1980 BOSTON RED SOX

Elston Howard	Ernie Shore	John Wilson	Joe Lucey
Died: Dec 14th	Died: Sept 24th	Died: Aug 27th	Died: July 30th

Bob Porterfield	Rube Marquard	Fred Walters	Wally Snell
Died: April 28th	Died: June 1st	Died: Feb 1st	Died: July 23rd

Ted Olson	Charlie Jamerson	Ray Dobens	Greg Mulleavy
Died: Dec 9th	Died: Aug 4th	Died: April 21st	Died: Feb 1st

Johnny Hodapp	Johnny Watwood	Eddie Morgan	Odell Hale
Died: June 14th	Died: March 1st	Died: April 9th	Died: June 9th

Rudy Romboli	Jesse Owens	Jack Rothrock	Gene Rye
Died: Jan 3rd	Died: March 31st	Died: Feb 2nd	Died: Jan 21st

Josh Beckett	Craig Breslow	Tony Romo	Dske Matsuzaka
Born: May 15th	Born: Aug 8th	Born: April 21st	Born: Sept 13th

Jon Papelbon	Shane Victorino	C.C. Sabathia	Albert Pujols
Born: Nov 23rd	Born: Nov 30th	Born: July 21st	Born: Jan 16th

Rich Hill	Ben Watson	Donte Stallwoth	David Givens
Born: Mar 11th	Born: Dec 18th	Born: Nov 10th	Born: Aug 16th

The offense, long the strength of the team, was still good, finishing sixth in the American League in runs scored, but it was no longer great. An inability to draw walks was the big reasons. The Sox ranked in the top three in the AL for batting average doubles and home runs, but they were 10th in walks.

Dave Stapleton was the poster child of the Red Sox offense. He batted .321 and slugged .463, excellent numbers for a second baseman. But he managed to draw only 13 walks all season, and his .338 on-base percentage was only above average as a result. Stapleton, like the Red Sox, was more glitter than substance when it came to offense.

This isn�t to say there weren�t good hitters. Carlton Fisk had a solid stat line of .289BA, 18 HRs. Fred Lynn posted a .301, 12 HRs year and Dwight Evans was at .266BA, 18 HRs. Jim Rice batted .294, hit 24 home runs and produced 86 RBIs.

Carl Yastrzemski was in the twilight of his career and now a DH, but he still produced, at .275BA, 15 HRs and shortstop Rick Burleson batted .278. The team also signed Tony Perez to play first base. Perez had been with the Cincinnati Reds, and Sox fans remembered him for hitting the home run that turned the momentum in that seventh game of the 1975 World Series. Now 38-years-old, Perez could still produce, hitting 25 home runs and his 105 RBIs led the team.

So while the offense was not as good as its batting average and home run numbers might have suggested, it was still not the problem. That honor belong to a pitching staff that ranked 12^th in the American League in ERA.

Mike Torrez and Dennis Eckersley were the top two starters and they combined for a 21-30 record, and ERAs of 5.08 and 4.28 respectively. John Tudor was a nice young lefthander who had a 3.02 ERA, but he didn�t get enough starts to make an impact. The only positives were closer Tom Burgmeier, who saved 24 games with 2.00 ERA, and the all-purpose machine, Bob Stanley. The �Steamer� started 17 games, made 35 relief appearances, won 10, saved 14 and had an ERA of 3.39. On a staff with few bright spots, Stanley could do everything.

The first two games of the year at the Milwaukee were a foreshadowing. The Red Sox trailed the Brewers 5-3 in the ninth inning of Opening Day, on April 11th, when home runs by Yaz and third baseman Butch Hobson tied the game. Dick Drago, the now-aging hero of the 1975 ALCS, came on in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Drago gave up a grand slam to Brewers rightfielder Sixto Lezcano and the Red Sox lost 9-5.

Torrez pitched the second game on April 13th, and was battered 18-1. Later on in May, when the Brewers came to Fenway, Torrez started again and lost 19-8. By the end of May, the Sox record was 22-23. They trailed the New York Yankees by 6 1/2 games.

The Sox opened up at Fenway behind Dennis Eckersley, beating the Tigers, 3 to 1 on April 14th. Two days later, Tony Perez knocked in four runs and Dwight Evans stole a home run out of the right field stands in the ninth inning, to preserve a 10-9 win. Carlton Fisk's 11th inning walk-off homer in the final game, swept the series against Detroit on April 17th.

On April 20th, the Sox had another walk-off win. Carl Yastrzemski grounded his third hit, with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th inning, to beat the Texas Rangers, 6 to 5. They beat the White Sox the next day. The Sox were in first place by 1/2 game and that would be their high water mark for the season. From this point, it would all be downhill.

On May 13th, Fred Lynn hit for the cycle and drove in four runs to lead the Sox over the Twins, 10-5. On May 27th, Carl Yastrzemski belted a two-run homer, with none out in the ninth inning, to lift the Sox past the Blue Jays, 5 to 4.

The Sox start June, 7 1/2 games out of first place behind the New York Yankees. They make a successful (9-3) western road but return home in the middle of the month, 6 games behind. The Yankees were on their way to a big year with 103 wins and while the Baltimore Orioles were amidst the pack, they would also catch fire and win 100 games.

On June 21st, Jim Rice was hit on the wrist and went on the DL with a fracture. After losing a three game set with the Yankees to start July, the Red Sox were 10 1/2 games behind New York.

Fred Lynn and Carlton Fisk played in the All Star Game at Dodger Stadium on July 8th. Lynn's 5th inning homer put the A.L. Stars ahead 2-0. But the National League went on to win the game, 4-2.

Carl Yastrzemski then went down after hurting his back, while Jerry Remy injured his left knee on July 10th. Tom Burgmeier had tendinitis in his left shoulder and Chuck Rainey was on the DL with a sore elbow.

On July 8th, rookie Dave Stapleton's 10th inning walk-off homer, gave the Red Sox a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins. The Sox ended July having gone 12-15 for the month, and were in 6th place, 12 1/2 games behind the Yankees.

The Red Sox did play good baseball throughout the month of August and their record got up to 70-56 when the month of month ended. On August 10th, Tony Perez knocked out two home runs, powering the Sox to a 4 to 3 victory against the White Sox. The Sox started the month going 8-3, but were still 10 games behind the Yankees.

On August 29th, Fred Lynn fouled a pitch off his right foot and broke his toe, ending his season. Then on August 30th, Carl Yastrzemski fractured a rib making a running catch of a line drive off the left field wall. The Sox beat the A's in the game, 7 to 6 in 10 innings. Jim Rice tied the game in the ninth inning then won it in the 10th inning with another homer.

The Sox finished the month winning 20 of 27 games, completing a four games sweep of Oakland, with four of their opening day regulars on the DL. Their nine game winning streak ended on September 2nd, with the Sox winning 14 of their last 16 games. They started the streak 10 1/2 games behind the Yankees and picked up four games, but that was it.

They lost four straight at home to New York, then went to the Bronx and lost two of three. To show they weren�t playing favorites in the AL East race, the Red Sox went to Baltimore and lost two of three and then lost four straight to the Orioles at home.

Attendance went down by almost four hundred thousand and in the Haywood Sullivan and Buddy LeRoux front office baseball was a business and attendance numbers mattered.

Economics, fan perception, public relations, and on-the-field decisions all would lead to the end of Don Zimmer with five games left in the season.

Zimmer was fired prior to the finale of the four-game set with Baltimore and Johnny Pesky managed out the string in Boston. They concluded the season by being swept at home by the Toronto Blue Jays, a last-place 67-95 team. The Red Sox finished 83-77, fifth in the seven-team AL East.






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