1979 Boston Red Sox season
1979 Boston Red Sox | |
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Owner(s) | Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan, Jean Yawkey |
General manager(s) | Haywood Sullivan |
Manager(s) | Don Zimmer |
Local television |
WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Ned Martin, Ken Harrelson) |
Local radio |
WITS-AM 1510 (Ken Coleman, Rico Petrocelli) |
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The 1979 Boston Red Sox season was the 79th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 69 losses, 11½ games behind the Baltimore Orioles.
Regular season
In 1979, Fred Lynn hit a league-leading .333 and had 39 homers and 122 RBIs. Jim Rice batted .325, with 39 homers and 130 RBIs, but Dennis Eckersley fell to 17 wins, and Mike Torrez had 16 wins again.
Another highlight was Carl Yastrzemski's 3,000th hit and his 400th home run. He was the first American Leaguer ever to do that and the 15th in Major League Baseball history. Yaz joined the 3,000-Hit Club with a single off Jim Beattie on September 12.[1] The hit came against the New York Yankees. The same game also marked the final appearance at Fenway Park for Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter.
Season standings
AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Baltimore Orioles | 102 | 57 | 0.642 | — | 55–24 | 47–33 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 95 | 66 | 0.590 | 8 | 52–29 | 43–37 |
Boston Red Sox | 91 | 69 | 0.569 | 11½ | 51–29 | 40–40 |
New York Yankees | 89 | 71 | 0.556 | 13½ | 51–30 | 38–41 |
Detroit Tigers | 85 | 76 | 0.528 | 18 | 46–34 | 39–42 |
Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | 0.503 | 22 | 47–34 | 34–46 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 53 | 109 | 0.327 | 50½ | 32–49 | 21–60 |
Record vs. opponents
1979 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- June 13, 1979: Pete Ladd, a player to be named later, and cash were traded by the Red Sox to the Houston Astros for Bob Watson. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Bobby Sprowl to the Astros on June 19.[2]
- August 17, 1979: The Red Sox traded a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Sizemore. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Mike O'Berry to the Cubs on October 23.[3]
Opening Day lineup
2 | Jerry Remy | 2B |
7 | Rick Burleson | SS |
19 | Fred Lynn | CF |
14 | Jim Rice | DH |
8 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
15 | George Scott | 1B |
3 | Jack Brohamer | 3B |
24 | Dwight Evans | RF |
10 | Bob Montgomery | C |
43 | Dennis Eckersley | P |
Roster
1979 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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1B | Bob Watson | 84 | 312 | 105 | .337 | 13 | 53 |
LF | Jim Rice | 158 | 619 | 201 | .325 | 39 | 130 |
CF | Fred Lynn | 147 | 531 | 177 | .333 | 39 | 122 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Frank Duffy | 6 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Mike Torrez | 36 | 252.1 | 16 | 13 | 4.49 | 125 |
Dennis Eckersley | 33 | 246.2 | 17 | 10 | 2.99 | 150 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Joel Finch | 15 | 57.1 | 0 | 3 | 4.87 | 25 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Dick Drago | 56 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 3.03 | 67 |
Tom Burgmeier | 44 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2.74 | 60 |
Bill Campbell | 41 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 4.28 | 25 |
Awards and honors
- Rick Burleson – Gold Glove Award (SS)
- Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF)
- Fred Lynn – Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (August)
- Rick Burleson, reserve SS
- Fred Lynn, starting CF
- Jim Rice, starting RF
- Bob Stanley, reserve P
- Carl Yastrzemski, starting 1B
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Winter Haven
Notes
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1979 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com