted a new contract and agreed with Dick O'Connell to a three-year deal. But owner Tom Yawkey only wanted to give him a two-year deal. Eventually, Williams got the deal he wanted, but wondered how much Yawkey was committed to him, or did he have one of his cronies lined up to take his place. Williams was nervous however, having lost his best pitcher and unsure about the health of one of his best hitters.

The beginning of spring training was dominated by Tony Conigliaro's attempted comeback. At first, things looked good. Two mammoth home runs on the first day of spring training dwarfed the news of the championship-bound Celtics and Bruins. But hitting home runs off a batting practice pitcher was one thing, and in a game was another.

Tony C.'s eyesight fluctuated and then deteriorated. He soon started missing even batting practice pitches by a foot or more. In a game against the Cardinals, he doubled off Steve Carlton. As he trotted off the field, he told a teammate that he hadn't seen the ball and just guessed. He was scared that he may not be able to play anymore, or worse, might get hurt again. He packed it up and went back to Boston to see a retina specialist.

Rookie Joe Lahoud impressed in his very first at-bat in spring training, hitting a home run over the 30-foot center-field wall in Bradenton, which was 430 feet from home plate. He got two hits the next day, and another two (with two RBIs) the day after that. Lahoud, who had been sent to minor-league camp at Deland in the first cut, was recalled to Winter Haven and given a shot at the right-field job. With Ken Harrelson battling the flu, Lahoud got his shot as the Sox rightfielder.

One day in spring training, as Yaz and Harrelson took batting practice, the pitcher wanted someone to catch him in the cage. A big young prospect came in and took his position behind the plate. After the two were done, the young catcher took his own place in the batter's box and took a few rips. His name was Carlton Fisk.

It was a good spring for Gary Waslewski. An unexpected spot was open in the rotation because of Lonborg’s off-season skiing accident. In his first 20 spring innings, Waslewski’s ERA was 1.80. He ended the spring with a string of 18 shutout innings and a 1.13 ERA.

In another deal late in spring training, the Twins released old friend, catcher Russ Nixon outright, and he was promptly signed to a minor-league contract as a free agent by the Red Sox, basically for insurance purposes. It proved to be his last season as a player in the big leagues.

Shortstop Luis Alvarado got his first taste of the majors in the spring. He was brought to camp with Boston (the youngest player on any AL team’s major-league roster) and truly impressed with his “slick” and “sensational” fielding. Dick Williams said that Alvarado was “the surprise of the camp” and that he would be a player to protect in the expansion draft that appeared to be in the offing. He envisioned possibly moving Rico Petrocelli to third base (something that did take place a few years later). Jerry Adair was still with the Sox, and Alvarado was still in need of seasoning was sent down to the Pittsfield Red Sox of the Double-A Eastern League.

On March 26th, catcher Russ Gibson underwent an appendectomy.

The Red Sox opened the season and slapped the Detroit Tigers by a 7 to 3 score to a fine opening day crowd in Tiger Stadium on April 10th. Dick Ellsworth went nine tough innings to gain the victory. Most of the hitting was provided by Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli. Yaz smacked two home runs, one an inside the park job, and Rico knocked out two hits that brought in three runs.

Yaz blasted a two run homer that carried the Red Sox to a 3 to 1 victory over the Indians in Cleveland on April 12th. A small crowd watched Gary Waslewski beat Steve Hargan. The Sox had only five hits, but two of them were home runs by Yaz and Petrocelli.

The Sox returned home after splitting the two game series in Cleveland, to face the Tigers at Fenway.  After getting rained out on Opening Day, the Sox lost to the Tigers, 9-2. 

The first win at Fenway came against the White Sox on April 17th. Dick Ellsworth pitched a five hit, 2 to 0 shutout. He had been given spot assignments against strong right-handed hitting teams and now had beaten the Tigers and White Sox, going the distance in each game. Yaz hit another home run, his fourth, in the first inning.

The next day, on April 18th, Jose Santiago went out and pitched a 3 to 0 shutout against the White Sox, who had now lost six straight games. He pitched five innings without giving up a hit and Mike Andrews had to make a fine diving catch in the second inning to help. Wayne Causey ended the no-hit bid in the sixth inning, lining a single on the first pitch over Petrocelli's head. Dalton Jones started the first six games of the season at third base. He was batting only .071, however, and Joe Foy then got the starting nod, playing there for the rest of the year.

On Patriots' Day, April 19th, Gary Waslewski went nine innings for the first time in his big league career, and defeated the Indians by the score 9 to 2. Yaz drove in the tying and winning runs on doubles. The first was to right-field in the third, driving in Foy, and second in the fifth inning, was to deep center scoring Mike Andrews, who had also doubled.

The next day, on April 20th, Jerry Stephenson, who was nervous in his first start, beat the Cleveland Indians 3-2. He gave up five hits, including a home run and seven walks. Reggie Smith had one huge swing in the fourth inning off Luis Tiant and won the ballgame. Mike Andrews had singled and Joe Foy had walked. After Yaz flew to center, Reggie turned on a fastball that landed in the Cleveland bullpen for three runs.

A good spring earned Ray Culp a spot in the rotation. He failed to last the fourth inning on April 21st, earning two losses and a 15.95 ERA in 7 2/3 innings. That knocked him out of the rotation for a few weeks

MIKE ANDREWS

After four days of rain-outs, the Red Sox traveled to Baltimore, and on April 26th looked awful for the first three innings. But the rustiness wore off and suddenly all the pieces started to fit together, as Lee Stange pitched six shutout innings and gave the Red Sox a 6 to 3 victory over the Orioles. Mike Andrews came up with three hits and his biggest was a home run into the left-field seats in the seventh inning that broke a 3-3 tie.

On April 27th, Tom Phoebus of the Orioles, after an hour and 23 minute rain delay, no-hit the Red Sox by a 6 to 0 score. With a good fastball, excellent slider and a big dipping curveball, he handled the Sox easily. Sox batters were handcuffed by fastballs thrown under their arms, and while they were looking for quick stuff inside, Phoebus broke his slider and curveball over the outside corners.

The next day, April 28th, the Sox split a doubleheader with Baltimore, winning the first game 3 to 0 and losing the nightcap 6 to 1. Jose Santiago won the first game and now had two straight shutouts and 22 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Only two men got to second base.

At the end of the first month of play, the Red Sox were in fifth place, 3 1/2 games out of first. George Scott had only nine hits in his first 81 at-bats, hitting an anemic .111. He was in a woeful slump from which he never recovered. And after 11 games, batting .206, rookie outfielder, Joe Lahoud, was sent down to Louisville.

At Fenway Park on May 2nd, Jose Santiago rolled along picking off the California Angels, 4 to 1 for his third win of the year. He had pitched 27 scoreless innings until the Angels got a run off him in the fifth inning. He had not been beaten since July of last year. Ken Harrelson is the one who brought in two runs with a hard single to score Reggie Smith in the third inning. He then hit a home run against the wind into the left-field net.

After an excellent spring, rookie Gary Roggenburk made the Red Sox to start the season. But after pitching in just four games, his last on May 3rd, he underwent surgery on his left elbow.

The Sox then lost the next three games to the Oakland A's and slipped into 8th place, six games out.

In Washington on May 7th, Natick's Joe Coleman balked home the winning run, in a 3 to 2 Red Sox victory. Jose Santiago was not complaining because, although he needed relief help from Lee Stange, he collected his fourth victory of the season. Given a 3 to 0 lead in the first three innings, Santiago rolled into the seventh inning with a shutout, but started to tire. Sox batters only could get six hits, but they made them count. Joe Foy and Yaz had two hits apiece. Foy knocked in one run and scored another.

In the next game, on May 8th, in a scoreless second inning with a runner on second, Reggie Smith made an incredible catch. He ran down a line drive that was headed over the centerfield fence. He leaped to the top of the wall, speared the ball and teeter-tottered on his belt at the top of the fence without tumbling out of the field.

After warming the bench for seven innings, Jerry Adair was sent up to pinch-hit and came through with a clutch single to right-field that sent the Sox sailing by the Senators, 3 to 1. Dick Ellsworth picked up his third win, but needed help from Gary Bell, who got the last five outs after coming in from the bullpen. Again the Sox only could get six hits, but like the previous game, they made them count.

It took the Yankees to halt Jose Santiago's winning streak. On May 11th, Santiago faced Mel Stottlemyre in the Bronx. Both pitchers were pitching their best, only Santiago made a mistake of trying to sneak a fastball by Roy White in the seventh inning. White ripped the ball for a home run into the Yankee bullpen, and that was all Stottlemyre needed, as he beat the Sox 1 to 0.

Finally, the Red Sox started to hit, and in the final day in Yankee Stadium, on May 12th, they swept the Yankees in a doubleheader. Coupling a 28-hit barrage with complete game performances by Dick Ellsworth and Gary Bell the Sox won by 8 to 1 and 4 to 2 scores. Yaz and Joe Foy led the Sox with five hits each in the two games. The double win snapped a three-game losing streak.

On May 14th, 19,439 fans sat at Fenway Park and watched the Washington Senators hit tape measure home runs for five innings. Frank Howard hit two, one over the left-field wall, and another into the centerfield seats. Ken Harrelson entered the home run contest in the sixth, going to a lighter bat, when he lofted a long fly ball into the left centerfield net after Yaz had doubled, the second of his three hits. Then came one of those 1967 miracle finishes and the Red Sox won the game, 5 to 4, in the 10th inning, with the winning run being scored on a throwing error by Nats' catcher Paul Casanova, with the bases loaded.

Jose Santiago beat the Washington Senators, 6 to 4, on what he called his junk, on May 15th. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Red Sox and Santiago's fifth win against just one loss. The Sox continued to hit, grinding out an 11 hit attack and charging back to win after falling behind by three runs in the top of the first. Joe Foy and George Scott had two hits apiece and Mike Andrews drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly.

The next night, May 16th, the New York Yankees came to Fenway and after sprinting far ahead in the early stages of the game, holding what seemed to be an insurmountable five-run lead, they allowed the Red Sox back into the game. Trailing 10 to 5 with three runs in the eighth-inning, the Red Sox charged from behind with a six run rally that had the fans delirious.

In the next game on May 17th, the Red Sox bounced from behind again, winning 6 to 4. This night they had to do it twice and not once. Old friend Bill Monbouquette was the victim. George Scott had three hits and the last one in the eighth-inning, driving in Reggie Smith from third base to break up a 4 to 4 game. After Reggie walked, Ken Harrelson singled through second base on a hit-and-run. Two curveballs got past Scotty, but he was able to spank a single through the middle, to score Reggie. Rico Petrocelli then singled home Harrelson for the sixth run.

John Wyatt was next sold to the Yankees. He believed he had been sold not because of his ability, but because Dick Williams didn't like him.

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees for the fifth straight time on May 18th. Ray Culp shut out New York, 4-0, fanning 10 batters. Tom Tresh messed up three balls hit to him in the fourth inning and the Sox scored all their runs on his errors. The win moved the Sox up to within 2 1/2 games for the American League lead.

A brilliant four hit, nice strikeout performance by right-hander Gary Bell and the hot bats of Joe Foy and Yaz gave the Red Sox a 4 to 0 victory over the California Angels on May 22nd. Yaz had three hits, including a hard one hopper off secondbaseman Bobby Knoops' left arm that produced two runs in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Foy smashed a home run over the centerfield fence with Rico Petrocelli on board.

In Minnesota on May 24th, Yaz homered and Jose Tartabull got on base four times, scoring three runs, as the Red Sox upended the Twins by a score of 9 to 7. Yaz had two other hits in the game to up his average to .313.

On May 25th, Jose Santiago lost his second game of the season by a 1 to 0 score. Santiago and Jim Kaat pitched wonderful games, with the one scoring as Rod Carew evaded a tag by Joe Foy, to score the only run of the game. Kaat was throwing a lot of slow curves and his fastball had a lot a hop. Santiago threw hard all the time and pitched very well but now had two, 1 to 0 losses between five victories.

After losing the next two games in Minnesota, the Red Sox traveled to Oakland and beat the A's, 3 to 2 on May 27th. The Sox hit two home runs off Blue Moon Odom, while Gary Bell was pitching his second complete game in a row. With Yaz and Ken Harrelson hitting home runs, the winning run was scored on a walk, a passed ball, a bunt and a sacrifice fly that brought in Joe Foy. Bell struck out eight batters, three of which were the last four he faced.

The Sox (21-23) lost the next three in Oakland and headed back to Fenway having won only three of the ten games on the road trip. They sat in fifth place, 6 1/2 games behind the Tigers.

The Sox closed out May with Gary Bell throwing a five hit shutout at the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway. He was backed up by home runs from Harrelson and Yaz, as he handcuffed the Orioles, 3 to 0 on a foggy evening. With Joe Foy and George Scott making some fine fielding plays behind him, Bell was in command all the way. Harrelson had hit 10 homers for the month.

On June 1st, Ray Culp showed his best fastball of the year, putting the Orioles bats to sleep and tossing a three hitter, while breezing to a 5 to 1 victory. Offensively, the Red Sox couldn't do anything wrong. Harrelson continued to soar, driving in four of the runs with a home run and a single. The other runs came off the bat of Rico Petrocelli, who pounded his sixth home run of the year. Yaz banged out four hits to raise his average to .345 just eight points behind the league-leading Frank Howard.

On June 3rd, against the Detroit Tigers, Jim Lonborg came out of the Red Sox bullpen in relief and got a star's welcome. Although still not the pitcher of the year ago, he got tough Willie Horton ground out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Ken Harrelson, streaking with the bat, doubled home a run to tie the score at 1 to 1. The Sox poured across three more runs later in the inning and held on to win 4 to 3. If Lonnie was the man the fans wanted to see, they got their wish when Jose Santiago, after being staked to a 4 to 1 lead in the fifth inning, had to leave in the seventh.

Then, on June 4th,  the Sox and the Tigers played a twi-night doubleheader. The Sox won the first half behind Gary Bell, but the Tigers took the second game behind Pat Dobson. The score of both games was 2 to 0 and in the 18 innings played, there were only two extra-base hits. George Scott's bases-loaded double in the sixth inning to give Bell, his fifth win against just one loss. He came within one out of pitching a complete game, but needed help from Sparky Lyle to get the last man.

Gary Waslewski  took the loss in the second game. Rookie Fred Wenz was brought him in to pitch the top of the ninth. Wenz had three called third strike, strikeouts with the batter looking. It was Wenz’s only appearance in the big leagues, because arm troubles struck him.

Presidential candidate, Bobby Kennedy, was a big Red Sox fan, having grown up in the area. He visited the Sox clubhouse a few times a befriended Ken Harrelson. On June 4th, he was assassinated and it affected many of the Sox players. The lost to the Tigers the next day not having their hearts into playing the game.

When both Ken Harrelson and Jose Tartabull suffered injuries, Joe Lahoud got another chance and was brought back up on June 6th. The Sox (25-27) lost the next two games to the American League leaders, falling eight games behind them.

The White Sox came into Fenway Park on June 7th, and Yaz ripped his 10th home run of the year, into the Red Sox bullpen, to beat Chicago, 3 to 2, as Jose Santiago improved his record to 7-3.

After four consecutive rained out games, the Red Sox finally were able to play the California Angels on June 13th at Fenway in a rain-shortened doubleheader. They only played 1 1/2 games because the second game was stopped in the sixth inning, as the Angels had a make a 5:55 PM flight back to Los Angeles. The Angels won the first game, 4 to 2, and the second game was tied, 1 to 1, when play was halted. It was completed when the Angels returned in August, with the Red Sox eventually winning.

In a nightmare incident, one of Jose Santiago's pitches hit Angels thirdbaseman, Paul Schaal and fractured his skull in the fourth inning of the first game. Schaal was out for a week, and came back for just two more appearances for the season. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote of Santiago weeping at Schaal’s hospital bed and wondered in print years later, if Santiago was never the same pitcher afterward, “because his elbow – or something else – was bothering him.”

In Cleveland on June 14th, there were three loud explosions off the bat of Ken Harrelson. In the fifth and sixth inning, Harrelson slammed Luis Tiant for his 11th and 12th home runs. And when knuckleballer Eddie Fisher faced him in the eighth, he slammed another one out of the park. The Red Sox won the game 7 to 2 and the "Hawk" knocked in all the runs.

Only one other Red Sox player had ever hit three consecutive home runs and that was Bobby Doerr, who did it in Fenway Park in 1950, against the St. Louis Browns. Ted Williams had four consecutive home runs one afternoon, but two were in his last two at-bats in the opening game and the next two came in the first two times at bat in the second game.

In the next game, on June 15th, the Red Sox also had an easy time, winning 9 to 3 against the Indians. Ken Harrelson got two singles, but the long ball was supplied this time by Rico Petrocelli and Yaz. In the four games played in Cleveland, the Red Sox had hit eight home runs.

The Red Sox completed a sweep of the Indians on June 16th, with Jim Lonborg getting his first start of the season. He pitched well for five innings and was throwing naturally for the first time on the mound this year. The results were encouraging — five innings, three hits, one run allowed — but he also walked four. Harrelson and Petrocelli kept up the hitting barrage with two home runs in the 5 to 3 victory, with the Sox winning 12 of their last 14 games against the Indians.

Jose Santiago lost another well-pitched game, 2-1, on another unearned run on June 18th.

Harrelson again supplied the power as the Red Sox let Joe Sparma off the hook in the first inning, and then chipped in with five errors to mess things up. As a result, the Tigers led 4-2 at Tiger Stadium on June 19th. The "Hawk" came to the plate in the seventh inning with two men on and hit a three and two pitch off Sparma into the centerfield seats and the Red Sox went on to win, 8-5.

But the Sox lost two of the three games played with the league leaders and fell 10 games behind them in the standings. They moved off to Chicago face the White Sox.

Back in Swampscott, Tony Conigliaro decided that moping around wasn't him. He got plenty of offers for jobs outside of baseball, but he still was collecting his $55K salary from the Red Sox. Could he hit left-handed? Could he pitch? All he wanted to do was play baseball. After meeting with his doctor on June 20th, he was told that the eye had stabilized and there was no reason he couldn't play ball again.

On June 21st, Ken Harrelson slammed out six hits in nine times at bat during a doubleheader. But his hitting couldn't save the Red Sox from a 10 to 4 defeat in the second game, although they won the first game 6 to 3. Harrelson's six hits, five singles and a double, boosted his batting average to .311. He was hitting .292 before the game started.

Jose Santiago had faced the White Sox three times and pitched three complete games. Three times he had won and on June 22nd, he defeated Gary Peters, 7 to 2.

In another doubleheader on June 23rd, Gary Bell pitched one of his most effortless games, throwing only 89 pitches to defeat the White Sox 6 to 2. And then there was Jim Lonborg, who tossed only five pitches in the second game and became the losing pitcher in a 10 to 1 drubbing. Lonnie was making another start and threw five pitches which were all bad. The fourth one hit Luis Aparicio and the next pitch to Wayne Causey was his last one. He walked off the field and was taken back to Boston for x-rays.

On June 27th, Yaz and Jose Santiago were named to the American League All-Star team. Santiago then went out and beat the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park, 9 to 3. The Indians helped him by committing four errors and with a big lead, he pitched just long enough to get the win, his ninth. Harrelson went three for five and had two more RBIs, giving him 57 for the year.

What a couple of weeks for Ken Harrelson!!! In 14 games, the "Hawk"(.322 BA) was 24-for-61 (.421 BA) with five homers and 23 RBIs.

Catcher Gene Oliver struggled at the plate, so when Russ Gibson returned, the Sox began actively shopping the 33-year-old veteran. After attempts to trade him to Oakland and Cleveland failed, Oliver was sold to the Chicago Cubs on June 27th. Joe Lahoud played for most of the month of June but was batting .192 and was sent back down. Lahoud was upset about being sent down the second time.

But June ended with the Indians taking three games of the four game series and pushing the Sox (35-38) 12 games behind in the American League.

Ken Harrelson had been added to the A.L. All Star team and Dick Ellsworth blanked the Oakland A's, 3-0 on July 1st at Fenway. Dalton Jones started at first and played first base in 55 of the final 88 Red Sox games over the struggling George Scott.

The next night, on July 2nd, Harrelson socked it to the Athletics with a game winning double in the 8th inning of a thrilling 4 to 3 Sox win.

On July 3rd, Mike Andrews, with a long single off the left-field fence, drove Joe Foy across the plate 11th inning to beat the Athletics, 4 to 3 in a wild contest. Foy had tied the game at 3 to 3 in the eighth-inning with a run-scoring single. Then in the 11th, he led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Elston Howard. Andrews, with the count 2-2, lined the next pitch off the wall, above lineup board, and Foy walked home easily for the walkoff win.

Finally, on July 4th, Juan Pizarro came in from the bullpen to replace Jose Santiago, who was suffering from tendonitis in his left elbow, to lead a sweep of the A's, 7 to 2. Santiago was subsequently scratched from the All Star game and replaced by Gary Bell.

On July 5th, there were two men on, Mike Andrews having walked, and Yaz having doubled down the line, with Jim Perry of the Minnesota Twins on the mound. The count was 3-1, and the batter was Ken Harrelson. The "Hawk" deposited the ball into the left-field net and the Sox went on to win, 4 to 2. It was the fifth straight victory for the Sox and the 17th home run of the year for Harrelson.

The next night, July 6th, in the seventh inning, with the Sox down 2 to 0, Reggie Smith slammed his 24th double of the year into left-field to start the inning. In succession came a single by Rico Petrocelli, into right-field that sent Reggie over to third. A single to right by Joe Foy scored Reggie and sent Rico to third. Russ Gibson sent a fly ball to Tony Oliva in right field, and Foy tagged up, moving over to third, on Oliva's throw to the plate trying to get Rico. With Gary Bell at the plate, Foy broke for third and Bell drove the ball past thirdbaseman Cesar Tovar into left field, bringing in the third Red Sox run. Mike Andrews then singled to left and Dalton Jones grounded to shortstop Frank Quilici. On the attempted double play, Rod Carew's throw went into the dugout and Bell scored the fourth run of the inning, giving the Sox an eventual 4 to 2 win.

The Sox went into the All-Star break by sweeping the Twins in a doubleheader on July 7th, 4 to 3 and 6 to 3, for eight straight wins. Yaz slammed two home runs in the afternoon, his first since the middle of June.

The National League beat the American League, 1 to 0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Willie Mays scored the winning run in the first inning. Yaz went 0 for 4, striking out twice and Ken Harrelson flew out as a pinch hitter.

At "Ted Williams Baseball Camp" in Lakeville, MA a professional female softball player came to visit. A number of the older (16-21 campers and counselors got a chance to take a few swings. She was amazing and got them all out. Ted Williams then took a turn and hit the ball few times but nothing hit that far. He then started getting really so focused, took a swing and the ball not only cleared the fence but landed out in the trees. The girl tipped her cap and all that witnessed the event cheered loudly. Of courseTed didn’t tip his cap back to her.

On July 12th, it was Joe Foy, who sparked the Red Sox to a 3 to 2 victory in Anaheim over the Angels. He scooped up two topped rollers and threw out the batters, stole a base, sliced a single to right to keep a rally alive and helped Gary Bell earn his eighth victory of the year. Two wild pitches, a balk, and two errors, gave the Sox a 7 to 6 win in Anaheim on July 13th.

On July 14th, up in Oakland, Blue Moon Odom took a 3 to 1 lead into the eighth-inning. But then he gave up consecutive singles to José Tartabull, Mike Andrews and Dalton Jones. Then, with Paul Lindblad in the game, Yaz lined a ball off his knee that went all the way into left field for a double, allowing the tying run to score. Then Ken Harrelson, lined a ball to left-center, off his old teammates, to score another run with Yaz going to third. After Reggie Smith was walked intentionally, Rico Petrocelli drove Yaz in with a sacrifice fly to deep right. The final score was 5 to 3 in favor of the Sox.

In the next game, on July 15th, Jim Lonborg tried again and failed. He was brought into the game and couldn't get a man out, getting charged with the loss, his third, as the Red Sox fell to the A's 12 to 5. He walked two of the three men he faced and the other reached on a bunt and before the inning was over, the Sox, who were winning 3 to 0, with losing 5 to 3.

Old buddy, Russ Nixon, cleared the bases in a pinch-hitting role, in the ninth-inning, to give the Red Sox a 6 to 5 victory over the Twins in Minnesota on July 17th. The two teams had gone into the ninth tied at 3 to 3, on home runs by George Scott and Rico Petrocelli. With Elston Howard back in Boston, because of an arthritic elbow, the Sox brought up Russ Nixon to take his place. With the bases loaded and facing Ron Perranoski, Nixon drove the ball to center past Cesar Tovar. By the time Tovar picked it up, all three men scored in the Sox had a 6 to 3 lead.

Jose Santiago returned for one last game, on July 18th, but it was his last of the season. He’d only given up one hit and no runs in two innings, but the injury was re-aggravated and he had to turn things over the Gary Bell. Jose missed the rest of the year.

On July 20th, Dick Ellsworth threw a five hitter at the Washington Senators, winning 7 to 2. It was the first complete game for a Red Sox pitcher at Fenway in 25 games. Ken Harrelson knocked in four runs with a three run homer and a single, for 71 RBIs, the most in the majors.

In a doubleheader the next day, on July 21st, the best the Red Sox could do was split with the Senators. But Reggie Smith refused to flinch. He hit two home runs in the first game to drive in three runs, and in the second game he doubled in the eighth-inning when the Red Sox scored three runs.

On July 22nd, Jim Lonborg won his first game of the season, a 7 to 6 victory in Yankee Stadium.  He gave up one hit and a run in six innings for his first win since the World Series, he walked eight.

In Washington, on July 26th, Reggie Smith literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a sensational game saving catch for the final out in a Red Sox, 2 to 1 victory, at D.C. Stadium. The Senators' Hank Allen slammed a Dick Ellsworth pitch on a line toward the fence in left-center in the ninth-inning with two outs. Reggie raced to the fence at the 381 foot mark and braced his bare hand on the top of the barrier. He vaulted with that hand as the ball approached, timing it perfectly, with his left arm extending over the fence, glove outstretched at the peak of his leap. The ball landed in his glove, and Reggie came down, stumbled for an instant, then leapt into the air, with his glove over his head and the ball in it.

Two days later, on July 28th, Ken Harrelson busted out of a 0 for 10 slump with three straight hits, finished off by a two-run homer in the ninth-inning, that gave the Red Sox a 10 to 8 victory over the Senators. The home run was his 23rd of the season and the seventh time he has driven in the deciding run in a Red Sox victory, boosting his major league leading RBI total to 74.

Back in Fenway, on July 29th, Mike Andrews lofted a fly ball to right-center in the 10th inning, with Jose Tartabull on second base. The ball drifted away from Fred Valentine of the Orioles and Tartabull was able to score and give the Red Sox a 3 to 2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second game, Yaz hit three line drives to left of the flagpole for doubles, and helped the Sox to an 8 to 3 sweep of the doubleheader.

The Sox (54-48) finished July in 4th place, ten games behind.

Norm Siebern appeared in just 27 games, and just four in the field. He played a pair of games in the outfield and a pair at first base, and collected two hits in 30 trips to the plate. He played in his last major-league game on July 30th, and was released by the Red Sox on August 1st, a week past his 35th birthday. The Red Sox then purchased outfielder Floyd Robinson’s contract from Oakland.

On August 2nd, after Juan Pizarro was beaten by the California Angels, 3 to 2, in the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway, Jim Lonborg looked like his old self and dominated the Angels 6 to 1 in the second game. He lasted seven innings before he tired.

The next day, on August 3rd, the Red Sox swept the Angels in another doubleheader. In the first game the score was 8 to 3 as the  "Hawk" and Joe Foy each hit two-run home runs. Dick Ellsworth allowed 13 hits, but he didn't walk anybody. In the second game Dalton Jones' pinch-hit single in the eighth inning gave the Red Sox a 5 to 3 victory. Tied 3 to 3, Joe Foy led off the inning by beating out a bunt, and George Scott tried to sacrifice him along, but both runners were safe on Don Mincher's low throw to second. Foy was forced at third on Russ Gibson's attempted sacrifice before Jones' decisive single scored Scotty. Jose Tartabull's sacrifice fly added the insurance run.

In Chicago on August 5th, there were fireworks at Comiskey Park as the Red Sox eked out a 2 to 1 victory over the White Sox in 10 innings. It must've sounded like a firing squad to Tommy John who hadn't won a game in a month. He allowed only four hits through nine innings, one of them was Ken Harrelson's 28th home run. George Scott, leading off in the 10th inning, walked on a three and two pitch. That was it for John, and in came Bob Locker who got Jerry Adair on a sacrifice, that moved Scotty over to second. Russ Gibson followed with a bloop single to center that brought in him with the winning run.

Lonborg pitched another strong game as he whipped the White Sox, 8 to 2 on August 6th. He allowed eight hits and did not walk a man. Sparky Lyle pitched a perfect eighth and ninth, striking out three. Yaz provided the offense with three RBIs, one of them on his 14th home run.

Ken Harrelson slammed his 29th home run of the year and put the Red Sox up 2 to 0 in the first inning on August 7th, eventually leading the Sox to a 3 to 2 win. in Chicago.

In the final game of the series with the White Sox, on August 8th, Ray Culp gave the Red Sox (61-51) a sweep with a 1 to 0 victory. He allowed four scattered hits and drove in the game's only run. It was a Red Sox' eighth victory in their last nine games, as they finished the evening in third-place in the American League, but still 10 games behind the Tigers.

Dick Ellsworth lost approximately four or five starting assignments when he contracted mumps. (prompting roomie Ray Culp and 11 other teammates to receive immediate immunization shots). At the time he was hospitalized, Ellsworth was in the midst of a 6-1 run.

In Detroit on August 9th, Joe Foy's grand slam home run in the eighth-inning, gave the Sox a 5 to 3 win over the league-leaders. But the Sox lost the next three games and slipped further behind, 12 games out.

Down 1 to 0 on August 12th against the White Sox at Fenway, the Red Sox put together three singles, all with two out in the eighth-inning, to win the game, 2 to 1. Rico Petrocelli, Russ Gibson and Russ Nixon all got on base and Ray Culp brought in two of the runners with a base hit to give himself the win.

The next night, on August 13th, in the eighth-inning again, with the score tied 3 to 3, Ken Harrelson hit a fly ball down the right-field line. White Sox rightfielder, Woody Held, took off after the ball, fell down and lost his cap. By the time he got himself together and found the ball, the "Hawk" was on his way to third base. Rico who had homered in his first time at bat, lined to leftfielder Tommy Davis. Harrelson tagged up and came home to give the Red Sox a 4 to 3 win.

Meanwhile, on August 14th at Fenway Park, Tony Conigliaro stepped up to the plate, to take batting practice before the second game of a twi-night doubleheader with the White Sox. Tom Yawkey came down from his office, and teammates came out of the clubhouse to watch. Tony C. took about ten minutes in the cage and with his last swing, rattled the ball off one of the light towers standing high above the Green Monster in left. He felt his bat had slowed, but he walked away satisfied.

In the doubleheader, the "Hawk" did it all and gave the Sox a 7 to 5 win in the night game. He homered, tripled, doubled, reached on an error and stole a base. He ran his home run total to 31 and RBI total to 98, highest in the major leagues. The White Sox, behind Tommy John, won the first game 5 to 3. In the final game of the series, Gary Bell blanked the White Sox, 3-0.

After losing the first two games to the Tigers at Fenway, the Red Sox twisted their tail a little in the final game on August 18th. A suicide squeeze bunt by Juan Pizarro, broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning and the Red Sox wound up beating the league leaders 4 to 1.

In Cleveland, Dave Morehead got his first win of the season by beating Luis Tiant, 3 to 0 on August 19th. It was the third time this season that Tiant had lost to the Red Sox. But the Sox lost the next three games to the Indians and fell further back ... 14 games behind Detroit.

Juan Pizarro pitched his third straight complete game and victory on August 23rd against the Orioles, 4 to 1, in Baltimore. Ken Harrelson, in a slump, was 0-for-20. Yaz played first base for the first time since the minors.

On August 26th, Jim Lonborg dumped the Cleveland Indians, 3-0, at Fenway and pitched a complete-game for the first time this year. He did it spectacularly also, allowing just three hits. He struck out nine, his high for the season, and didn't walk a batter. Yaz knocked in two runs in the first inning, and in the eighth Mike Andrews score the final run on an error.

Ray Culp took the pitching honors the next night, on August 27th, breezing to a 7 to 1 complete-game victory over the Indians for his 10th win of the season.

After a layoff of more than three weeks, Dick Ellsworth picked up right where he left off, beating the Oakland Athletics, 11 the 2 on August 29th. He gave up six hits and two runs in the eight innings he worked, for his 12th win of the year. Joe Foy hit two home runs, the second time he had done that in the big leagues. Reggie Smith hit his first grand slam home run, in the Red Sox six run fourth inning. Yaz upped his batting average to .290 with two hits in three times at bat.

Lonborg won his second game in a row, to close out August on the 31st. He went five innings and had 15 balls hit off him, but went into the locker room a 6 to 4 winner over the Washington Senators. It happened on the strength of Joe Foy's grand slam home run. It was his fifth home run in three years. Another run came off the bat of Russ Gibson, his second homer of the year, into the left-field net.

Ray Culp pitched his second straight complete game victory on September 1st, beating the Senators, 7 to 4. His roommate, Dick Ellsworth dug out of a couple of jams to prevail, 4 to 1, for his 13th win in Minnesota on September 3rd.

On September 4th, Yaz went back into the batting lead of the American League with four hits, three of them drives up the middle and the fourth a long home run in the ninth-inning. It was Yaz's 18th home run and he is batting .291, two points higher than Tony Oliva. It helped Gary Bell win the game 10 to 2 over the Twins.

Ray Culp out-pitched George Brunet, defeating him and the Angels in Anaheim, 2 to 1, on September 7th. Yaz doubled and scored in the fourth and homered in the sixth for the Sox' two runs.

On September 8th, while traveling in Anaheim, Dick Williams announced he would use Rico Petrocelli at first base that day, the eighth Red Sox first baseman of the season. Rico was nursing an injury and had not played defensively in 18 days. George Scott (.176 BA) was humiliated and erupted in rage, ranting displeasure with his manager, claiming he would not play for him again, and asking for an audience with owner Tom Yawkey.

In Oakland, on September 9th, George Scott, surprisingly, was back in the lineup. There was much speculation that either Yawkey or GM Dick O’Connell had stepped in, and that Williams was losing his grip on the team. Dissension was evident and newsworthy. Home runs by Ken Harrelson and Reggie Smith gave Lee Stange and the Sox a 6 to 4 win.  Yaz (.291 BA) had two singles to keep the batting lead in the American League over Danny Cater (.289 BA) of the A's.

On September 11th, Yaz had four hits in five at bats, including two doubles. In the three game set, he went 9-for-14 to get his average up to .300 and Cater went 3-for-12, dropping his average to .288. Cater later thanked Yaz for letting him have a sniff at the batting title.

Harrelson hit his 35th homer and had two RBIs back at Fenway, against the Twins on September 13th. It helped Ray Culp beat Minnesota, 3-0. The Sox had called Luis Alvarado up when rosters expanded, and he made his major-league debut. The Sox were already out of the hunt, 15 games out of first place, so Alvarado got a start at shortstop. Rico Petrocelli was out with an injured wrist, so Alvarado played in each of the next 10 games.

RAY CULP

On September 17th, the Tigers clinched the AL pennant and Ray Culp won his 14th game for the Sox, 2-0, shutting out Baltimore, striking out twelve batters. With some help from Lee Stange, Dick Ellsworth shut out Baltimore again, 4 to 0, in the next game on September 18th.

In New York, Jim Lonborg pitched his third complete game and got his sixth win on September 20th, 4 to 3. Yaz had three hits, including his 21st home run of the year and his average moved up to .306.

Ray Culp had a no-hitter for seven innings and won, 2 to 0, on September 21st. George Thomas' homer into the right field seats was all the run support that Culp needed. Dick Ellsworth completed the sweep of the Yankees, winning his 15th game, 5 to 1, on September 22nd. 

Darrell Brandon's final game in a Red Sox uniform came on September 24th in Washington, as he pitched two innings in a 10-2 loss to the Senators.

On September 25th, Ray Culp won his seventh straight game for his 16th win with a 1-0 shutout of the Senators, striking out 11 batters. He had pitched 30 straight scoreless innings.

Back at Fenway on September 27th, Dick Ellsworth beat the Yankees for his 16th win also, 12-2. Yaz homered and doubled to boost his batting average to .304. Mike Andrews also homered and drove in three runs.

With 1968 in the books, the Red Sox finished with a record of 86-76, only six games off their 1967 pace. The Detroit Tigers won 103 games and the Sox finished in fourth place, 17 games behind them.

Despite the mastery of pitchers this season, Ken Harrelson excelled. He was virtually the only Red Sox player to have a better year in 1968 than he did in 1967. He won the "Most Valuable Player" award in the American League, with 109 RBIs and a .275 batting average. Again and again, he picked up the Sox, seemingly always getting a big hit when one was most needed. He hit 35 home runs during the season, 13 of them game-winners. He was a good replacement for Tony C. at the plate, but paled by comparison in the field.

With Yaz reluctant to grab the spotlight, the fans in Boston needed someone to embrace. And so, the "Hawk" became that guy. He became a media darling, with reporters flocking around him after every game. In Boston, he was a superstar and got loads of attention heaped on him. As a result, he needed to hire a bodyguard, because when he went out in public, he was swarmed by well-wishers, but also those who wanted to take him down and pick a fight.

But he was having the time of his life, earning more money than he ever had before, and spending that money just as quickly, which only helped build the “Hawk” persona. Harrelson led the league in interviews, Nehru jackets and a lavender dune-buggy. He had a sandwich shop, an insurance company and travel agency. A song by a popular Boston band entitled “Don’t Walk The Hawk.” The emblem “Hawk” embroidered on every piece of clothing, including his trademark Nehru jackets.

He attended an Academy of Professional Sports Show that was televised from Hollywood and reportedly, his attire made the movie stars “look like rag pickers.”  Harrelson loved the attention, but was overwhelmed by it. Yaz, who was no stranger to endorsements himself, offered some helpful financial advice, to hire Bob Woolf, a Boston lawyer, who had become one of the world’s most well-known sports agents. Woolf would manage Harrelson’s finances for the rest of his career and serve as a voice of reason in times of trouble.

Politicians seemed to be attracted to the “Hawk”, and at one point he was asked to introduce 1968 presidential candidate George Wallace, at one of his appearances in Boston. Woolf advised him, as a well-known athlete, not to get politically involved. After doing some research, he realized Woolf was right, and declined.

Yaz felt he had to live up to his 1967 season and pressed hard to do so, falling short.  He won the batting title again with the lowest league batting average in history at .301 and he was the only player in the league to bat over .290. From his low of.268 in the middle of August, he batted .372 over the last six weeks of the season.

Mike Andrews and Reggie Smith enjoyed superb sophomore seasons. Reggie led the league in doubles with 37, earned a "Gold Glove" for his work in the outfield, and clearly bettered the league average batting average with a .265 BA compared with the league’s .230 BA.

Andrews was third in team batting average. He battled for the league batting lead until Labor Day before finishing at .271 (12th in the AL) with 7 homers and 45 RBIs. He topped his rookie totals with 22 doubles and 145 hits, and his tiny dip from 79 runs scored to 77. After a few crucial errors early in the season, Andrews was steady on defense, and he was developing into a team leader. Boston sportswriters named him the club’s “Unsung Hero” for the season.

He also became a "Jimmy Fund" regular and was named "Man of the Year" by the BoSox Club for “contributions to the success of the Red Sox and for cooperation in community endeavors.” He didn’t know it at the time, but the seeds of his future career had been planted.

In his short time in September, Luis Alvarado was 6-for-46 (.130 BA). At the time, Rico Petrocelli generously said, “You know, with that kid around the Red Sox could trade me and I’d never be missed. I’ve watched him and there isn’t a play he can’t make.” In 41 fielding chances, Alvarado committed only one error.

Dalton Jones did fairly well at first base as did Joe Foy at third. On the other side of the coin, George Scott epitomized the Red Sox fall from the previous year. His average tumbled to .171, with only three home runs, as he unsuccessfully tried to pull every pitch over the Green Monster. In spite of his poor year at the plate, Scotty repeated with defensive honors, winning his second "Gold Glove" award, despite playing just 112 games at first base.

Then there was Dick Williams. He complained about his players to the press, rather than take them aside individually and have a discussion. He wouldn't let up on George Scott and went out of his way to humiliate him.

Despite reporting to spring training in much better shape than the year before, the season was a disappointment for Joe Foy, though, both on and off the field. His poor .225 batting average and 30 errors at third base, the most in the league, was further complicated by an off-field incident with pitcher Juan Pizarro, involving drunken driving.

While his fielding improved, Dalton Jones’ batting average went in the other direction. He had decided he was going to hit more home runs and tried to pull everything, so pitchers started pitching him outside. In the past, he would have taken the pitch the other way, to left field. Now he was hitting ground balls to second. One bright spot was his specialty, pinch-hitting; he had 11 pinch hits and a .407 average.

Elston Howard’s elbow acted up at midseason, and he couldn’t straighten it. He did not want surgery, so his playing time was limited. Russ Nixon was called back up and was only used in 29 games, all but one in July and August. In his final game at Fenway, Elston Howard received a standing ovation. In only 71 games, he hit .241, with five homers and 18 RBIs. He held a press conference on October 21st to announce his retirement from playing and the next day took a coaching position with the Yankees.

Jerry Adair had a poor year at the plate, batting only .216 in 74 games while filling a journeyman’s role and playing four infield positions.

Pitching was critical and dominated the game like no other time since the dead ball era. The American League batted .230 in 1968. And during a season which the American League ERA was 2.98, the Red Sox ERA of 3.33 wasn't good enough.

Jim Lonborg’s final record of 6-10 and his 4.29 ERA were seen as a major cause for the Sox fall. He lost a little off his fastball and started to experience a series of nagging arm injuries. He finished the year with a 6-10 record and an ERA of 4.29.

The Red Sox ERA numbers looked good individually from our perspective today. Ray Culp was at 2.91, Gary Bell posted a 3.12, Dick Ellsworth came in at 3.03. These three were the steady horses of the rotation. But collectively, the Red Sox staff was eighth-best in the American League. By the standard of the times, they weren’t up to snuff.

The secret of Ray Culp’s (16-6) good year was his use of a new pitch – the palmball. Culp did not use the palmball in a game until midseason, but it became a staple for the rest of his career. He reeled off seven straight complete-game victories, including a string of eight games that included four straight shutouts, culminating in a one-hitter in New York. From August 22nd thru September 25th, Culp pitched 68 innings with a 0.79 ERA, with 62 strikeouts.

Dick Ellsworth and Culp had won 23 games and lost only three since the 1st of July. Considering the pace he’d set for himself over this extended period, one wonders if Dick Ellsworth could’ve gone on to win 20 games during the season had he not lost time while falling victim to the mumps. Still, his overall 16-7 mark placed him among the American League leaders in both wins and winning percentage.

Gary Waslewski (4-7, 3.67 ERA) got no run support when he was a starter. Before the All Star break, he lost a 3-2 decision to Oakland; lost a complete game, 3-2, to the Yankees; the A’s beat him, 3-1; and he held the powerful Tigers to two runs over 6 2/3 innings. The team was scoring less than one run per nine innings when he out there, so Dicki Williams sent him to the bullpen for the rest of the season.

Jose Santiago appeared in just 18 games, every one as a starter. His record was 9-4 with a sterling 2.25 ERA. He was on a roll from the 1967 season, and won his first four decisions, a string of 12 straight wins without a defeat.

Lee Stange was back in the bullpen in 1968. He led the staff with 50 appearances and 12 saves and came in fourth in The Sporting News‘ "Fireman Award" for the American League.

Bill Landis more than doubled his workload from the year before, appearing in 38 games and throwing a full 60 innings in relief.  His ERA was an excellent 3.15 and his record an even 3-3 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 2 to 1. 

Dave Morehead made 11 appearances. After two one-inning relief appearances, he made nine starts, compiling a record of 1-4, with a 2.45 ERA. He threw three complete games. In 55 innings, he allowed 52 hits, walking 20 and striking out 28.

Sparky Lyle was a tobacco-chewing 23-year-old, that would one day be the focal point of the second-worst trade the Red Sox ever made with the New York Yankees. Sparky was 6-1 with 11 saves, settling into a role as the team’s primary left-handed reliever. He finished with a 2.74 ERA.

Catcher Jerry Moses was also a September call-up, and responded with six hits, including two homers, in 18 at-bats, hitting .333. Moses was reunited with his friend, Sparky Lyle, and they rented side-by-side in Peabody, later living near each other in Danvers, Mass. George Thomas was another player called up and appeared in only 12 games.

Whenever a team goes from appearing in the World Series and to failing to do so again, it always seems like a disappointment. But there’s one development that no one noticed at the time. That development was the fact that the Red Sox had clearly established that the turnaround of 1967 was not a one-year wonder, and they would continue to compete at a high level for decades to come.