1975 Boston Red Sox season

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1975 Boston Red Sox
American League Champions
American League East Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record95–65 (.594)
Divisional place1st
OwnerTom Yawkey
PresidentTom Yawkey
General managerDick O'Connell
ManagerDarrell Johnson
TelevisionWSBK-TV, Ch. 38
(Dick Stockton, Ken Harrelson)
RadioWHDH-AM 850
(Ned Martin, Jim Woods)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
← 1974 Seasons 1976 →

The 1975 Boston Red Sox season was the 75th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 65 losses. Following a sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, the Red Sox lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games.

Offseason[edit]

Long expectations[edit]

Jim Rice

The 1975 baseball season should have dawned for Red Sox fans with bright hopes. The team had made a legitimate run for the pennant the previous year, and this time the team had Carlton Fisk and Rick Wise for full seasons. Rick Burleson had surprised everyone by playing outstanding shortstop and hitting higher in the majors than he ever had in the minors. In addition, the Sox had two rookies who gave every indication they would be phenoms, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. But the memory of the collapse of 1974 still hung heavy over New England fans.[citation needed]

At first most of the preseason talk had to do with the decision by Tony Conigliaro to try one more comeback and with the salary hassle concerning Luis Tiant, who felt he deserved more than $70,000 he was earning and wouldn't show up at Winter Haven, Florida, causing team owner Tom Yawkey to meet with "El Tiante", agree on a raise (to $90,000) and get the Sox pitching ace back in camp.[citation needed]

Still, it didn't take too long before the stories and pictures coming out of Florida about the two phenoms got Sox fans thinking. The betting lines in Las Vegas had Boston as a long shot, although not the 100–1 shot they were in 1967. The odds against them went up, however, after Fisk, returning from the serious knee injury of 1974, was hit in the right arm and broke it. Even the positive talk about young Mr. Lynn couldn't drive away the gloom over Fisk's injury. Catching is absolutely vital to a successful team, and Fisk was going to be sidelined for at least a couple of months.[citation needed]

Youngsters and comebacks[edit]

Fred Lynn

The word out of Florida on Lynn was very positive. The young man who had gone to the USC as a football linebacker, but gave up football for baseball, seemed to be doing it all. Not only did he hit and run and field, he was a good-looking, charming young man. He was a hit with Boston and New England fans and hit with power, and with the way big Jim Rice was clobbering the baseball, Boston appeared to have a power punch that could only get better when Fisk got back into the lineup.[citation needed]

Rick Wise, back after a year of shoulder trouble and then a broken finger, looked ready to boost a pitching staff, which already had Luis Tiant, Bill Lee, Reggie Cleveland, and the stringbean flame-thrower Roger Moret. The bullpen also looked strong, with Dick Drago as the closer and hard-thrower Dick Pole and veteran Diego Seguí.[citation needed]

Additionally, the word on Tony Conigliaro was encouraging, and that boosted spirits back home. Carl Yastrzemski was at first base, and after three short trials in previous years Cecil Cooper was going to make this team and probably be the designated hitter.[citation needed]

Notable transactions[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Record by month[3]
Month Record Cumulative AL East Ref.
Won Lost Won Lost Position GB
April 7 9 7 9 5th (tie) 3 [4]
May 16 9 23 18 1st +2+12 [5]
June 18 13 41 31 1st +1 [6]
July 22 11 63 42 1st +9 [7]
August 16 12 79 54 1st +6 [8]
September 16 11 95 65 1st +4+12 [9]

The Red Sox played only 160 games, as two games against the Yankees were rained out in the final week of the season, and not rescheduled once Boston clinched the AL East title.[10][11]

Luis Tiant
Denny Doyle
Rick Burleson
Rico Petrocelli
Juan Beníquez
Bill Lee

Season standings[edit]

AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 95 65 0.594 47–34 48–31
Baltimore Orioles 90 69 0.566 44–33 46–36
New York Yankees 83 77 0.519 12 43–35 40–42
Cleveland Indians 79 80 0.497 15½ 41–39 38–41
Milwaukee Brewers 68 94 0.420 28 36–45 32–49
Detroit Tigers 57 102 0.358 37½ 31–49 26–53

Record vs. opponents[edit]


Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK TEX
Baltimore 9–9 6–6 7–4 10–8 12–4 7–5 14–4 6–6 8–10 4–8 7–5
Boston 9–9 6–6 8–4 7–11 13–5 7–5 10–8 10–2 11–5 6–6 8–4
California 6–6 6–6 9–9 3–9 6–5 4–14 7–5 8–10 7–5 7–11 9–9
Chicago 4–7 4–8 9–9 7–5 5–7 9–9 8–4 9–9 6–6 9–9 5–13
Cleveland 8–10 11–7 9–3 5–7 12–6 6–6 9–9 3–6 9–9 2–10 5–7
Detroit 4–12 5–13 5–6 7–5 6–12 6–6 7–11 4–8 6–12 6–6 1–11
Kansas City 5–7 5–7 14–4 9–9 6–6 6–6 7–5 11–7 7–5 11–7 14–4
Milwaukee 4–14 8–10 5–7 4–8 9–9 11–7 5–7 2–10 9–9 5–7 6–6
Minnesota 6–6 2–10 10–8 9–9 6–3 8–4 7–11 10–2 4–8 6–12 8–10
New York 10–8 5–11 5–7 6–6 9–9 12–6 5–7 9–9 8–4 6–6 8–4
Oakland 8–4 6–6 11–7 9–9 10–2 6–6 11–7 7–5 12–6 6–6 12–6
Texas 5–7 4–8 9–9 13–5 7–5 11–1 4–14 6–6 10–8 4–8 6–12


Notable transactions[edit]

Opening Day lineup[edit]

Bob Montgomery
20 Juan Beníquez LF
19 Fred Lynn CF
  8 Carl Yastrzemski     1B
25 Tony Conigliaro DH
  6 Rico Petrocelli 3B
24 Dwight Evans RF
10 Bob Montgomery C
  7 Rick Burleson SS
  2 Doug Griffin 2B
23 Luis Tiant P

Source:[14]

Boston's Opening Day opponent was the Milwaukee Brewers, then a member of the AL East; the game was notable for being the first game that Hank Aaron played in the American League, having previously played from 1954 through 1974 in the National League.[15]

Roster[edit]

1975 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats[edit]

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

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
C Carlton Fisk 79 263 87 .331 10 52
1B Carl Yastrzemski 149 543 146 .269 14 60
2B Doug Griffin 100 287 69 .240 1 29
SS Rick Burleson 158 580 146 .252 6 62
3B Rico Petrocelli 115 402 96 .239 7 59
LF Jim Rice 144 564 174 .309 22 102
CF Fred Lynn 145 528 175 .331 21 105
RF Dwight Evans 128 412 113 .274 13 56
DH Cecil Cooper 106 305 95 .311 14 44

Other batters[edit]

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
Bernie Carbo 107 319 82 .257 15 50
Denny Doyle 89 310 96 .310 4 36
Juan Beníquez 78 254 74 .291 2 17
Bob Montgomery 62 195 44 .226 2 26
Tim Blackwell 59 132 26 .197 0 6
Bob Heise 63 126 27 .214 0 21
Rick Miller 77 108 21 .194 0 15
Tony Conigliaro 21 57 7 .123 2 9
Tim McCarver 12 21 8 .381 0 3
Dick McAuliffe 7 15 2 .133 0 1
Deron Johnson 3 10 6 .600 1 3
Steve Dillard 1 5 2 .400 0 0
Andy Merchant 1 4 2 .500 0 0
Butch Hobson 2 4 1 .250 0 0
Kim Andrew 2 2 1 .500 0 0
Buddy Hunter 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bill Lee 41 260.0 17 9 3.95 78
Luis Tiant 35 260.0 18 14 4.02 142
Rick Wise 35 255.1 19 12 3.95 141

Other pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Reggie Cleveland 31 170.0 13 9 4.43 78
Roger Moret 36 145.0 14 3 3.60 80
Dick Pole 18 89.2 4 6 4.42 42
Steve Barr 3 7.0 0 1 2.57 2

Relief pitchers[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Dick Drago 40 2 2 15 3.84 43
Diego Segui 33 2 5 6 4.82 45
Jim Burton 29 1 2 1 2.89 39
Jim Willoughby 24 5 2 8 3.54 29
Rick Kreuger 2 0 0 0 4.50 1

Postseason[edit]

Carl Yastrzemski
Dwight Evans
Carlton Fisk

After a great season, The Red Sox continued their magical season by sweeping the Oakland Athletics in three games in the American League Championship Series to advance to their first World Series since 1967.

In the historic World Series that followed, it came down to Carl Yastrzemski with the Red Sox trailing, 4–3, with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 7. Yaz's drive fell into the hands of Reds outfielder César Gerónimo, and Boston's magical season fell one game short. Boston would not return to the World Series until 1986.

ALCS[edit]

Game 1[edit]

October 4 at Fenway Park

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 4
Boston 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 X 7 8 3
W: Luis Tiant (1–0)   L: Ken Holtzman (0–1)   
HR: None

Game 2[edit]

October 5 at Fenway Park

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 0
Boston 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 X 6 12 0
W: Roger Moret (1–0)   L: Rollie Fingers (0–1)   S: Dick Drago (1)
HR: OAK: Reggie Jackson (1) BOS: Carl Yastrzemski (1), Rico Petrocelli (1)

Game 3[edit]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 5 11 1
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 6 1
W: Rick Wise (1–0)   L: Ken Holtzman (0–2)   S: Dick Drago (2)
HR: None

World Series[edit]

The Red Sox scored first in six of the seven World Series games, only to see the Reds come back and win four of those games, spoiling Boston's chances at their first championship since 1918. In Game 7, the Red Sox entered the sixth inning with a 3–0 lead, but the Reds rallied back to win the game, 4–3, and the series.

NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3)
Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Reds – 0, Red Sox – 6 October 11 Fenway Park 35,205 2:27
2 Reds – 3, Red Sox – 2 October 12 Fenway Park 35,205 2:38
3 Red Sox – 5, Reds – 6 (10 inns) October 14 Riverfront Stadium 55,392 3:03
4 Red Sox – 5, Reds – 4 October 15 Riverfront Stadium 55,667 2:52
5 Red Sox – 2, Reds – 6 October 16 Riverfront Stadium 56,393 2:23
6 Reds – 6, Red Sox – 7 (12 inns) October 21 Fenway Park 35,205 4:01
7 Reds – 4, Red Sox – 3 October 22 Fenway Park 35,205 2:52

Awards and honors[edit]

All-Star Game

Farm system[edit]

Level Team League Manager
AAA Pawtucket Red Sox International League Joe Morgan
AA Bristol Red Sox Eastern League Dick McAuliffe and Bill Slack
A Winston-Salem Red Sox Carolina League John Kennedy
A Winter Haven Red Sox Florida State League Rac Slider
A-Short Season Elmira Red Sox New York–Penn League Dick Berardino

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol
Source:[16][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Juan Marichal page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ "The 1975 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Events of Wednesday, April 30, 1975".
  5. ^ "Events of Saturday, May 31, 1975".
  6. ^ "Events of Monday, June 30, 1975".
  7. ^ "Events of Thursday, July 31, 1975".
  8. ^ "Events of Sunday, August 31, 1975".
  9. ^ "Events of Sunday, September 28, 1975".
  10. ^ Keane, Clif (September 24, 1975). "Rain doing Red Sox a favor". The Boston Globe. p. 51. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Games remaining for Red Sox, Orioles". The Boston Globe. September 26, 1975. p. 27. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Dave Schmidt page at Baseball Reference
  13. ^ Denny Doyle page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ "Boston Red Sox 5, Milwaukee Brewers 2". Retrosheet. April 8, 1975. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Wolf, Gregory H. "April 8, 1975: Luis Tiant spoils Hank Aaron's Brewers debut". SABR. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  17. ^ Boston Red Sox Official Yearbook. 1975. p. 25. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

External links[edit]