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DIARY OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
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FENWAY PARK DIARIES DIARY OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
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1975 BOSTON RED SOX
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Anyone lucky enough to be a Red Sox fan in 1975 likely remembers exactly where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with when Carlton Fisk hit what has become one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. To this day, that season remains one of the Red Sox' most memorable. From starting out the season as a long shot to make the playoffs, to sweeping the three-time defending champion Athletics in the ALCS, to the unforgettable World Series against the Reds, everybody involved with the team undoubtedly remembers it as one of the greatest years of baseball in their careers. Despite having a good core group of players that included Bill Lee and Luis Tiant on the mound and future Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski in the field, there remained a few question marks in the lineup. Specifically, two young outfielders who were expected to do big things on offense, had yet to prove themselves against major league pitching, Jim Rice and Fred Lynn. Rice was second in the voting for Rookie of the Year and third for MVP. Lynn won both of those awards with an astounding .331 average, 21 home runs and 105 RBIs. Lynn also led the league with 47 doubles, 103 runs. .566 slugging pct. The Sox had four .300 hitters in Lynn, Rice, Cecil Cooper and Fisk. Denny Doyle finished with a .297 avg but batted .310 for the Sox. Rice led the Sox in game-winning RBIs with 13. After the collapse in 1974, general manager Dick O'Connell traded away Tommy Harper in the off-season, leaving manager Darrell Johnson the pleasant task of choosing an outfielder from the best crop of young prospects the Red Sox had since the days of Duffy Lewis, Harry Hooper and Tris Speaker. Then in November, Tony Conigliaro decided to attempt another comeback. O'Connell welcomed him and after working out in Winter Haven, Conigliaro reported that his depth perception had never been better. As training camp just got underway, Carlton Fisk, still hobbled by his knee injury, was hit by a pitch and broke his arm. O'Connell added veteran catcher Tim McCarver until he recovered. In spite of the excellent play of rookies Lynn and Rice, and the apparent successful return of Conigliaro, who won the job as designated hitter, the team left camp with mixed reviews, because pitching appeared to still be the problem. O'Connell offered the Indians five prospects for Gaylord Perry, but the deal died when O'Connell refused to include Juan Beniquez. In addition, Athletics pitcher Catfish Hunter was declared a free agent and the Red Sox believed they had an inside track to sign him, because Sox personnel director, Haywood Sullivan, was his first minor league manager. But the Yankees swooped in and signed him to a five-year deal.
So the season started and Fenway Park was almost at a World Series atmosphere on opening day, on April 8th, as Conigliaro made his triumphant homecoming and Hank Aaron made his American league debut with the Milwaukee Brewers. Bob Montgomery doubled home two runs in a three run third inning, as the Red Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 5 to 2. Tony C. received four standing ovations and slammed out a single in his first at bat.
In Baltimore, on April 11th, Tony C. hit his first home run since 1971 and Carl Yastrzemski's home run into the right-field bleachers in the 12th inning gave the Red Sox a 6 to 5 victory over the Orioles. Rick Burleson sent the game into extra innings with a two-out home run in the eighth-inning, to tie the score at 5 to 5. Doug Griffin's run-scoring single in the 13th inning, gave the Red Sox a 3 to 2 victory over the Orioles the next day. On April 15th, Dwight Evans' two run single capped a four-run rally that carried the Red Sox to a 5 to 3 victory over the Yankees and Catfish Hunter. Bill Lee went the distance for the Sox, driving the Yankees crazy with his new Eephus curve, allowing five hits, to even his record at one and one. Two home runs by Lynn and one by Yastrzemski helped the Rick Wise gain his first victory, as the Red Sox trimmed the staggering Yankees, 4 to 2 the next day, on April 16th. Back at Fenway, the Sox lost to the Orioles, but Jim Rice slugged a pair of homers and Fred Lynn added another. The homers brought the Sox home run total for the year to ten. Lynn now had seven RBIs. Luis Tiant pitched a four hitter on April 20th, and the Red Sox capitalized on the wildness of Mike Torrez, to breeze to a 10 to 2 victory over the Orioles. Lynn walked twice in the game, had two singles and two RBIs and was now hitting .423
After losing two games to the Yankees at Fenway, Cecil Cooper started a five run uprising with a pinch-hit triple in the seventh inning, as the Sox rallied for an 11 to 7 victory over the Catfish Hunter on April 23rd. Cooper started the big rally by lining a triple to the 420 foot mark in right-center. Bernie Carbo singled him home. Lynn and Rice both followed with run-scoring singles and Bob Montgomery lined a double to right, that scored both Lynn and Rice. The Sox went from a four run deficit to score a one run lead. On April 25th, in Detroit, Dave Meyer's two-out home run in the fifth inning broke Luis Tiant's perfect game and gave the Detroit Tigers a 1 to 0 victory over the Red Sox. It however made a winner of Mickey Lolich, who was locked in a brilliant pitcher's duel with Tiant. Tiant wound up yielding only two base hits, but lost the game. The Sox lost three games to the Tigers by one run and fell 3 games behind in the AL East.
Bernie Carbo triggered a three-run first inning with a leadoff double and then tagged Cleveland starter Jim Perry, with a two run home run in the second inning, as the Red Sox snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over the Indians at Fenway Park on May 1st. A nice and safe 7 to 2 game ended up by a score of 7 to 6, with Diego Segui punching out the final batter in the ninth-inning, with runners on first and third. The Tigers began the afternoon on May 3rd, by offering the Red Sox six outs in the first inning. The Sox sent 11 batters to the plate, scored six runs on just four hits, plus some shabby Detroit fielding, and rolled to a 12 to 2 victory at Fenway. Bob Montgomery and Rick Burleson each had three hits. Lynn had two hits and two walks. Rice had a pair of singles, and so did Doug Griffin.
On May 5th, Jim Rice's two run double highlighted a four-run fourth inning that carried the Red Sox to a 7 to 5 victory in Cleveland. Bernie Carbo and Yastrzemski drew walks off Jim Perry before Lynn hit the first of three consecutive doubles, scoring Carbo. Rice followed with his double to left, scoring Yaz and Lynn, and then came home on a double by Rico Petrocelli. The next night, Bill Lee's six hit pitching and Montgomery's two run single led the Sox to a 4 to 1 victory over the Indians. The Sox swept the Indians on May 7th, when Rice's homer triggered a three run sixth inning that broke a 1 to 1 tie and carried the Sox to a 4 to 2 victory. The Sox had won five straight and were just a game out of first place. In Anaheim on May 9th, the Red Sox made it six in a row from good defense, hustle and excellent pitching. Rick Wise pitched his fourth complete game in six starts and won for the third time in five decisions as the Red Sox defeated the Angels, 4 to 1. Rick Burleson got three hits that meant runs and made two brilliant defensive plays. The Sox disappointingly lost the next game, with Tiant losing a 2-0 four-hitter to Frank Tanana. Finally on May 11th, Rico Petrocelli and Burleson hit two-run singles to back the seven hit pitching of Bill Lee, as the Sox beat the Angels, 5 to 2 in the finale. Dwight Evans had three hits in the game and Burleson knocked out two. Two losses in Oakland took the wind out of the Sox sails and they returned home to face the Royals. But the Sox bats were silent and they lost three in a row to the Royals, falling 4 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL East. On May 18th, Bernie Carbo drove in four runs with a pair of homers and the Sox snapped a five game losing streak with a 4 to 2 victory over the Royals. Backed by Carbo's bat, Rick Wise earned his fourth victory in seven decisions. Carbo smacked three hits in the game and raised his batting average to .355 Juan Beniquez turned the base paths into track lanes, made a fine catch, had two hits and a walk, a lined out twice, scoring three runs. He scored the tie-breaking run all the way from first base on Burleson's hit-and-run single in the seventh inning, sparking the Sox to a 10-5 victory over the Oakland A's on May 19th. Lee pitched a two-hitter and Jim Rice, Tony Conigliaro and Juan Beniquez belted home runs as the Sox whipped Vida Blue and the Oakland A's, 7-0, the following night. In the series finale on May 21st, Yaz hit his sixth career grand slam and Petrocelli contributed a two-run shot, powering the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory and series sweep of the Oakland Athletics. Montgomery started it off with a pop fly blooper that fell safely in center field. Monty's hit was followed by quick singles by Beniquez and Burleson. Then on a 1-1 count, Yaz cleared the bases. The four RBIs boosted his career total to 1194, 50th on the all-time list. After losing the first game of the series, Carbo, Yastrzemski and Evans slammed home runs off Nolan Ryan, in this highly anticipated pitchers duel between him and Luis Tiant, on May 23rd, and powered the Sox to a 6 to 1 victory over the California Angels. Tiant pitched a complete game and Ryan was gone after six innings. The next night was May 24th and Bill Lee posted his second consecutive shutout and sixth win, with a five-hitter as the Red Sox whipped the Angels, 6 to 0, on three-run homers by Petrocelli and Burleson. Lee led the Sox staff with six wins and was brilliant in four of his last five starts. He had pitched 21 straight scoreless innings, including two straight shutout complete games. The victory was the sixth of the last seven games for the Sox, who moved into first base by 1/2 game over the Milwaukee Brewers.
In a Fenway moment on May 25th, Carl Yastrzemski had been on home plate umpire, Lou DiMuro about ball and strike calls . Yaz was finally thrown out of the game for protesting a 3-2 called third strike and buried home plate in the dust to protest, then flipped his helmet and bat in the dirt, followed by a pair of sunglasses. The Sox flew to Arlington to play the Rangers on May 26th, where Dwight Evans slammed a tie-breaking home run that capped a late inning exchange of homers and gave the Sox a 7 to 5 win. Then, on May 28th, Lee hurled a four-hitter, giving up his first hit in the fifth inning, but missed his third straight shutout on his own throwing error, pitching the Sox to a 4 to 1 victory over the Rangers. An infield hit in the seventh inning stopped Lee's string of scoreless innings at 28. Lee had been close to being the best pitcher in the league. He was 6-1 with a 1.94 ERA over the last month and a .121 batting average against him, earning himself the A.L. Player of the Week. In Minnesota, after losing the first game, the Sox gave an exhibition of line drive hitting in the next game on May 31st. Liner after liner, all over Metropolitan Stadium off the Sox bats, gave the Sox a come-from-behind win. Jim Rice's three-run homer in the seventh inning highlighted a 17-hit attack, in a 12-8 victory. Six players had two hits apiece, led by Rice (.282 BA, 7 HRs, 26 RBIs) and Evans, who delivered three runs with a pair of doubles. Lynn had a double, two singles, stole home and even had a sacrifice bunt.
In the series finale on June 1st, after hitting four home runs and running up a 9-0 lead in the first three innings, it took Dick Drago to finish off an 11 to 9 win against the Twins. Yastrzemski, Lynn, Rice and Doug Griffin cracked homers. The Sox had won 10 of their last 13 and came home with a 4 game lead in the AL East.
Lynn concluded the series going 7-for-14, to lift up his batting average to .352 and his slugging percentage to .616, chasing Rod Carew, who boosted his average to .390 with three hits. Lynn was enjoying the best debut of any Red Sox player in memory, inspiring comparisons to the best in Red Sox history, a combination of Ted Williams and Tris Speaker. His swing was made for Fenway Park and between 1974 and 1980, he batted .350 with a .608 slugging percentage, just a bit below the numbers notched by Williams and Jimmie Foxx. On June 3rd, against the White Sox at Fenway Park, Jim Rice drilled a three-run homer in the first inning and then Dick Pole made it stand up by hurling a three-hitter at the Chicago, beating them 4 to 0. Pole, making only his second start of the season, filling in for Reggie Cleveland, pitched his first career complete game. He struck out eight and walked three. On June 4th the Sox won a come-from-behind thriller. They rallied for four runs in the ninth inning just as the fans were starting to leave Fenway Park. Three consecutive pinch hits were registered, before Rick Burleson singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning, giving them a 7 to 6 victory over the White Sox. In Pawtucket, Dwight Evans hit two long homers as the Red Sox beat the PawSox, 10-1, in their annual exhibition match-up. The next night, June 6th, the Twins came to play at Fenway. Evans' bat continued to sizzle, as he drove in six runs with a pair of homers, one, was the first grand slam of his major league career. The Red Sox held on to win a barn-burner, 13 to 10. Then on June 7th, the Sox combined good pitching by Bill Lee, good defense and clutch hitting to beat the Twins, 3 to 1. Yastrzemski and Lynn whacked run-scoring singles in the eighth inning to win the game. The Sox lost the next three games, including two to Texas, to see their lead in the AL East shrink to just one game. In Chicago Yaz got to be the hero once again, with a walk-off homer on June 11th. Yaz's homer in the 14th inning, gave the Red Sox a 9 to 7 win off Goose Gossage. In the bottom half of the ninth inning, with the score tied and the bases loaded, Dick Drago saved the game when a vicious line drive was slammed right at him. Drago never flinched and stopped the ball from going into center field and driving home the winning run. Rogelio Moret (4-0) came in in the tenth inning to pitch the Red Sox out of a jam and then went the next 3 2/3 innings of pitching one-hit ball, to pick up the win. On June 13th, Fred Lynn hit his 10th home run, with two on in the ninth inning, in the first game of a doubleheader that the Sox won, 10 to 4. He collected two singles in the nitecap, in a 6 to 5 loss to the Kansas City Royals. The loss put allowed the Yankees to tie the Sox for first place in the AL East. Denny Doyle, who lost his second base job to Jerry Remy in Anaheim, was purchased from the Angels. To make room for him, the Sox sent Tony Conigliaro, who had only appeared in 21 games and was batting .122, down to Pawtucket. Jim Rice knocked in the tie-breaking run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and some good defense by Denny Doyle, led the Red Sox to a 4 to 3 win in Kansas City and a complete game win for Tiant on June 14th. The next day, June 15th, Dwight Evans scored the winning run when the Royals left the plate unguarded on Tim Blackwell's slow tapper. Blackwell's two-run infield single finished off a four-run eighth inning that carried the Red Sox to an 8 to 7 victory over the Royals. Lynn (.348 BA) extended his hitting streak to 20 games with two hits. In Detroit, Jim Burton's first major league victory almost happened in front of friends and family, but a Tiger rally forced him out of the game in the 10th inning and he didn't get the decision on June 16th. The game moved into the 12th inning and ended with a 6 to 2 triumph for Reggie Cleveland. Rick Burleson's long sacrifice fly won the game, following a leadoff triple, by Beniquez, who had three hits, although the Sox scored three more times before the inning ended. Fred Lynn had his hitting streak snapped. Beniquez hit his second homer of the season with two outs in the eighth inning, as the Sox outlasted the Tigers, 7 to 6 on June 17th. Rick Wise luckily won his seventh game, but needed help from four relief pitchers to get the last nine Tiger batters.
On June 18th, Lynn enjoyed one of his most remarkable days of the season when he launched three home runs, a triple and a base hit, finishing 5-for-5 with 16 total bases in a 15-1 shellacking of the Tigers. His 50 RBIs gave him the American League lead over Willie Horton who had 46 RBIs. He also led the league with runs scored at 42. His slugging percentage (.640) led the league also. Lynn's 10 RBIs tied the Red Sox single game amount set by Rudy York in 1946, and tied by Norm Zauchin in 1955. It was one short of the American League record of 11 RBIs, set by Tony Lazzeri, of the Yankees in 1936, and two short of the MLB mark of 12 set by Jim Bottomley of St. Louis in 1924. The last Sox player to hit three home runs in a game was Joe Lahoud in 1969. Along with Lynn, Yastrzemski and Petrocelli each had three hits, and Burleson and Rice each had two. The win gave the Sox a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL East. A dramatic ninth inning rally by the Sox set the stage for a 12th inning come-from-behind victory in Baltimore. Every run was a struggle, as each team rallied in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. A walk, a well-placed single by Beniquez and a sacrifice fly from Burleson accounted for the 12th inning winning run and it was Drago who finally stopped the Orioles for a 4 to 3 win on June 20th. In the second game of the series, the difference between Dick Pole and Jim Palmer was a bloop hit to center, but the Sox bats went silent as Palmer shut the Sox out. Two days later, on June 22nd, Mike Cuellar shut the Sox out in the first game of a doubleheader. Finally Petrocelli drove in the Sox first run in their last 22 innings, in the fifth inning of the second game, while Tiant scattered seven hits and struck out 12, carrying the Red Sox to a 5 to 1 victory over the Orioles, for a split. The Sox had managed just 22 hits in the 34 innings that preceded their two-run fifth inning. The Sox concluded their road trip winning 9-of-13 games and were up by 1 1/2 games atop the AL East. Petrocelli batted .354 on the trip and knocked in a number of clutch runs. At Fenway, on June 23rd, the Indians assaulted the Sox, 11-3, ruining the 1975 debut of Carlton Fisk for the Sox. The next night, Yaz hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to put the Sox temporarily out front by two runs, before Cleveland put together a winning rally the next inning, scoring four runs, to win 8 to 6. A team hardly sweeps three games from the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but the Indians did just that, with an 8 to 5 victory in the series finale. The Sox fell out of first place for the first time in a month and found themselves 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees in second place. But an early-season showdown with the Yanks was next on the schedule. Carlton Fisk, playing in only his fourth game after a year's absence, slapped a curve ball into the left field screen. Meanwhile Fred Lynn (.344 BA, 54 RBIs) drove in three runs with a triple and a single, and Tiant was masterful in picking up his 11th win. The three led the Sox to a 6 to 1 win over the Yankees on June 26th. Next game, backed by the eight-hit pitching of Rick Wise, the Sox shut down the Yankees with a 9-1 rout on June 27th. Doug Griffin drove in three runs with a double and a single. Petrocelli collected two RBIs with a single and a double. The Sox lost the third game when Walt Williams overshadowed a remarkable performance by Yaz, by hitting what looked like a routine putout, that instead went for a tie-breaking double in an 8 to 6 Yankees win over the Sox. Yaz drove in four runs with two homers and also added a double.
Eighth inning doubles by Carbo and Burleson snapped a tie ballgame and lifted the Red Sox back atop the AL East, with a 3 to 2 victory over the Yankees and Catfish Hunter on June 29th. The Sox split a doubleheader with the Orioles on June 30th, but it cost them dearly. Earlier in the day, Reggie Cleveland required 15 stitches near his ear and eight in his mouth, when his car hit some water in an underpass on Storrow Drive and was hit by another car, skidded and flipped over, pinning him inside. Then in the first game, Tony Muser slashed a line drive up the middle that ticked off Dick Pole's glove and caught him in the face. Doctors determined that the ball had broken his cheek bone. He would require surgery and be out at least a month. Pole had blanked Baltimore for eight innings before he was struck, outdueling Jim Palmer, the major league's only 12-game winner. He allowed just four hits until the ninth inning. The Sox held on to win, 5 to 2, but the Orioles jumped all over Tiant in the second game, winning 8 to 2. The Sox immediately brought up pitcher, Steve Barr from Pawtucket, after the game. The home stand finale saw Don Baylor break a 6-6 tie by crushing a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and powering the Baltimore Orioles to a 10-6 win. Yaz's bat stayed hot as he finished the homestand going 15 for 37.
Fred Lynn was named the American League Player of the Month for June., batting .325 for the month, with seven homers and 35 RBIs. He hit .400 with men on base and had his 20 game hitting streak, including his three homer game in Detroit. The Sox went to Milwaukee to face the hot Brewers, who had moved into second place ahead of the Yankees. On July 2nd the two teams split a doubleheader. In the first game, Rick Wise came within one out of throwing what would have been his second career no-hitter, before George Scott and Bobby Darwin homered, following a walk in the ninth inning. In the next game, Lynn's unlikely error on a ball that rolled through his legs in the 10th inning, gave the Brewers a 3 to 2 win over the Red Sox and put them in a tie with the Sox atop the AL East. General Manager Dick O'Connell started plugging holes in anticipation of a pennant run. He picked up St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, Jim Willoughby for shortstop Mario Guerrero, to replace Dick Pole on July 3rd. In Cleveland, Oscar Gamble's two-run homer in the seventh inning, boosted the Indians to a 3 to 2 victory over the Sox. Twice the Sox had runners on third base and couldn't score. Then the next day, Buddy Bell belted two home runs, one of them a grandslam, as the Sox went down to defeat to the Tribe again, 12 to 2.
On July 6th, Bill Lee huffed and puffed his way to a victory and Bob Heise drove in three runs, to lead the Red Sox to a 5 to 3 win in the first game of a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians. Lee's 10th win of the year halted a four game losing streak and put the Sox ahead in the AL East, when the Brewers lost a doubleheader in Detroit. The Sox returned home and went on a tear, winning 10 straight games and putting them out in front to stay. On July 7th, Willoughby earned his first save as a member of the Red Sox, bailing out Rick Wise in a 6 to 3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Then, on July 8th, batting for Doug Griffin, Lynn's pinch-hit single in the ninth inning, with the bases loaded, carried the Sox to a walk-off 6 to 5 win over the Twins. Lynn had stayed on the bench, nursing his sore wrist, long enough. He had gone 0-14 before jamming the wrist during a game in Milwaukee. Trailing the Twins by six runs, going into the bottom of the third inning, the next night, July 9th, the Sox kept chipping away, cutting the margin to one run in the eighth inning. And it was Jim Rice, Lynn and Cecil Cooper, who then powered the Sox to a dramatic 9 to 8 come-from-behind walkoff victory in the last inning. In the ninth, Cooper tied the score on a 3-1 pitch that he sent over the Sox bullpen. Griffin next delivered a pinch hit single, and Rice lined a 3-2 pitch to left-center for a double. Griffin made it all the way around and scored with the winning run. Against the Texas Rangers, the next game, on July 10th, for the third straight game the Sox won in the last inning with a walk-off. This time it was an 8 to 7 victory and their fourth win-in-a-row. The Sox chugged into the ninth inning with a 7-4 lead, only to have Jeff Burroughs pulverize a Reggie Cleveland fastball, with two outs and two men on base, to tie up the game. The Sox waited for two outs in their half of the ninth and with Doyle on second, Cooper lined a single into left field and Doyle scored the winning run. It was the third straight game in which Cooper had been a part of a last inning rally. The All Star teams were announced, and along with Fred Lynn, Carl Yastrzemski made the American League All Star Team for the 12th time. Lynn's hot bat gave him the league lead in slugging percentage (.620), total bases (168), runs (58), and RBIs (65). He was batting .339 and was fourth in the league with 20 doubles. The Sox spotted the Rangers a 5-1 lead on July 11th, and countered with a 16-hit attack, including a homer by Bernie Carbo and six doubles, to come back and take the game, 11 to 8. Jim Burton picked up his first major league victory, while Bob Heise had three hits and was 10-for-25 in his last seven games. Monsoons and rain delays punctuated a game where Yastrzemski drove in three runs and Rice belted his 14th homer, as the Sox won their sixth straight game with a 10 to 4 victory over the Rangers on July 12th. Cecil Cooper (.354 BA) who is batting .413 over his last 13 games, had two more hits.
In the final game before the All Star break on July 13th, the Red Sox mounted a 15 hit attack as Lynn drove in four runs (71 RBIs), Yastrzemski (.313 BA) had five straight hits and Petrocelli had three, as the Sox posted their 7th straight win by beating the Texas Rangers, 7 to 5. The Sox went into the break leading by four games in the AL East. In the All Star game at Milwaukee, Bill Madlock's bases-loaded ninth inning single broke a tie game and chased home the winning runs for the NL. The National League had a 3-0 lead after five innings, but Yaz's three-run homer in the sixth inning, tied it up. On July 17th, Cecil Cooper had a chance to hit for the "cycle" when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning against the Royals. He had hit a home run, a triple, and a double already, but he grounded out. Cooper raised his average up to .367, having driven in four runs, leading the Sox past the Royals, 6 to 3. The Sox lead in the AL East went up to five games. The Sox slammed Jim Busby, the Royals starter, as often as they could, beating the Royals down, 9 to 3, for their ninth straight win on July 18th. When Rice faced him in the third inning, Busby threw him a low fastball, which was launched toward the centerfield bleachers. The fans anticipated scrambling after the ball, but they never got a chance. It sailed over their heads, over the wall, and was last seen rolling down the end of Lansdowne Street toward Ipswich Street. In 1937, Hank Greenburg drilled a homer over the bleacher wall about 20 feet to the right of the flag pole. Jimmie Foxx did the same thing the next year. Bill Skowron launched one in 1957, Yaz in 1970 and Bobby Mitchell in 1973. The Sox went on the road and first visited the Rangers in Texas on July 19th. Doyle's three run homer climaxed a six-run sixth inning that pushed the Sox to their 10th straight win, 8-0. The Sox banged out 10 hits and Wise went the distance, scattering seven hits for his 12th win of the year and first shutout. The Sox were hitting .339 and slugging .592 during the streak and earned a 6 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee. Cooper hit over .400 in his last 17 games and over .600 in slugging percentage. Lynn led the league with a .608 slg pct. The next day, July 20th, the Sox and Rangers played a doubleheader. The Rangers snapped the Sox 10-game winning streak in the first game, but the Sox bounced back and took a close 3 to 2 win in game number two, behind the six-hit pitching of Reggie Cleveland and Jim Willoughby. In Minnesota, Twins starter Dave Goltz, walked in the winning run, when he gave a free pass to Cooper in the fourth inning that forced a run home on July 22nd. Then Fisk's defense got Bill Lee out of a seventh inning jam, when he threw out a runner at third and preserved a 5 to 4 win over the Twins. The next day, July 23rd, without a base hit, Jim Rice led the Sox in a 4 to 2 win over the Twins. His glove took two home runs away from Minnesota's Glenn Borgmann with spectacular catches. One was a leaping catch on which he grabbed the ball just as it cleared the fence and then caught another on the dead run, spinning up against the fence. A solo homer that Cecil Cooper unloaded, to lead off the sixth inning helped the Sox whip the Twins for the 9th time in 11 games this year. The Sox defeated the Twins in the series finale, 6 to 2 and held an 8 game lead in the AL East. Rice led a team that had most of the regulars on the bench, with a tremendous two-run homer over the center field fence. Rick Wise was the beneficiary, winning his 13th game and eighth in his last nine starts. After losing the first game with the Yankees at Shea Stadium, the Sox came back to maintain their eight game lead in the AL East over the Yanks on July 26th. Reggie Cleveland pitched perfect ball until the fifth inning and Jim Rice's fly ball, in the ninth inning, broke a 1-1 tie and scored Denny Doyle with the go-ahead run for the Sox. Then Fisk followed with a two-run single past a drawn-in infield, to give the Red Sox a 4 to 2 victory. Bill Lee and Rogelio Moret both pitched six-hit shutouts as the Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Yankees, 1 to 0 and then 6 to 0 on July 27th. In the opener, Rick Miller's single to center off Catfish Hunter, scored Fred Lynn with the only run of the game in the ninth inning, to end a tense pitcher's duel. In the second game, the Yankees never showed up against Moret, who coasted to his sixth win. Rice (.305 BA) whacked four hits and drove in two runs to spearhead the Sox attack. The double victory pushed the Yankees 10 games behind the Sox. Back at Fenway on July 28th, Carlton Fisk (4-for-4, 5 RBIs) was a one man demolition crew, powering the Red Sox to a 7 to 6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. His two home runs and a bases loaded single in the ninth inning lifted the Sox to their 10th consecutive home victory and a nine game lead in the AL East. But the Sox lost the next two games for only the fourth and fifth losses in their last 23 games. Carl Yastrzemski ran like a deer and hustled his butt off, triggered scoring opportunities and then knocked out a base hit, to lead the Red Sox into a 6 to 1 whipping of the Detroit Tigers. It came after driving in two runs in the first game, which the Sox won in the 10th inning, 3 to 2, for the sweep of a doubleheader at Fenway Park on July 31st. In the opener, Bill Lee went the distance, in 90-degree heat, for his fifth consecutive win and 10th in 12 decisions since the middle of May. Then Moret, who gave up just one run in the second game, picked up his eighth win against a single loss.
On August 1st, two runs in the ninth gave the Sox an 8 to 7 win over the Tigers. Down 7-6, Denny Doyle beat out an infield hit and went to second on a hurried wild throw to first. Yaz brought Doyle in with a base hit and moved to second on the throw to the plate. Rice then laid a bunt down the third base line and the Tigers' pitcher, had no play at first, so he tried to get Yaz at third and threw the ball away, bringing him in with the winning run. Denny Doyle knocked out a double and two singles, the next day, scoring two runs and driving in one, to help the Sox to a 7-2 victory over the Tigers. Lynn and Yaz each drove in two runs with a double and a single apiece as the Sox posted their fourth straight win.
Cecil Cooper launched a solo homer to break a 4-4 tie that powered the Sox to a 6 to 4 win over the Tigers and a five-game series sweep on August 3rd. The Sox (66-42) were at 24 games over .500, and have posted their best record since they were 25 games over 1951. The second place Baltimore Orioles came to Fenway and swept the brief two game series, shaving two games off the Sox AL East lead to 7 1/2 games. The Sox moved into Milwaukee on August 6th, where Doug Griffin's pinch-hit single drove in the winning run, during a four-run ninth inning, to key the Red Sox to a 5 to 2 victory over the Brewers. In the next game, Doyle and Lynn drove in two runs apiece and Wise allowed eight hits in his eighth consecutive win and 15th overall, leading the Red Sox to a 4 to 2 victory. Wise's 15th win put him one behind AL leaders Jim Palmer and Jim Kaat. Lynn led the American League in five offensive categories: batting avg (.337), doubles (31), RBIs (82), runs (71), slugging pct (.603) and total bases (220). In Oakland, the Athletics only had three hits, but they were enough. Two quick homers ended Reggie Cleveland's no-hit bid in the seventh inning. In under three minutes, Cleveland went from pitching a no-hitter to eventually losing 3 to 2. The next day, August 9th, the Sox knocked out A's starter, Sonny Siebert in less than three innings, as Doyle, Cooper and Fisk homered and paced an 11-hit Red Sox attack over the Athletics, 7 to 2. Bill Lee gave up five hits, in earning his 15th victory and had now won 11 of his last 13 games, and was 9-2 on the road. In the next game, Cooper and Rice hit two home runs, as the Sox beat the A's, 5 to 3. Tiant snapped a three-game losing streak to gain his 14th win. In the series finale, for seven innings, Vida Blue held the Sox in check, but then needed help from three relievers, following a long ball attack in the eight inning by Sox batters. The A's however held on to win and split the four game series with Boston, 4 to 3. Denny Doyle, who had been out with the flu, and Carl Yastrzemski, who hurt his shoulder, both came back into the Sox lineup and initiated two early rallies on August 12th, while Rick Wise kept up his remarkable pitching, winning his ninth straight and 16th game of the season with an 8 to 2 win over the Angels in Anaheim. The Sox lost 2 of 3 in Anaheim however and saw their AL East lead shrink to 5 1/2 games. Behind the pitching of Luis Tiant and the batting of Cecil Cooper, on August 15th, the Sox slipped by the White Sox, 3 to 2, in Chicago. Tiant threw a neat seven-hitter for his 15th victory and his 14th complete game. He allowed only three hits over the last six innings. Meanwhile, Cooper (.338 BA), who is 15-for-40, paced the offense, smashing out three hits, including a triple and his fifth homer of the year. The following game in Chicago, on August 16th, Rogelio Moret dazzled the White Sox with a two-hit shutout, 5 to 0, that saw only one Chicago baserunner reach second base, and that was on an error. Meanwhile, Fisk and Evans pounded Wilbur Wood easily. Fisk tripled in a run in the first inning, singled and just missed a homer. Evans, forced into action with his bad hip, because of Rice's injured arm, drilled his 10th homer in the sixth inning, for the Sox second run, and tripled in the ninth. Bernie Carbo remained sidelined with a sore shoulder. In the finale with the White Sox on August 17th, Denny Doyle's two-out single in the 11th inning off Rich Gossage and lifted the Red Sox to a 4 to 3 victory over the White Sox, giving them a split of the day's doubleheader. Rice was back in the lineup in the second game. Cooper and Fisk each had three hits and Dwight Evans had five hits and three RBIs in the two games.
Rico Petrocelli left the team and headed back to Boston, complaining of migraine headaches. He was out on the disabled list and replaced on the roster by Dick McAuliffe. On August 19th, Bill Lee hurled a four-hitter and Fred Lynn slammed a double and a two-run homer to lead the Red Sox in a 5 to 0 shutout of the Royals in Kansas City. On August 21st, Tony Conigliaro announced his retirement after playing for the PawSox and batting only .220. He accepted a job being a sports announcer for a Providence television station. Home at Fenway, Rogelio Moret's four-hitter, a solo homer by Evans and run-scoring single by Lynn, were enough to push the Red Sox past the White Sox, 2 to 1 on August 22nd. Fisk, was knocked out of the lineup once again, when he suffered a split knuckle on the ring finger of his right hand, the result of a foul tip, the next day, as the Red Sox lost to Chicago. After an hour and 46 minute rain delay, home runs by Yastrzemski and Rice backed the clutch pitching of Bill Lee, as the Red Sox slogged past the White Sox, 6 to 1 in the series finale on August 24th.
On August 26th, Luis Tiant Sr. threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Sox lost to the Angels. The senior Tiant was allowed to leave Cuba and come to the United Sates for four months and see his son pitch in the major leagues for the first time. The Sox split a series with the Angels at Fenway, because Moret (11-2) allowed eight hits and walked seven batters, but was able to post his 11th victory in 13 decisions, as the Sox whipped the Angels 6 to 2 on August 27th. Moret showed his inconsistency once again and yet again, won because of his ability to escape the jams he creates. Dwight Evans was 3-for-4 and his hit in 12 of his last 14 games at a .451 clip. On August 29th, the Sox glided to a 6 to 1 victory over the AL West leaders, the Oakland Athletics, behind Rick Wise's fastballs and the hitting of Cecil Cooper. Wise scattered eight hits and walked just one, and breezed to his 17th win. Cooper (.340 BA) homered, doubled twice and singled and might have hit for the cycle had he not tripped going over second base in the eighth inning. August ended with the Sox losing the next two games to the A's, cutting their lead in the AL East to six games.
September began with the Sox fumbling a game away to the Yankees. Dick Pole was activated however and pitched for the first time since being struck in the face by a line drive on June 30th. He pitched three shutout innings. On September 2nd, Reggie Cleveland stopped the Sox three-game skid. Carlton Fisk returned to the Sox lineup for the first time in 10 days and drove in three runs with a pair of base hits, leading the Sox to a 7 to 4 victory over the Yankees. In a showdown with the second place Orioles in Baltimore on September 3rd, Cecil Cooper blasted his 13th homer to start off the 10th inning, eventually winning the game for the Sox, 3 to 2. Rick Wise went all the way for the Sox, posting his 18th win (the most he has ever won in his major league career). It was his 11th win in his last 13 decisions. The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 3 to 1 the next day and took a commanding eight game lead in the AL East. Dick Pole combined with Drago to hurl a five-hitter. Pole was a late replacement for Tiant, who was experiencing muscle spasms in his back. He allowed just two hits in the first five innings. On September 6th, the Sox unloaded on the Milwaukee Brewers, 20 to 6. Petrocelli had his finest day in a long time. He knocked out four hits, including a three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning. Evans contributed five hits, including a two-run double in the eighth inning. Fisk slammed a three-run homer and Burleson blasted a two-run homer in a seven-run second inning.
Carlton Fisk's tie-breaking double in a two-run eighth inning and Jim Rice's two-run single in the ninth inning, gave the Sox a 6 to 3 win in the first game of a doubleheader with the Brewers on September 7th. George Scott's 3-run homer gave the Brewers a 7 to 3 victory in the second game. Cecil Cooper was hit on the side of his face in the fifth inning of the second game and carried off the field on a stretcher, before being taken to the hospital for x-rays which were negative. The Sox next went to Cleveland and lost two straight to the Indians. So after two must wins against Baltimore the Sox lost 4-of-6 in Milwaukee and Cleveland and saw their eight game lead shrink to five games. Back home, on September 10th, they split a doubleheader with the Tigers at Fenway, winning the first game 7 to 4 and losing the nitecap, 5 to 3. Lynn and Fisk collected three hits apiece in the opener and Petrocelli homered. In the second game Willie Horton hit a decisive two-run homer that was the difference. On the following day, September 11th, Luis Tiant threw hitless ball until two outs in the seventh inning and finished with a three-hit, 3 to 1 victory over the Tigers, striking out ten batters and walking just one. Sidelined with tendonitis and then back spasms, it was Loooie's first win since in almost a month and the first time he had pitched in ten days. He had hoped to make it thru just five or six innings. Against the Brewers on September 13th, Petrocelli and Griffin broke out of batting slumps in a three-run fourth inning and the Red Sox went on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6 to 3 for a doubleheader split. The Brewers won the first half of the twin bill by a 9 to 6 score with a six-run fourth inning, triggered by George Scott's 29th home run. Bob Montgomery had two hits in the second game, while Burton did a great job in relief of Cleveland, who went 7 1/3 innings to pick up his 12th victory. Fred Lynn had four hits, including a home run, good for two RBIs and scored twice on September 14th. He also saved a run to end the fourth inning, when he caught a fly ball and threw a man out at home, trying to score from third. But Yastrzemski provided the drama with a two-run tie-breaking single, in a three-run seventh inning, that allowed the Sox to beat the Brewers 8 to 6. Lynn had gone 13-for-21 (.619 BA) in his last six games, batting .346 over his last 62 games. The Red Sox held an 8-0 lead after two innings, then staggered home on September 15th. Evans drove in four runs with four hits, while Lynn and Rice each drove in their 100th runs of the season, leading the Red Sox over the Brewers, 9 to 7. In a must-win series for the Baltimore Orioles, Tiant outdueled Jim Palmer, blanking the O's, 2 to 0 on September 16th. Petrocelli and Fisk belted solo homers for the only runs the Sox needed. Luis' elderly parents were in the stands. By the ninth-inning, Fenway Park resounded with chants of Looo-ie, Looo-ie, Looo-ie as Tiant finished off the Orioles. The Red Sox held on thru two rain delays to beat the Tigers 7 to 5 in Detroit on September 19th. Rice and Fisk led the way with three hits each. Fisk, since returning to the Sox lineup has hit .328 with 50 RBIs in only 238 at bats. Lynn became the first American Leaguer to have scored 100 runs and knocked in 100 RBIs since Yaz did it in 1970.
But on September 21st the Sox suffered the loss of Jim Rice. He was hit by a pitch from Vern Ruhle in the second inning of the Sox 6-5 victory over the Tigers. He batted two more times before being taken to Ford Hospital for x-rays. They showed that he had a fractured fourth metacarpal bone and had his hand put in a cast. At the time Rice was batting .309 with 22 home runs and 102 RBIs. He had not made an error in left field and in any other season he would have been a lock for Rookie-of-the-Year. In 1975 however, Rice wasn't even the best rookie player on the Red Sox. Fred Lynn continued his assault on the record book on September 22nd. With his three hits against the Yankees and a sacrifice fly, he broke the American League rookie record with 46 doubles. He led the league with 102 runs and 104 RBIs. Luis Tiant posted his 18th win with a four-hitter and defeated the Cleveland Indians by a 4 to 0 score in the first game of a doubleheader on September 26th. Reggie Cleveland gave up five hits in a second 4 to 0 shutout of the Indians in the nitecap. The last two Sox pitchers to throw back-to-back shutouts at Fenway, were Bob Porterfield and Tom Brewer in 1956. Fisk had three hits, hit in his 15th straight game and was batting .400 since Sept 1st. On September 27th the race for the AL East championship ended, not with heroics, as the Indians beat the Sox 5 to 2, but with mathematics. The Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Orioles and the Sox backed into the title.
Meanwhile the Oakland Athletics won the American League West easily and faced the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series that started at Fenway on October 4th. In Game #1, the Red Sox rode the three-hit pitching of Luis Tiant to a 7 to 1 victory. Tiant baffled the A's hitters, while the Sox were sharp, ran the bases with success and got the clutch hits. The A's, on the other hand, played like a high school team, booting ground balls, making bad throws and misjudging fly balls. Their three errors in the first inning set a playoff record. An error by Sal Bando and another by Claudell Washington on the same play and one, a batter later, by secondbaseman Phil Garner, opened the gates for the Sox. Yaz turned back the clock in Game #2. He got the Sox going when he slugged a fast ball from Vida Blue into the left-centerfield screen in the fourth inning with Doyle aboard. In the third inning, Yaz made a brilliant throw to nail Bert Campaneris at third to kill a threat, and in the sixth, Yaz held Bando to a single after he drove the ball off the wall in left field. Fred Lynn outraced a Joe Rudi flyball to deep center in the the ninth inning. Reggie Cleveland started, but Moret and Drago finished off a 6 to 2 win. In Oakland, for Game #3, the Athletics sent Ken Holtzman back out to face the Red Sox on only two days rest. Yastrzemski knocked out two hits and had another brilliant play in the field. The Oakland defense let them down again as the Red Sox got two unearned runs which provided the difference. Wise and Drago combined to win 5 to 3, and send the Red Sox to the World Series. The Red Sox weren't given much of a chance to beat the National League champions, the Cincinnati "Big Red Machine". The Reds had won 108 games and their division with a 20 game lead, blowing out the Pirates in the National League Championship Series.
A light drizzle blanketed Boston on October 11th for Game #1. Tiant took the mound against Don Gullett and mesmerized the Reds batters early in the game, retiring the first 10 hitters, before Joe Morgan singled with one out in the fourth. Morgan had stolen 67 bases and added four more in the NLCS, and as Tiant threw over to hold Morgan on base, he was called for a balk. It took him 13 pitches, but he got Johnny Bench to pop out to Fisk and then struck out Tony Perez to close out the inning. Don Gullett matched Tiant pitch for pitch into the seventh inning. Looie led off in the bottom of the seventh and responded with a solid single to left. Dwight Evans tried to sacrifice him to second, but Gullett fielded the bunt and threw the ball into centerfield. Denny Doyle followed with a base hit to load the bases and Yaz drilled a single that scored Tiant, who missed home plate on his first pass and had to backtrack to tag it. The Red Sox went on to score six runs and rolled to a 6 to 0 shutout. It was the Luis Tiant show, winning his third game of the post-season, without allowing an earned run in 36 innings.
Darrell Johnson gambled in Game #2, turning to 17 game-winner Bill Lee, who had not started because of a strained elbow ligament, since August. On another drizzly afternoon at Fenway, Cecil Cooper led off with a double to left and moved to third on Denny Doyle's third base hit of the series. However, Yaz chopped a bouncer to the pitcher Jack Billingham, who forced Doyle at second, but Cooper broke for home and then changed his mind, getting caught in a rundown. In the meantime Yaz made it down the second base and scored the game's first run on a single by Fisk. The Red Sox led 2 to 1 in the seventh inning when play was stopped for a rain delay. When it restarted, Lee gave a leadoff double to Johnny Bench in the ninth. Drago came in and forced Tony Perez to ground out to Burleson. Bench moved to third and then George Foster flied out to Yaz. Dave Concepcion chopped a ball over Drago's head that allowed Bench to score the tying run. Concepcion then stole second and Ken Griffey followed with a double off the wall that gave the Reds a 3 to 2 lead. Rawley Eastwick closed the door with a perfect ninth-inning. The two clubs traveled to Cincinnati for Game #3. Rick Wise started for the Red Sox and nursed a 1 to 0 lead into the fourth inning, but then the "Big Red Machine" roared to life, smacking three home runs and putting five runs on the board. Then in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Carbo belted a home run to cut the score to 5 to 3. In the ninth-inning with one out and one man on, Evans belted a Rawley Eastwick fastball into the night for a two run blast that tied the game at five apiece. Jim Willoughby then held the Reds scoreless since entering the game the seventh inning, but in the bottom of the 10th, Cesar Geronimo singled and pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister attempted to sacrifice him to second. As he squared to bunt, Carlton Fisk got up to field the ball and made contact with Armbrister. Fisk's throw sailed out to centerfield and Geronimo made it over to third while Armbrister hustled around to second base. Darrell Johnson jumped out of the dugout to argue that Armbrister had interfered with Fisk being able to make the play, causing his throw to go wild. Umpire Larry Barnett, without the benefit of replay, had not seen it the same way. Rogelio Moret was summonsed from the bullpen and walked Pete Rose intentionally to load the bases and set up a doubleplay. After striking out Merv Rettenmund for the first out, the Red Sox outfield moved in as Joe Morgan came to the plate. Morgan lofted a fly ball to center, deep enough to score Geronimo and the Reds walked away with a 3 to 2 win. The Red Sox players were incensed over the call of Larry Barnett and made no bones about letting the media know about their discontent of his non-interference call.
The firestorm forced Luis Tiant to become the savior and stopper in Game #4. He delivered a virtuoso performance, throwing 163 pitches at every speed and from every angle. After giving up two first inning runs, he escaped disaster after disaster, leaving the Reds frustrated. He entered the ninth-inning nursing a 5 to 4 lead. Geronimo led off with a single and Armbrister sacrificed him over to third. Pete Rose walked and Griffey smoked the ball to centerfield toward Lynn. Lynn turned around and ran at full speed, before gracefully pulling down the drive with an over the shoulder catch. Joe Morgan finished off the game with a pop up and the series was once again tied. For four games Tony Perez did little more than watch and play first. He didn't get a hit in his first fourteen times at bat. The reigning RBI leader on the Reds came up big in Game #5, by crashing a pair of homers, good for four RBIs. His slugging powered the Reds to a 6 to 2 win over the Sox, drawing to within one victory of winning the World Series. Don Gullett was equally impressive, allowing just two hits through eight innings, and turning the ball over to Rawley Eastwick to squelch a ninth inning rally by the Sox.
The two clubs returned to Boston to find Game #6 getting postponed for three days because of the rain. But it gave Luis Tiant the rest he needed and Darrell Johnson decided to use him and save Bill Lee for a seventh game. The rain finally stopped and on October 21st, Red Sox fans settled in for one of the most exciting games ever seen. Carl Yastrzemski started things off by lining a single to right and was moved to second by Fisk's single to left. Fred Lynn then smashed a home run into the right-center field bleachers to give the Red Sox a 3 to 0 lead. Through the first four innings Tiant was at his gyrating best, but in the fifth he showed a crack in his armor. After a walk to Armbrister and a base hit by Pete Rose, Ken Griffey launched a line drive toward left centerfield. Fred Lynn turned and at full gallop ran and jumped for the ball as it bounded away, untouched off-the-wall for a two run triple. But Fenway turned as quiet as a church mouse because Lynn was on the ground. As Charlie Moss, the trainer, ran out to centerfield, Lynn first stirred and then was able to stand up and remained in the game. Joe Morgan popped up to Petrocelli, but Bench lined a single that scored Griffey with the tying run. Tiant had pitched 294 innings in the season and was noticeably tired in the seventh. He was all guts and guile, with the hopes and dreams of the Red Sox riding on his back. Griffey and Morgan led off the inning with base hits. Tiant got Bench on a line drive and Tony Perez on a fly ball to right. That brought up George Foster, who drove the ball to center, over Lynn's head and off-the-wall for a two run double. Concepcion grounded out to end the inning, but the Reds now led by two runs.
The Red Sox went down quietly in the seventh inning and Tiant went back to the mound in the eighth. Cesar Geronimo led off with a home run just inside the Pesky Pole, and that was it for Tiant, with all his magic and right arm gone. Rogelio Moret came in and retired the Reds in order. But little did the Red Sox fans know that this game would provide them with one of the greatest thrills in the history of the franchise. Lynn led off the eighth with a line drive through the box that bounced off Pedro Borbon's leg for a base hit. Petrocelli then worked a walk and out came Sparky Anderson to call on his ace, Rawley Eastwick. Eastwick struck out Evans and got Burleson on a line drive to Foster in left. Carbo now came out to pinch-hit for Moret and Eastwick's first pitch fooled him so badly, that he swung defensively like a little leaguer. But the next swing was beautiful and the implausible hero sent a line drive into the centerfield bleachers that brought the Fenway fans back to life. The game was tied at 6 to 6 and as Cooper struck out to win the inning it didn't deter the pure joy that permeated the ballpark. The game moved into the 11th inning and with a man on, Joe Morgan hit what looked to be a possible series winning home run to right. But Dwight Evans ran back and back to the short fence and gauged the distance perfectly making a half leap while sticking out his glove and catching the ball at the fence. He then whirled and threw instinctively back toward the infield where Yaz quickly grabbed it and relayed it to Burleson, covering first, for an improbable inning ending double play.
As the Red Sox came to bat in the 12th of the early morning, it began to appear is if the game would never end. The Red Sox had not been able to touch Reds pitcher Pat Darcy. But then Carlton Fisk stepped up to the plate. He took ball one, stepped out of the batters box and adjusted his stance and bat. Darcy wound up and released his second pitch. Fisk swung and with the NBC camera inside the left field scoreboard fixed on Fisk, one of the most famous images in baseball history was caught. Fisk looked up and watched the ball with everyone else, straining, waving the ball fair, and hoping and praying it would do just that. Then as he jumped and danced and jumped and danced and clapped his hands, the ball ricocheted off the left-field foul pole for a home run. At 12:34 AM the game was over. The World Series was tied at three games apiece. Game #7 began with the promise of finally winning a World Series, but it ended as it always seem to be, with just and other line score in the futility of the Red Sox. Bolstered by the flawless pitching of Bill Lee, the Red Sox took a three run lead into the sixth inning. But then Pete Rose singled and Joe Morgan flied to Evans in shallow right-field. Johnny Bench bounced a ground ball to Burleson, who flipped over to Doyle and as Rose hustled toward him, Doyle threw the ball into the Red Sox dugout. Tony Perez came to the plate with first base open and instead of walking him, Lee lobbed him a parabolic Eephus pitch, that Perez hammered over the left-field wall and into the darkness, putting the Reds within one run. In the seventh inning, Lee walked Ken Griffey and left the game with a broken blister on his pitching hand. Moret came in and surrendered a game-tying hit to Rose. Next was Willoughby who pitched out of the inning and pitched scoreless ball into the eighth inning of the tie game.
In the bottom of the eighth inning Evans walked and Burleson failed in a bunt that ended up in a doubleplay. Pinch hitting for Willoughby came Cooper, who struck out. In the ninth-inning, Darrell Johnson brought in Jim Burton, a rookie pitcher who was now carrying the burden of Red Sox history on his shoulders. He walked Griffey to start the inning. Geronimo sacrificed Griffey to second and Dan Driessen grounded out, moving Griffey over to third. Up came Joe Morgan and with two outs and one ball and strikes on him, Morgan took a slider out to right-field for a clean base hit that scored Griffey, giving the Reds a 4 to 3 lead. The circumstances now boiled down to left-hander, Will McEnaney needing to get three outs. The first batter was a right-hander in Beniquez, who smashed a line drive right at Griffey in right field. Bob Montgomery, another right-hand batter, hit his first pitch to Concepcion at short. That left the Sox' fate in the hands of Yaz., who had smashed out nine hits and was a bona fide hero in Boston. He had done it all for the Sox. Who better? With a 2-1 count, Yaz ripped into one, but just got under it. Geronimo camped under it for what seemed forever and the most dramatic World Series ever played, belonged to the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox had run out of miracles and Impossible Dreams. In a little under 28 hours the Red Sox fans had lived through a lifetime of baseball. After a season full of pleasant surprises and exciting games, the Sox came up short, something that Red Sox fans in Boston had become used to over the years.
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| 11/07/1974 |
Juan Marichal, Bob Veale and Deron Johnson are released |
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| 11/08/1974 |
Dick McAuliffe and John Kennedy retire |
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| 11/13/1974 |
Johnny Pesky replaces Eddie Popowski as the
first base coach and |
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| 11/16/1974 |
Tony Conigliaro and the Red Sox agree to let him try to comeback as a designated hitter |
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| 11/20/1974 |
Channel 38 offers Ken Harrelson a chance at the job as analyst for Red Sox broadcasts |
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| 12/03/1974 |
Tommy Harper is traded to the Angels for Bob Heise |
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| 12/04/1974 |
Dick McAuliffe is named as the manager of the Bristol Red Sox |
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| 12/10/1974 | Dick Stockton and Ken Harrelson are named as the Red Sox television broadcast team on Channel 38 | ||
| 12/12/1974 | Buddy LeRoux retires from being the Red Sox trainer to take directors job at New England Rehab Center | ||
| 12/14/1974 | John Kennedy is named as the manager of the Winston-Salem Red Sox farm team | ||
| 12/20/1974 | The Red Sox executives travel to meet with Catfish Hunter in North Carolina | ||
| 01/16/1975 | Charlie Moss is named as the new Red Sox trainer | ||
| 01/22/1975 | Carl Yastrzemski signs his 1975 Red Sox contract for $165,000 | ||
| 01/24/1975 |
Rick Burleson receives the Sox Rookie-of-the-Year Award and
Carl Yastrzemski wins team MVP at the Boston Baseball Writer's Dinner |
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| 01/30/1975 | Luis Tiant, Carlton Fisk, Dick Drago, Danny Cater and Fred Lynn sign their 1975 contracts | ||
| 02/12/1975 | Bill Lee, Rick Wise, Jim Rice, Tim Blackwell and Cecil Cooper sign their 1975 contracts |
| SPRING TRAINING DIARY | ||||||
| 02/18/1975 |
Reggie Cleveland, Rick Wise, Doug Griffin, Dwight Evans, Rico
Petrocelli, Rick Miller, Carlton Fisk, Danny Cater, Tim Blackwell, Bill Lee, Steve Dillard and Ernie Whitt report to Winter Haven |
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| 02/19/1975 | Bill Lee pitches to Tony Conigliaro at spring training workout | |||||
| 02/22/1975 | Bernie Carbo loses his salary arbitration ... Pitchers and catchers report to Winter Haven | |||||
| 02/23/1975 | Carlton Fisk works out and says his knee feels fine | |||||
| 02/26/1975 |
Tony Conigliaro blasted several home runs against coach Stan
Williams Rogelio Moret arrives in camp and signs his 1975 contract |
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| 02/28/1975 | Rick Burleson signs his 1975 contract | |||||
| 03/04/1975 | Mario Guerrero signs his 1975 contract ... Cecil Cooper has a lung infextion | |||||
| 03/06/1975 | The Don Zimmers beat the Johnny Peskys, 2-0 in an intra-squad game | |||||
| 03/07/1975 | Detroit Tigers | W | 8-4 | Fred Lynn has three hits | ||
| 03/08/1975 | Chicago White Sox | W | 12-7 | Rico Petrocelli homers | ||
| 03/09/1975 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 8-0 | Fred Lynn homers | ||
| 03/10/1975 | Houston Astros "A" | L | 7-3 | Kim Andrews gets two hits | ||
| Houston Astros "B" | L | 5-4 | Rick Miller gets two hits | |||
| 03/11/1975 | Montreal Expos | L | 7-3 | Expos steal on Fisk easily | ||
| 03/12/1975 | Detroit Tigers | L | 6-2 | Rick Wise has strong outing | ||
| 03/13/1975 |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
W | 9-2 | Reggie Cleveland looks sharp | ||
| 03/14/1975 | Chunichi Dragons | W | 6-3 | Yaz has three hits | ||
| 03/15/1975 | Cincinnati Reds | L | 5-2 | Dwight Evans has two hits | ||
| 03/16/1975 | at Minnesota Twins "A" | L | 5-1 | Tiant pitches five strong inngs | ||
| Detroit Tigers "B" | W | 12-5 | Burleson has a 3-run homer | |||
| 03/17/1975 | at Houston Astros | W | 4-2 | Reggie Cleveland pitches well | ||
| 03/18/1975 | at New York Mets | L | 5-4 | Tony C has three hits | ||
| 03/19/1975 | at Philadelphia Phillies | L | 5-4 | Rick Miller goes 3-for-4 | ||
| 03/20/1975 | at Detroit Tigers "A" | L | 5-3 | Luis Tiant gives up five runs | ||
| at Houston Astros "B" | W | 5-0 | Monty & Burleson get two hits | |||
| 03/21/1975 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L | 3-0 | |||
| 03/22/1975 | Minnesota Twins | W | 3-2 | Cleveland has 6 shutout inngs | ||
| 03/23/1975 | at Cincinnati Reds | L | 7-3 | Deron Johnson homers | ||
| 03/24/1975 | Los Angeles Dodgers | L | 13-12 | Fred Lynn homers and singles | ||
| 03/25/1975 | at Kansas City Royals | L | 5-4 | Steve Dillard impresses | ||
| 03/26/1975 | Detroit Tigers | W | 3-2 | Rick Wise looks strong | ||
| 03/27/1975 | Chicago White Sox | W | 6-1 | Burton & Aase are cut | ||
| 03/28/1975 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 10-6 | Juan Beniquez gets five hits | ||
| W | 9-5 | Monty homers in the 10th | ||||
| 03/29/1975 | Mario Guerrero is waived and Danny Cater is traded to the Cardinals | |||||
| 03/30/1975 | at Los Angeles Dodgers | L | 7-2 | Tony C goes 1-for4 | ||
| 03/31/1975 | St. Louis Cardinals | L | 6-3 | Monty doubles | ||
| 04/01/1975 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 9-0 | Bill Lee pitches 5 strong inngs | ||
| 04/02/1975 | Steve Dillard, Mark Bomback and Steve Barr are optioned to Pawtucket | |||||
| 04/03/1975 | at Minnesota Twins | L | 2-1 | Tony C hits two doubles | ||
| 04/04/1975 | at Cincinnati Reds | L | 1-0 | Diego Segui has great outing | ||
| 04/05/1975 | Montreal Expos | L | 6-2 | Rogelio Moret pitches well | ||
| Deron Johnson is traded to the White Sox for Craig Skok | ||||||
| 04/06/1975 | The Red Sox break camp, Tony Conigliaro makes the team | |||||
| GAME LOG | ||||||||||
| DATE | RECORD | PLACE | GB/GF | OPPONENT | SCORE | PITCHER | W/L | |||
| 04/08/1975 | 1-0 | 1st | - | Milwaukee Brewers | W | 5-2 | Luis Tiant | 1-0 | ||
| 04/09/1975 | 1-1 | 2nd | -1/2 | Milwaukee Brewers | L | 7-4 | Bill Lee | 0-1 | ||
| 04/10/1975 | 1-1 | 3rd | -1/2 | |||||||
| 04/11/1975 | 2-1 | 1st | - | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 6-5 | Diego Segui | 1-0 | ||
| 04/12/1975 | 3-1 | 1st | - | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 3-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 1-0 | ||
| 04/13/1975 | 3-2 | 1st | - | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 11-3 | Luis Tiant | 1-1 | ||
| 04/14/1975 | 3-2 | 1st | - | |||||||
| 04/15/1975 | 4-2 | 1st | - | at New York Yankees | W | 5-3 | Bill Lee | 1-1 | ||
| 04/16/1975 | 5-2 | 1st | +1 | at New York Yankees | W | 4-2 | Rick Wise | 1-0 | ||
| 04/17/1975 | 5-2 | 1st | +1 | |||||||
| 04/18/1975 | 5-3 | 1st | - | Baltimore Orioles | L | 9-7 | Reggie Cleveland | 1-1 | ||
| 04/19/1975 | 5-3 | 2nd | -1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | pp | |||||
| 04/20/1975 | 6-3 | 1st | +1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 10-2 | Luis Tiant | 2-1 | ||
| 04/21/1975 | 6-4 | 1st | - | New York Yankees | L | 12-1 | Bill Lee | 1-2 | ||
| 04/22/1975 | 6-5 | 1st | - | New York Yankees | L | 5-0 | Rick Wise | 1-1 | ||
| 04/23/1975 | 7-5 | 1st | - | New York Yankees | W | 11-7 | Rogelio Moret | 1-0 | ||
| 04/24/1975 | 7-5 | 1st | - | |||||||
| 04/25/1975 | 7-6 | 2nd | -1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 1-0 | Luis Tiant | 2-2 | ||
| 04/26/1975 | 7-7 | 3rd | -1 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 3-2 | Bill Lee | 1-3 | ||
| 04/27/1975 | 7-8 | 4th | -2 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 5-4 | Rick Wise | 1-2 | ||
| 04/28/1975 | 7-8 | 5th | -2 1/2 | |||||||
| 04/29/1975 | 7-8 | 3rd | -3 | |||||||
| 04/30/1975 | 7-9 | 5th | -3 | Cleveland Indians | L | 8-1 | Luis Tiant | 2-3 | ||
| 05/01/1975 | 8-9 | 4th | -2 | Cleveland Indians | W | 7-6 | Bill Lee | 2-3 | ||
| 05/02/1975 | 8-9 | 4th | -2 | Detroit Tigers | pp | |||||
| 05/03/1975 | 9-9 | 3rd | -2 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 12-2 | Rick Wise | 2-2 | ||
| 05/04/1975 | 9-9 | 4th | -3 | Detroit Tigers | pp | |||||
| 05/05/1975 | 10-9 | 3rd | -2 1/2 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 7-5 | Luis Tiant | 3-3 | ||
| 05/06/1975 | 11-9 | 3rd | -1 1/2 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 4-1 | Bill Lee | 3-3 | ||
| 05/07/1975 | 12-9 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 4-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 2-1 | ||
| 05/08/1975 | 12-9 | 2nd | -1 | |||||||
| 05/09/1975 | 13-9 | 2nd | -1 | at California Angels | W | 4-1 | Rick Wise | 3-2 | ||
| 05/10/1975 | 13-10 | 2nd | -2 | at California Angels | L | 2-0 | Luis Tiant | 3-4 | ||
| 05/11/1975 | 14-10 | 2nd | -1 | at California Angels | W | 5-2 | Bill Lee | 4-3 | ||
| 05/12/1975 | 14-11 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | at Oakland Athletics | L | 5-3 | Diego Segui | 1-1 | ||
| 05/13/1975 | 14-12 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | at Oakland Athletics | L | 9-5 | Rick Wise | 3-3 | ||
| 05/14/1975 | 14-12 | 2nd | -2 | |||||||
| 05/15/1975 | 14-13 | 2nd | -3 | Kansas City Royals | L | 3-0 | Luis Tiant | 3-5 | ||
| 05/16/1975 | 14-14 | 2nd | -4 | Kansas City Royals | L | 5-2 | Bill Lee | 4-4 | ||
| 05/17/1975 | 14-15 | 2nd | -4 | Kansas City Royals | L | 5-3 | Reggie Cleveland | 2-2 | ||
| 05/18/1975 | 15-15 | 2nd | -3 | Kansas City Royals | W | 4-2 | Rick Wise | 4-3 | ||
| 05/19/1975 | 16-15 | 2nd | -2 1/2 | Oakland Athletics | W | 10-5 | Luis Tiant | 4-5 | ||
| 05/20/1975 | 17-15 | 2nd | -2 1/2 | Oakland Athletics | W | 7-0 | Bill Lee | 5-4 | ||
| 05/21/1975 | 18-15 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | Oakland Athletics | W | 7-3 | Reggie Cleveland | 3-2 | ||
| 05/22/1975 | 18-16 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | California Angels | L | 6-3 | Rick Wise | 4-4 | ||
| 05/23/1975 | 19-16 | 2nd | -1/2 | California Angels | W | 6-1 | Luis Tiant | 5-5 | ||
| 05/24/1975 | 20-16 | 1st | +1/2 | California Angels | W | 6-0 | Bill Lee | 6-4 | ||
| 05/25/1975 | 20-17 | 1st | +1/2 | California Angels | L | 6-1 | Reggie Cleveland | 3-3 | ||
| 05/26/1975 | 21-17 | 1st | +1 1/2 | at Texas Rangers | W | 7-5 | Rick Wise | 5-4 | ||
| 05/27/1975 | 21-17 | 1st | +1 | at Texas Rangers | pp | |||||
| 05/28/1975 | 22-17 | 1st | +2 | at Texas Rangers | W | 4-1 | Bill Lee | 7-4 | ||
| 05/29/1975 | 22-17 | 1st | +2 | |||||||
| 05/30/1975 | 22-18 | 1st | +1 1/2 | at Minnesota Twins | L | 4-3 | Diego Segui | 1-2 | ||
| 05/31/1975 | 23-18 | 1st | +2 1/2 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 12-8 | Rogelio Moret | 2-0 | ||
| 06/01/1975 | 24-18 | 1st | +4 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 11-9 | Luis Tiant | 6-5 | ||
| 06/02/1975 | 24-19 | 1st | +3 | Chicago White Sox | L | 9-2 | Bill Lee | 7-5 | ||
| 06/03/1975 | 25-19 | 1st | +3 | Chicago White Sox | W | 4-0 | Dick Pole | 1-0 | ||
| 06/04/1975 | 26-19 | 1st | +3 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | W | 7-6 | Rogelio Moret | 3-0 | ||
| 06/05/1975 | 26-19 | 1st | +3 | at Pawtucket Red Sox | W | 10-1 | ||||
| 06/06/1975 | 27-19 | 1st | +3 | Minnesota Twins | W | 13-10 | Luis Tiant | 7-5 | ||
| 06/07/1975 | 28-19 | 1st | +3 | Minnesota Twins | W | 3-1 | Bill Lee | 8-5 | ||
| 06/08/1975 | 28-20 | 1st | +2 | Minnesota Twins | L | 7-5 | Dick Pole | 1-1 | ||
| 06/09/1975 | 28-21 | 1st | +2 | Texas Rangers | L | 12-4 | Rick Wise | 5-5 | ||
| 06/10/1975 | 28-22 | 1st | +1 | Texas Rangers | L | 8-3 | Luis Tiant | 7-6 | ||
| 06/11/1975 | 29-22 | 1st | +1 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 9-7 | Rogelio Moret | 4-0 | ||
| 06/12/1975 | 29-23 | 1st | +1/2 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 9-2 | Jim Burton | 0-1 | ||
| 06/13/1975 | 30-23 | 1st | +1/2 | at Kansas City Royals | W | 10-4 | Rick Wise | 6-5 | ||
| 30-24 | 1st | - | L | 6-5 | Dick Pole | 1-2 | ||||
| 06/14/1975 | 31-24 | 1st | +1 | at Kansas City Royals | W | 4-3 | Luis Tiant | 8-6 | ||
| 06/15/1975 | 32-24 | 1st | +1 | at Kansas City Royals | W | 8-7 | Bill Lee | 9-5 | ||
| 06/16/1975 | 33-24 | 1st | +1 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 6-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 4-3 | ||
| 06/17/1975 | 34-24 | 1st | +1 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 7-6 | Rick Wise | 7-5 | ||
| 06/18/1975 | 35-24 | 1st | +2 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 15-1 | Luis Tiant | 9-6 | ||
| 06/19/1975 | 35-24 | 1st | +2 | |||||||
| 06/20/1975 | 36-24 | 1st | +3 | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 4-3 | Dick Drago | 1-0 | ||
| 06/21/1975 | 36-25 | 1st | +2 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 3-0 | Dick Pole | 1-3 | ||
| 06/22/1975 | 36-26 | 1st | +1 | at Baltimore Orioles | L | 3-0 | Rick Wise | 7-6 | ||
| 37-26 | 1st | +1 1/2 | W | 5-1 | Luis Tiant | 10-6 | ||||
| 06/23/1975 | 37-27 | 1st | +1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 11-3 | Jim Burton | 0-2 | ||
| 06/24/1975 | 37-28 | 2nd | -1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 8-6 | Dick Drago | 4-3 | ||
| 06/25/1975 | 37-29 | 2nd | -1 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 8-5 | Dick Pole | 1-4 | ||
| 06/26/1975 | 38-29 | 2nd | -1/2 | New York Yankees | W | 6-1 | Luis Tiant | 11-6 | ||
| 06/27/1975 | 39-29 | 1st | +1/2 | New York Yankees | W | 9-1 | Rick Wise | 8-6 | ||
| 06/28/1975 | 39-30 | 2nd | -1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 8-6 | Reggie Cleveland | 4-4 | ||
| 06/29/1975 | 40-30 | 1st | +1/2 | New York Yankees | W | 3-2 | Rogelio Moret | 5-0 | ||
| 06/30/1975 | 41-30 | 1st | +1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 5-2 | Dick Pole | 2-4 | ||
| 41-31 | 1st | +1 | L | 8-2 | Luis Tiant | 11-7 | ||||
| 07/01/1975 | 41-32 | 1st | +1 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 10-6 | Reggie Cleveland | 4-5 | ||
| 07/02/1975 | 42-32 | 1st | +1 | at Milwaukee Brewers | W | 6-3 | Rick Wise | 9-6 | ||
| 42-33 | 1st | +1 | L | 4-3 | Bill Lee | 9-6 | ||||
| 07/03/1975 | 42-34 | 1st | - | at Milwaukee Brewers | L | 3-2 | Diego Segui | 1-3 | ||
| 07/04/1975 | 42-35 | 1st | - | at Cleveland Indians | L | 3-2 | Luis Tiant | 11-8 | ||
| 07/05/1975 | 42-36 | 1st | - | at Cleveland Indians | L | 12-2 | Steve Barr | 0-1 | ||
| 07/06/1975 | 43-36 | 1st | +1 | at Cleveland Indians | W | 5-3 | Bill Lee | 10-6 | ||
| 43-37 | 1st | +1 | L | 11-10 | Reggie Cleveland | 4-6 | ||||
| 07/07/1975 | 44-37 | 1st | +1 | Minnesota Twins | W | 6-3 | Rick Wise | 10-6 | ||
| 07/08/1975 | 45-37 | 1st | +1 | Minnesota Twins | W | 6-5 | Reggie Cleveland | 5-6 | ||
| 07/09/1975 | 46-37 | 1st | +2 | Minnesota Twins | W | 9-8 | Diego Segui | 2-3 | ||
| 07/10/1975 | 47-37 | 1st | +2 1/2 | Texas Rangers | W | 8-7 | Reggie Cleveland | 6-6 | ||
| 07/11/1975 | 48-37 | 1st | +3 1/2 | Texas Rangers | W | 11-8 | Jim Burton | 1-2 | ||
| 07/12/1975 | 49-37 | 1st | +3 1/2 | Texas Rangers | W | 10-4 | Luis Tiant | 12-8 | ||
| 07/13/1975 | 50-37 | 1st | +4 | Texas Rangers | W | 7-5 | Rick Wise | 11-6 | ||
| 07/14/1975 | All Star Game Break | |||||||||
| 07/15/1975 | ||||||||||
| 07/16/1975 | ||||||||||
| 07/17/1975 | 51-37 | 1st | +5 | Kansas City Royals | W | 8-3 | Luis Tiant | 13-8 | ||
| 07/18/1975 | 52-37 | 1st | +5 1/2 | Kansas City Royals | W | 9-3 | Bill Lee | 11-6 | ||
| 07/19/1975 | 53-37 | 1st | +6 1/2 | at Texas Rangers | W | 8-0 | Rick Wise | 12-6 | ||
| 07/20/1975 | 53-38 | 1st | +5 1/2 | at Texas Rangers | L | 10-5 | Rogelio Moret | 5-1 | ||
| 54-38 | 1st | +6 | W | 3-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 7-6 | ||||
| 07/21/1975 | 54-39 | 1st | +6 | at Texas Rangers | L | 6-0 | Luis Tiant | 13-9 | ||
| 07/22/1975 | 55-39 | 1st | +6 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 5-4 | Bill Lee | 12-6 | ||
| 07/23/1975 | 56-39 | 1st | +6 1/2 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 4-2 | Rogelio Moret | 6-1 | ||
| 07/24/1975 | 57-39 | 1st | +8 | at Minnesota Twins | W | 6-2 | Rick Wise | 13-6 | ||
| 07/25/1975 | 57-40 | 1st | +7 | at New York Yankees | L | 8-6 | Luis Tiant | 13-10 | ||
| 07/26/1975 | 58-40 | 1st | +8 | at New York Yankees | W | 4-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 8-6 | ||
| 07/27/1975 | 59-40 | 1st | +8 | at New York Yankees | W | 1-0 | Bill Lee | 13-6 | ||
| 60-40 | 1st | +8 | W | 6-0 | Rogelio Moret | 7-1 | ||||
| 07/28/1975 | 61-40 | 1st | +9 | Milwaukee Brewers | W | 7-6 | Jim Willoughby | 1-0 | ||
| 07/29/1975 | 61-41 | 1st | +8 | Milwaukee Brewers | L | 4-0 | Diego Segui | 2-4 | ||
| 07/30/1975 | 61-42 | 1st | +8 | Milwaukee Brewers | L | 6-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 8-7 | ||
| 07/31/1975 | 62-42 | 1st | +9 | Detroit Tigers | W | 3-2 | Bill Lee | 14-6 | ||
| 63-42 | 1st | +9 | W | 6-1 | Rogelio Moret | 8-1 | ||||
| 08/01/1975 | 64-42 | 1st | +8 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 8-7 | Jim Willoughby | 2-0 | ||
| 08/02/1975 | 65-42 | 1st | +8 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 7-2 | Rick Wise | 14-6 | ||
| 08/03/1975 | 66-42 | 1st | +9 1/2 | Detroit Tigers | W | 6-4 | Reggie Cleveland | 9-7 | ||
| 08/04/1975 | 66-43 | 1st | +8 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 12-8 | Jim Willoughby | 2-1 | ||
| 08/05/1975 | 66-44 | 1st | +7 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 3-0 | Luis Tiant | 13-11 | ||
| 08/06/1975 | 67-44 | 1st | +7 | at Milwaukee Brewers | W | 5-2 | Jim Willoughby | 3-1 | ||
| 08/07/1975 | 68-44 | 1st | +7 | at Milwaukee Brewers | W | 4-2 | Rick Wise | 15-6 | ||
| 08/08/1975 | 68-45 | 1st | +6 | at Oakland Athletics | L | 3-2 | Reggie Cleveland | 9-8 | ||
| 08/09/1975 | 69-45 | 1st | +6 | at Oakland Athletics | W | 7-2 | Bill Lee | 15-6 | ||
| 08/10/1975 | 70-45 | 1st | +7 | at Oakland Athletics | W | 5-3 | Luis Tiant | 14-11 | ||
| 08/11/1975 | 70-46 | 1st | +6 | at Oakland Athletics | L | 4-3 | Rogelio Moret | 8-2 | ||
| 08/12/1975 | 71-46 | 1st | +7 | at California Angels | W | 8-2 | Rick Wise | 16-6 | ||
| 08/13/1975 | 71-47 | 1st | +6 | at California Angels | L | 8-3 | Reggie Cleveland | 9-9 | ||
| 08/14/1975 | 71-48 | 1st | +5 1/2 | at California Angels | L | 5-3 | Bill Lee | 15-7 | ||
| 08/15/1975 | 72-48 | 1st | +6 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 3-2 | Luis Tiant | 15-11 | ||
| 08/16/1975 | 73-48 | 1st | +7 | at Chicago White Sox | W | 5-0 | Rogelio Moret | 9-2 | ||
| 08/17/1975 | 73-49 | 1st | +6 | at Chicago White Sox | L | 6-2 | Rick Wise | 16-7 | ||
| 74-49 | 1st | +6 1/2 | W | 4-3 | Jim Willoughby | 4-1 | ||||
| 08/18/1975 | 74-49 | 1st | +6 1/2 | S. F. Giants (Cooperstown) |
W |
11-5 |
||||
| 08/19/1975 | 75-49 | 1st | +8 | at Kansas City Royals | W | 5-0 | Bill Lee | 16-7 | ||
| 08/20/1975 | 75-50 | 1st | +7 | at Kansas City Royals | L | 3-1 | Luis Tiant | 15-12 | ||
| 08/21/1975 | 75-50 | 1st | +6 1/2 | |||||||
| 08/22/1975 | 76-50 | 1st | +6 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | W | 2-1 | Rogelio Moret | 10-2 | ||
| 08/23/1975 | 76-51 | 1st | +6 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | L | 6-4 | Rick Wise | 16-8 | ||
| 08/24/1975 | 77-51 | 1st | +7 1/2 | Chicago White Sox | W | 6-1 | Bill Lee | 17-7 | ||
| 08/25/1975 | 77-51 | 1st | +7 1/2 | |||||||
| 08/26/1975 | 77-52 | 1st | +7 | California Angels | L | 8-2 | Luis Tiant | 15-13 | ||
| 08/27/1975 | 78-52 | 1st | +7 | California Angels | W | 6-2 | Rogelio Moret | 11-2 | ||
| 08/28/1975 | 78-52 | 1st | +6 1/2 | |||||||
| 08/29/1975 | 79-52 | 1st | +7 1/2 | Oakland Athletics | W | 6-1 | Rick Wise | 17-8 | ||
| 08/30/1975 | 79-53 | 1st | +6 1/2 | Oakland Athletics | L | 7-6 | Dick Drago | 1-2 | ||
| 08/31/1975 | 79-54 | 1st | +6 | Oakland Athletics | L | 8-6 | Diego Segui | 2-5 | ||
| 09/01/1975 | 79-55 | 1st | +5 1/2 | New York Yankees | L | 4-2 | Rogelio Moret | 11-3 | ||
| 09/02/1975 | 80-55 | 1st | +6 | New York Yankees | W | 7-4 | Reggie Cleveland | 10-9 | ||
| 09/03/1975 | 81-55 | 1st | +7 | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 3-2 | Rick Wise | 18-8 | ||
| 09/04/1975 | 82-55 | 1st | +8 | at Baltimore Orioles | W | 3-1 | Dick Pole | 3-4 | ||
| 09/05/1975 | 82-56 | 1st | +6 1/2 | at Milwaukee Brewers | L | 4-2 | Bill Lee | 17-8 | ||
| 09/06/1975 | 83-56 | 1st | +6 1/2 | at Milwaukee Brewers | W | 20-6 | Rogelio Moret | 12-3 | ||
| 09/07/1975 | 84-56 | 1st | +7 1/2 | at Milwaukee Brewers | W | 6-3 | Reggie Cleveland | 11-9 | ||
| 84-57 | 1st | +7 | L | 7-3 | Dick Pole | 3-5 | ||||
| 09/08/1975 | 84-58 | 1st | +6 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 4-1 | Rick Wise | 18-9 | ||
| 09/09/1975 | 84-59 | 1st | +5 | at Cleveland Indians | L | 3-2 | Bill Lee | 17-9 | ||
| 09/10/1975 | 85-59 | 1st | +5 | Detroit Tigers | W | 7-4 | Rogelio Moret | 13-3 | ||
| 85-60 | 1st | +5 | L | 5-3 | Jim Willoughby | 4-2 | ||||
| 09/11/1975 | 86-60 | 1st | +5 | Detroit Tigers | W | 3-1 | Luis Tiant | 16-13 | ||
| 09/12/1975 | 86-60 | 1st | +4 1/2 | Milwaukee Brewers | pp | |||||
| 09/13/1975 | 86-61 | 1st | +3 1/2 | Milwaukee Brewers | L | 9-6 | Rick Wise | 18-10 | ||
| 87-61 | 1st | +4 | W | 6-3 | Reggie Cleveland | 12-9 | ||||
| 09/14/1975 | 88-61 | 1st | +4 | Milwaukee Brewers | W | 8-6 | Jim Willoughby | 5-2 | ||
| 09/15/1975 | 89-61 | 1st | +4 1/2 | Milwaukee Brewers | W | 9-7 | Rogelio Moret | 14-3 | ||
| 09/16/1975 | 90-61 | 1st | +5 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | W | 2-0 | Luis Tiant | 17-13 | ||
| 09/17/1975 | 90-62 | 1st | +4 1/2 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 5-2 | Rick Wise | 18-11 | ||
| 09/18/1975 | 90-62 | 1st | +4 1/2 | |||||||
| 09/19/1975 | 91-62 | 1st | +4 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 7-5 | Dick Pole | 4-5 | ||
| 09/20/1975 | 91-63 | 1st | +3 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | L | 5-1 | Luis Tiant | 17-14 | ||
| 09/21/1975 | 92-63 | 1st | +3 1/2 | at Detroit Tigers | W | 6-5 | Dick Drago | 2-2 | ||
| 09/22/1975 | 93-63 | 1st | +4 | at New York Yankees | W | 6-4 | Rick Wise | 19-11 | ||
| 09/23/1975 | 93-63 | 1st | +4 | at New York Yankees | pp | |||||
| 09/24/1975 | 93-63 | 1st | +3 1/2 | at New York Yankees | pp | |||||
| 09/25/1975 | 93-63 | 1st | +3 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | pp | |||||
| 09/26/1975 | 94-63 | 1st | +4 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | W | 4-0 | Luis Tiant | 18-14 | ||
| 95-63 | 1st | +4 1/2 | W | 4-0 | Reggie Cleveland | 13-9 | ||||
| 09/27/1975 | 95-64 | 1st | +5 | Cleveland Indians | L | 5-2 | Rick Wise | 19-12 | ||
| 09/28/1975 | 95-65 | 1st | +4 1/2 | Cleveland Indians | L | 11-4 | Dick Pole | 4-6 | ||
| THE A.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES | ||||||||
| RECORD | OPPONENT | SCORE | PITCHER | |||||
| 10/04/1975 | 1-0 | Game #1 | Oakland Athletics | W | 7-1 | Luis Tiant | ||
| 10/05/1975 | 2-0 | Game #2 | Oakland Athletics | W | 6-3 | Rogelio Moret | ||
| 10/06/1975 |
|
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| 10/07/1975 | 3-0 | Game #3 | at Oakland Athletics | W | 5-3 | Rick Wise | ||
| 10/08/1975 |
Fred Lynn named Rookie of the Year and A.L. Player of the Year by the Sporting News |
|||||||
| THE WORLD SERIES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RECORD | OPPONENT | SCORE | PITCHER | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/11/1975 | 1-0 | Game #1 | Cincinnati Reds | W | 6-0 | Luis Tiant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/12/1975 | 1-1 | Game #2 | Cincinnati Reds | L | 3-2 | Dick Drago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/13/1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/14/1975 | 2-1 | Game #3 | at Cincinnati Reds | L | 6-5 | Jim Willoughby | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/15/1975 | 2-2 | Game #4 | at Cincinnati Reds | W | 5-4 | Luis Tiant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/16/1975 | 2-3 | Game #5 | at Cincinnati Reds | L | 6-2 | Reggie Cleveland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/17/1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/18/1975 | 2-3 | Game #6 | Cincinnati Reds | pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/19/1975 | 2-3 | Game #6 | Cincinnati Reds | pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/20/1975 | 2-3 | Game #6 | Cincinnati Reds | pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/21/1975 | 3-3 | Game #6 | Cincinnati Reds | W | 7-6 | Rick Wise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10/22/1975 | 3-4 | Game #7 | Cincinnati Reds | L | 4-3 | Jim Burton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 RED SOX BATTING & PITCHING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
"THE 1975 WORLD
SERIES"
|
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|
"BILL LEE
EXPLAINS PITCHING"
|
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|
"GAME #6 AND
GAME #7 FROM THE
PLAYERS"
|
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