Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Boston, Massachusetts. They are in the American League East Division.
Facts
- Founded: 1893, as the Toledo, Ohio franchise in the minor Western League. Moved to Boston when that league became the American League in 1900.
- Formerly known as: "the Bostons" or "the Boston Baseball club"; they were not officially known as the Boston Americans in 1901, the Boston Sommersets in 1902, or the Boston Pilgrims in 1903-1906 -- see [1] [2]. The current team name, Red Sox is based on an obsolete form of the plural socks, for the footwear and was chosen in (1907) by owner John I. Taylor.
- Current ownership: John Henry and Tom Werner, who paid $660 million and assumed $40 million in debt, in February 2002. The purchase includes Fenway Park and 82 percent of New England Sports Network. The purchase price set a record for a major league baseball franchise.
- Current payroll: In 2004, $131 Million, $51 million shy of the New York Yankees, making them the number two highest paid team in Major League Baseball.
- Home ballpark: Fenway Park
- Mascot: Wally the Green Monster, named after the physical Green Monster
- Uniform colors: Navy blue, Red, and White
- Logo design: Two hanging red socks with white heels and toes, over a white baseball surrounded by the words Boston and Red Sox. The word Boston is in navy blue outlined in red, the words Red Sox are in red outlined in navy blue, and the entire logo is surrounded by a thick red circle.
- Theme Song: None officially, although since the new ownership took over, "Dirty Water" by The Standells is played at the conclusion of each home victory. The Dropkick Murphys rewrote Tessie — a team fight-song of sorts that was originally featured in a 1903 musical — for the 2004 season, and this song now follows up "Dirty Water", however it may not be accepted widely by the older fans due to its punk rock stylings.
- Championships and Pennants: see below
Franchise history
Early 20th Century
The Boston Red Sox won the first World Series in 1903. In the following decade, the club won four World Series in a six-year span despite changing ownership several times. The 1912 and 1915 clubs featured an outfield considered to be among the finest in the game: Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis.
The Red Sox were owned by Joseph Lannin from 1913 to 1916 and he signed Babe Ruth, commonly seen as the best player in baseball history. In 1919, the team's new owner, Harry Frazee, sold Ruth to the New York Yankees. Legend has it that he did so in order to finance a Broadway play No, No Nanette starring 'a friend', but in actual fact the play did not open on Broadway until 1925. Rather, Frazee sold Ruth because he was a serious problem (and continued to be one in NY) and because it was not then apparent that he would become the player he is remembered to have been. Frazee also unloaded a number of other Hall of Fame quality players to NY for other reasons. Carl Mays quit the team in mid-game and refused to return; his trade was essentially a salvage operation. Other Frazee era players went to NY as part of Frazee's financial strategy after he decided to leave baseball, having been driven out by Ban Johnson (eg, Sad Sam Jones and Waite Hoyt). The players (many of them Hall of Fame members) formed the nucleus of the first championship Yankee teams of the 20s. Since the dismantling of their 1918 championship team, the Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series (until 2004), and many in the media spoke of the Curse of the Bambino - a play on one of Ruth's nicknames. The contract was a straight sale; the Red Sox got no players in return. Serious fans have long considered the Curse to be a lot of nonsense (though Sox fans annually struggled to understand their misfortunes) and the victory in the 2004 World Series has rendered the issue moot in any case.
In 1933, a wealthy, shy young man named Tom Yawkey bought the Red Sox, and began pumping money into the team.
In 1939, the Red Sox purchased the contract of outfielder Ted Williams, then playing in the Pacific Coast League, ushering in an era of the team sometimes called the "Ted Sox". Williams is generally considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, hitting for both power and average. He is the last player to hit over .400 for a full season, in 1941.
With Williams, the Red Sox went to the World Series in 1946, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, in part because of the use of the "Williams Shift", in which the shortstop would move to the right side of the infield to make it harder for the left-handed-hitting Williams to hit to that side of the field. Some have claimed that Williams was too proud to hit to the other side of the field, not wanting to let the Cardinals take away his game. He did not hit well in the Series, gathering only five singles in 25 at-bats, for a .200 average. However, this was also likely influenced by an elbow injury he had received a few days before when he was hit by a pitch in an exhibition game.
The Red Sox featured several other very good players during the 1940s, including 2B Johnny Pesky (for whom the right field foul pole in Fenway - "Pesky's Pole" - is named), 3B Bobby Doerr, and OF Dom DiMaggio (brother of Joe). Despite this, they lost the pennant by one game in each of 1948 and 1949, and Williams never played in another World Series.
The 1950s were a bleak time for the Red Sox. Unlike other teams, they refused to sign black players. Ted Williams hit .388 at the age of 38 in 1957, but there was little else for Boston fans to root for. Williams retired at the end of the 1960 season, famously hitting a home run in his final at-bat.
The Sox finally became the last Major League team to sign an African-American player when they signed Pumpsie Green in 1959.
Supposedly the right-field bullpens in Fenway Park were built in part for Williams' left-handed swing, and these are sometimes called "Williamsburg".
The 1960s also started poorly for the Red Sox, though 1961 saw the debut of Carl Yastrzemski ("Yaz"), who would become one of the best hitters of the pitching-rich decade.
Red Sox fans remember 1967 as the year of the "Impossible Dream." The team had finished the 1966 season in ninth place, but they found new life with Yaz leading the team to the World Series. Yaz won the American League Triple Crown and put on one of the greatest displays of hitting down the stretch in baseball history. But the Red Sox lost the series - again to the St. Louis Cardinals - again breaking the hearts of their fans. Nonetheless, the 1967 season is remembered as one of the great pennant races in baseball history since four teams were in the race until almost the last game.
The Sox won the AL pennant in 1975, this time with Yaz surrounded by other stars such as rookie outfielders Jim Rice and Fred Lynn (who won both the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP awards), veteran OF Dwight Evans, C Carlton Fisk, and pitchers Luis Tiant and the eccentric junkballer Bill Lee.
Game 6 of the World Series, against the Cincinnati Reds' so-called "Big Red Machine," is regarded by some as the greatest game in baseball postseason history, an extra-inning drama featuring dramatic home runs by Bernie Carbo and Fisk (the latter a game-winner, the famous 'body English' homerun). But the Red Sox lost Game 7, and this time it would be Yaz who never again played in a World Series.
Is there a "Curse of the Bambino"?
The Curse of the Bambino is a term used by author Dan Shaughnessy in his 1991 book entitled: "The Curse of the Bambino", but the exact origins of the so-called curse are in question (see Talk:Boston Red Sox#Curse of the Bambino). The phrase and idea of a curse make for great book sales, excellent drama for national television networks (who hype this angle to casual viewers), and witty T-shirt slogans. The story of this curse, however, is pure fiction, with no basis in fact or history. There are no recorded statements of Babe Ruth that are negative about the city of Boston or of the Boston Red Sox.
It could be said that since the Ruth trade, a number of major factors worked hand-in-hand against the success of the Sox. The first of them being that the team was the last to put a black ballplayer on the roster; in fact Sox teams over this span tended to be predominantly white with most minorities being latino. The other was the focus on hitting. It has been said that Fenway is a hitter's park, although not as much since the 600 Club seats were put in behind home plate. It was thought that statisticaly, left-handed power hitters were made for the short porch in right. This created a lack of focus on pitching. Recently however, the new regime has taken the approach that right-handed doubles hitters are more adept at using the unique footprint of Fenway to pad their offensive numbers.
The 1986 Red Sox, led by a fireballing righthander from Texas named Roger Clemens, came within one strike of winning the World Series but lost Game 6 after a stunning series of events. This included first baseman Bill Buckner having the winning run score on a ball hit right to him, which he let go through his legs. Buckner endured years of taunts and harassment as a result of the error, and eventually was given so much grief in Boston that he moved his family to Idaho.
This turn of events, among the most improbable in World Series history, gave rise to the modern media's focus on the so-called "Curse of the Bambino". (But, perhaps it was a fitting turn of events, as the Red Sox lost the World Series in virtually the same manner as they had won the AL pennant. Up by 3 games to 1, ahead by 5-to-2 in the ninth inning of Game 5, and twice one strike away from winning the pennant, the California Angels lost that game 6-5 in 11 innings and then the final 2 games of the ALCS, losing the pennant that, by all rights, they should have won.)
The Red Sox won the American League East in both 1988 and 1990, only to get swept 4-0 by the Oakland Athletics each time.
Tom Yawkey had passed away in 1976, and his wife Jean took control of the team, until her death in 1992, ending over 60 years of Yawkey ownership. A trust controlled by John Harrington took control of the team.
The myth of the curse was finally put to rest in 2004, when the Red Sox won the wild card spot in the playoffs trailing only 2 games down from the Yankees in the American League East. They proceeded to sweep the California Angels in a best of five game series, and then lost the first three games in the ALCS against the Yankees (with game 3 at Fenway Park a particularly humiliating 19-8 loss). The Red Sox were losing in the bottom of the ninth inning in game 4, but managed to tie the game and win it in extra innings, as well as the next three games. The Red Sox went into the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and easily won the first four games without ever giving the Cardinals a lead in any game.
After the Yawkeys
Longtime Sox GM Lou Gorman was replaced in 1994 by Dan Duquette, who had previously run the Montreal Expos. Duquette's reign began with promises to revive the flagging Sox farm system, but ended with several huge contracts to major stars and a great deal of public acrimony. The fans and local media often turned on the players; general managers humiliated the manager; managers and players sniped at each other.
In the strike-shortened 1995 season, the Sox won the newly-realigned American League East, finishing 7 games ahead of the rival Yankees. Once again, they were swept, this time 3-0 by the Cleveland Indians, running their postseason losing streak to 13 games, dating back to the 1986 World Series.
In 1998 the Red Sox traded for Expos star pitcher Pedro Martinez, and signed him to a long-term contract. Martinez would have several spectacular seasons for the Red Sox. In 1998 they lost the Divisional Series to the Indians, this time 3-1, after winning game 1 11-3 behind Martinez.
In 1999 they got revenge on the Indians, pulling off a miracle comeback, being down 2 games to 0. They won game 3, 9-3, behind the pitching of Ramon Martinez, Pedro's brother, and Derek Lowe. Game 4 was a blowout 23-7 win for the Red Sox and the highest scoring playoff game in history. Game 5 was a tense affair, with the Indians taking a 5-2 lead after two innings, but Pedro Martinez came on in the fourth inning and pitched six innings of no-hit ball to back the Red Sox to a 12-8 win, behind two home runs from Troy O'Leary. The Red Sox then met the hated New York Yankees and lost 4 games to 1. The sole win was a cathartic 13-1 demolition of former Red Sox Roger Clemens in Fenway Park.
The Duquette era ended in 2002, when president and Yawkey trustee John Harrington sold the Red Sox to a consortium comprised of John Henry, Tom Werner, and Les Otten, with Larry Lucchino as president and CEO. Duquette was fired, and replaced for the 2002 season by Mike Port. After almost hiring Oakland's Billy Beane during the 2002 off-season, the Red Sox promoted Yale graduate Theo Epstein to general manager. At 28, he became the youngest GM in the history of the Major Leagues.
June 27, 2003, the Red Sox established a new Major League Baseball record by scoring 10 runs against the Florida Marlins before the Marlins could get an out in the first inning.
The 2003 postseason delivered another blow to Red Sox fans. The Sox rallied from a 2-games-to-0 deficit against the Oakland Athletics to win the best-of-5 2003 American League Division Series. They then faced the Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series, and had a 5-2 lead over the Yankees in the 8th inning of game 7, but pitcher Pedro Martinez allowed three runs to tie the game, and the Red Sox lost the game 6-5 in 11 innings, on a home run by Yankee third baseman Aaron Boone. Many Red Sox fans blamed the loss on their manager, Grady Little, for not removing Martinez after seven strong innings, when he began to show signs of tiring. Most Red Sox fans and columnists believe that this decision by Little led to his firing the following offseason.
2004 - The year the curse was lifted
After coming so close to unseating the Yankees in 2003, and improving by acquiring Curt Schilling, the Red Sox were picked by many to win the American League East in 2004. In seven meetings with New York in April, the Sox won six, and opened up a 4-game lead early in the season. Through midseason, the team struggled mightily, and fell more than 10 games behind New York. The Sox showed resolve in fighting not only for the wild card position, but for the division championship that looked out of reach. Management shook up the team by trading shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in exchange for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz in a three-team deal. Boston roared back in the standings. After splitting six games in September, the Red Sox remained in contention, but finished three games back, qualifying as the AL Wild Card.
The playoffs started with a bang, as the Red Sox swept the AL West champion Anaheim Angels, winning Game 3 by a score of 8-6 on David Ortiz's 10th inning walkoff home run over the Green Monster to close out the series. The Red Sox thus advanced to the 2004 American League Championship Series against the Yankees.
The series quickly reached worst-case scenario. In Game 1, the Red Sox didn't have a hit until the seventh, and lost 10-7. Worse, Schilling left early in the game due to an injury. Pedro started Game 2 and pitched effectively, but the team lost 3-1. In Game 3, the Red Sox were demolished 19-8 to fall behind 3-0 in the series. It seemed the Yankees had had their way with them yet again.
In Game 4, down 4-3 in the ninth with Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on the mound, the Sox rallied to tie the game. Ortiz hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to win the game 6-4. Again trailing the next night in Game 5, the Sox again rallied, and in the 14th inning, Ortiz again providing the finishing blow, with a single to win the game 5-4. Game 5 set a new record for longest postseason game in terms of time (an amazing 5 hours and 49 minutes) and for longest ALCS game (14 innings).
The series moved back to New York for Game 6, to be pitched by Schilling. He went seven strong innings, and Boston won 4-2, but the game was plagued by several game stoppages for disputed calls and for fans who threw baseballs and various other debris onto the field. During the ninth inning, police in full riot gear lined the area between the fans and the field in a move thought to quell a potential riot, which did not occur.
In Game 7, Ortiz homered in the first, Johnny Damon hit a grand slam in the second and added another home run later, and the outcome was never in doubt, as the Sox rolled 10-3 to win the series four games to three. They became the first team in baseball history (and the third in North American professional sports history, after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders of the NHL) to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 series. David Ortiz was named MVP. Sadly Game 7 did not go without post-game riots.
The Red Sox moved on to the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that had posted the best record in the major leagues. In Game 1, Ortiz continued his tear through the postseason, hitting a home run in the first inning as the Sox ran to a 7-2 lead after 3 innings. However, poor defense led to the team squandering the lead, including back-to-back errors by Manny Ramírez. With the game tied in the eighth inning, Mark Bellhorn hit a two-run home run to provide an 11-9 win. This win set a new record for the highest scoring World Series opening game (breaking the previous record set in 1932).
This game was attended by several people of note — Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, a Boston native, who performed The Star-Spangled Banner; Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame member Johnny Pesky; American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, who performed God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch, and actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner who were shown enjoying the game from the stands.
- For a play by play analysis of Game 1: see (Game 1: play-by-play).
In Game 2, Curt Schilling took the mound, his dislocated ankle tendon again sewn down by team doctors, and pitched six strong innings, allowing no earned runs, as the Red Sox took a 2-0 series lead with a 6-2 victory. The Red Sox' fielders committed four errors for the second consecutive night, but were saved by Schilling and the offensive exploits of Jason Varitek, Mark Bellhorn, and Orlando Cabrera. Each recorded extra-base hits to score two runs each, staking Schilling to a 6-1 lead. Schilling became the first pitcher to win World Series games for a team in each league, having won games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
- For a play by play analysis of Game 2: see (Game 2: play-by-play).
For Game 3, the scene shifted to Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri. The starting pitchers were Jeff Suppan (a former Red Sox player) for the Cardinals and Pedro Martinez for the Red Sox. A pre-game rain stopped about half an hour before the first pitch, but left much of the outfield near the wall wet. This would come into play later as during the 2nd inning one of the outfielders fell missing an easy out.
Manny Ramirez opened the scoring for the Red Sox in the top of the first inning, sending the ball into the bleachers over the wall in left-center field - 372 feet from home plate. David Ortiz, made a rare appearance at first base in this game (as there are no designated hitters in the National League). Trot Nixon extended the Red Sox lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth, hitting a single to right field that scored Mueller, who had started the rally with a two-out double to left center. Johnny Damon led off the Red Sox's fifth inning with a double to right. Orlando Cabrera followed with a single to right, and Ramirez singled to left, scoring Damon. After Ortiz popped a fly to center and Varitek grounded into a fielder's choice, Mueller singled sharply past first base, allowing Cabrera to score the Red Sox's fourth run. Martinez' left the game after the seventh inning. He finished with six strikeouts, two walks, and only three hits allowed. Timlin came on to pitch the eighth.
The Cardinal's Larry Walker homered to center field off Keith Foulke with one out in the ninth to break up the shutout, as the rain returned. Foulke escaped further damage, and the Red Sox won the game 4-1, their seventh straight playoff victory this season. The game was played before 52,015 paying fans, in a brisk 2 hours and 58 minutes (in stark contrast to their 2004 ALCS games).
- For a play by play analysis of Game 3: see (Game 3: play-by-play).
In a spectacular showing for Game 4, the Red Sox blanked the Cardinals 3-0 to sweep the World Series, making this their first Series win since 1918 in the somewhat fitting complete darkness of a total lunar eclipse. In an altogether appropriate end to the "Curse of the Bambino," the final out of the game was made on Cardinals shortstop Edgar Renteria - who wore Babe Ruth's old uniform number, 3.
- For a play by play analysis of Game 4: see (Game 4: play-by-play).
Statistics/Titles/Records
Championships and Pennants
- Division Championships won (4): 1975, 1986, 1988, 1990
- Wild Card titles won (4): 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004
- Division Series won (3): 1999, 2003, 2004
- American League pennants won (11): 1903, 1904, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, 2004
- World Series championships won (6): 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004
Postseason Series
All-Time team career leaders
- Batting: Ted Williams, .344
- Home runs: Ted Williams, 521
- RBI: Carl Yastrzemski, 1844
- Stolen bases: Harry Hooper, 300
- Wins: Cy Young and Roger Clemens, 192
- Opponent Strikeouts: Roger Clemens, 2590
- ERA: Smokey Joe Wood, 1.99
- Saves: Bob Stanley, 132
All-Time team season records
- Batting: Ted Williams, .406, 1941
- Home runs: Jimmie Foxx, 50, 1938
- RBI: Jimmie Foxx, 175, 1938
- Stolen bases: Tommy Harper, 54, 1973
- Wins: Smokey Joe Wood, 34, 1912
- Opponent Strikeouts: Pedro Martinez, 313, 1999
- ERA: Dutch Leonard, 0.96, 1914
- Saves: Tom Gordon, 46, 1998
Retired Numbers
- 1 Bobby Doerr
- 4 Joe Cronin
- 8 Carl Yastrzemski
- 9 Ted Williams
- 27 Carlton Fisk
- 42 Jackie Robinson (retired by all Major League ballclubs)
Minor League Affiliates
- Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA, International League)
- Portland Sea Dogs (AA, Eastern League)
- Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A, Carolina League)
- Capital City Bombers (A, South Atlantic League)
- Lowell Spinners (Short-Season A, New York-Penn League)
- DSL Red Sox (Rookie, Dominican Summer League)
- GCL Red Sox (Rookie, Gulf Coast League)
- VSL Ciudad Alianza (Rookie, Venezuelan Summer League)
Notable Players
- Luis Aparicio
- Lou Boudreau
- Jesse Burkett
- Orlando Cepeda
- Jack Chesbro
- Jimmy Collins
- Joe Cronin*
- Bobby Doerr*
- Dennis Eckersley
- Rick Ferrell*
- Carlton Fisk*
- Jimmie Foxx*
- Lefty Grove*
- Harry Hooper
- Waite Hoyt
- Ferguson Jenkins
- George Kell
- Heinie Manush
- Juan Marichal
- Herb Pennock*
- Tony Perez
- Red Ruffing
- Babe Ruth
- Tom Seaver
- Al Simmons
- Tris Speaker
- Ted Williams *
- Carl Yastrzemski*
- Cy Young
* Inducted as Red Sox
Current Stars
- Bronson Arroyo
- Mark Bellhorn
- Ellis Burks
- Orlando Cabrera
- Johnny Damon
- Alan Embree
- Keith Foulke
- Ricky Gutiérrez
- Gabe Kapler
- Derek Lowe
- Pedro Martinez
- David McCarty
- Ramiro Mendoza
- Doug Mientkiewicz
- Kevin Millar
- Doug Mirabelli
- Bill Mueller
- Trot Nixon
- David Ortiz
- Manny Ramirez
- Pokey Reese
- Dave Roberts
- Curt Schilling
- Mike Timlin
- Jason Varitek
- Tim Wakefield
- Scott Williamson
- Kevin Youkilis
Other Notable Players
- Harry Agganis
- Tony Armas
- Wade Boggs
- Bill Buckner
- Roger Clemens (MVP, 1986; All-Star Game MVP, 1986; 3-time Cy Young Award: 1986-87, 1989, 6 overall)
- Tony Conigliaro
- Doc Cramer
- Dom DiMaggio
- Joe Dobson
- Walter Dropo (Rookie of the Year, 1950)
- Dwight Evans (8-time Gold Glove: 1976, 1978-79, 1981-85)
- Wes Ferrell
- Dave "Boo" Ferriss
- Nomar Garciaparra (Rookie of the Year, 1997)
- Rich Gedman
- Pumpsie Green
- Mike Greenwell
- Tommy Harper
- Dave Henderson
- Rickey Henderson
- Butch Hobson
- Jackie Jensen (MVP, 1978)
- Ellis Kinder
- Bill Lee
- Duffy Lewis
- Jim Lonborg (Cy Young Award, 1967)
- Fred Lynn (Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1975; 4-time Gold Glove: 1975, 1978-80; ALCS MVP, 1982; All-Star Game MVP, 1983)
- Frank Malzone (3-time Gold Glove:1957-59)
- Carl Mays
- Al Nipper
- Mel Parnell
- Johnny Pesky
- Rico Petrocelli
- Jimmy Piersall
- Dick Radatz
- Jerry Remy
- Jim Rice (MVP, 1978)
- Pete Runnels
- Bret Saberhagen
- Calvin Schiraldi
- Don Schwall (Rookie of the Year, 1961)
- Bob Stanley
- Vern Stephens
- Frank Tanana
- Birdie Tebbetts
- Luis Tiant
- Mo Vaughn (MVP, 1995)
- Sammy White
- Smokey Joe Wood
See Also
- Curse of the Bambino
- Red Sox Nation
- Green Monster
- Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
- Tessie - the unofficial Red Sox anthem, currently performed by the Dropkick Murphys
- Tony Conigliaro Award
- Boston Red Sox spring training home
- Major League Baseball franchise post-season droughts
- Articles for Boston Red Sox players
- Articles for Boston Red Sox managers