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A Chronological History of Amazing Boston Red Sox Losses, Remarkable Collapses and Other Record Breaking Feats
1900- | 1910- | 1920- | 1930- | 1940- | 1950- | 1960- | 1970- | 1980-1989 | 1990- | 2000-1980 83-77, tied for 4th place in the AL East, 19 games back of the New York Yankees
April 12, 1980: Milwaukee tied the major league record for grand slams in an inning when Cecil Cooper and Don Money hit a pair in the second. The Brewers won the game 18-1.
June 20, 1980: The California Angels beat the Red Sox 20-2. Every Angel batter hadat leasttwo hits; the team had a total of 26. 5'5" Freddie Patek hit three home runs and a double. He hit a total of two other home runsall season, and averaged less than three homersper seasonover his fourteen-year career.
| ab r h bi | ab r h bi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miller, cf | 6 2 2 2 | Burleson, ss | 4 1 1 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lansford, 3b | 6 2 2 4 | Stapleton, 2b | 4 1 2 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carew, dh | 6 1 3 1 | Lynn, cf | 4 0 0 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thompson, 1b | 4 2 3 2 | Perez, 1b | 1 0 1 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rudi, lf | 6 1 2 0 | Dwyer, 1b | 2 0 0 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grich, 2b | 5 3 4 0 | Rice, lf | 4 0 1 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harlow, rf | 5 2 3 1 | Hobson, dh | 3 0 0 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Patek, ss | 6 4 4 7 | Evans, rf | 3 0 0 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Donohue, c | 5 3 3 2 | Hoffman, 3b | 3 0 0 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allenson, c | 3 0 0 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June 30 - September 19, 1980: Boston did not have a victory over the Yankees between June 30 and September 19, spanning eight games.
September 21, 1980: The Red Sox were eliminated from playoff contention when Ron Guidry won his 15th game of the season as the Yankees shut out Boston, 3-0.
December 20, 1980: The Basic Agreement (between teams and the Players Association) required that contracts be tendered to certain veterans by a December 20 deadline - or they became free agents. On December22, The Red Sox mailed All-Stars Fred Lynn and Carlton Fisk their new contracts -- two days late, thereby making them eligible for free agency.
1981 30-26, 5th place in 1st half; 29-23, 3rd place in 2nd half of season
January 23, 1981: Faced with losing both their All-Star Outfielder and Catcher to free agency (due to a paperwork blunder), the Red Sox traded Fred Lynn to California. In return, Boston received Frank Tanana, Joe Rudi, and Jim Dorsey. In 1981, Rudi batted .180 and Tanana had a 4-10 record. Neither was with the team in 1982. Dorsey's career ERA with Boston was 16.88.
February 12, 1981: In arbitration, Carlton Fisk was reaffirmed as a free agent. He signed with the White Sox on March 18.
April 10, 1981: Appearing in the first game of his career while not wearing a Red Sox uniform, Fisk opened the season on the road -- at Fenway. Boston led 3-0 in the eighth inning when Fisk came to the plate with on base. His home run tied the game, and Chicago went on to win it in the ninth, 5-3.
April 29, 1981: Danny Darwin tossed a one-hitter against Boston, winning 5-0 for Texas. It completed a three-game sweep of the Sox in which Boston did not score a run. There have only been three other occasions since 1973 in which a team swept their opponent without allowing a run to be scored.
June 7, 1981: Boston took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but Dennis Eckersley gave up a two-run homer to Tony Armas. Oakland won, 4-3, after Dwayne Murphy homered off of Mark Clear in the eleventh. Jim Rice struck out four times in the game.
August 25, 1981: Rod Carew stole three bases, Bert Campaneris had two. Freddie Patek and Rick Burleson each added one for a team total of seven, as the Angels came from behind twice to beat the Red Sox in ten innings, 8-7. Patek's swipe was his only one in 1981, and the last of his career.
September 3, 1981: Playing Seattle, the Red Sox were tied 7-7 in the 19th inning when the game was suspended. Play resumed the following day. Seattle's Joe Simpson hit a RBI triple to win the game 8-7 in the 20th inning.
September 11, 1981: Dave Righetti struck out eleven Red Sox in seven innings during a 4-1 Yankee victory.
1982 78-73, 3rd place in the AL East, 6 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers
January 12, 1982: The Red Sox drafted Mike Rochford in the first round of the amateur draft. Over the course of his career, Rochford appeared in eight games for the Red Sox, going 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA.
July 2, 1982: Mike Torrez allowed 13 hits against Milwaukee, leaving after giving up nine runs over six innings. Robin Yount had five hits, and scored three runs, during the 14-5 Brewers victory over the Red Sox. Milwaukee shut out Boston, 7-0, the next day as Chuck Rainey gave up four homers over the first six innings of the game.
August 17, 1982: Rod Carew scored four runs on three hits and a walk, as the Angels drubbed the Red Sox, 10-2 at Anaheim Stadium. Boston's Bob Ojeda allowed six runs on two walks and six hits (four of them homers) over 3-1/3 innings pitched.
The Red Sox had two regulars finish with batting averages under .210; Catcher Gary Allenson (.205) and SS Glenn Hoffman (.209).
1983 78-84, 6th place in the AL East, 20 games back of the Baltimore Orioles
April 18, 1983: Boston's Doug Bird came into the game to pitch the seventh inning on the wrong side of a 4-0 game. He got out of the seventh, giving up two hits, but not allowing a run to score. He allowed three runs in the eighth on a pair of doubles, a single and a Wade Boggs error. He gave up six consecutive hits to start the ninth, and left the game down 12-0. Bird gave up a total of eleven hits and nine runs (eight earned) over two innings pitched.
May 14, 1983: Ben Oglivie hit three homers (two off of Bruce Hurst) during an 8-7 Brewers victory over the Red Sox.
May 24, 1983: Doug Bird started for Boston against the Chicago White Sox. Bird gave up four homers, five singles, two walks and one hit-batsman before hitting the showers in the third with a 10-4 deficit. Mark Clear relieved Bird, facing Carlton Fisk. Fisk hit a two-run homer to make it 12-4, which was also the final score of the game.
June 6, 1983: The 1967 Red Sox were present at Fenway for Tony Conigliaro Night, a benefit to help Conigliaro's family pay his medical bills. Just before festivities commenced, Buddy LeRoux announced that the Yawkey partnership had placed him at the helm of the Red Sox. He fired Haywood Sullivan and placed ex-GM Dick O'Connell back in his old role. Twenty minutes after that press conference, Haywood Sullivan and John Harrington announced that the restructuring of the partnership was illegal and thattheywere still in charge. The battle continued for almost a year and resulted in Lou Gorman being hired as Vice President/GM.
July 4, 1983: Pitching in Yankee Stadium, New York's Dave Righetti struck out seven of the first nine Red Sox batters he faced en route to a no-hitter, winning the game 4-0.
July 7, 1983: Oakland SS Bill Almon stole two bases, and five of his teammates also swiped a bag, as the Athletics beat the Red Sox, 13-9, at Fenway. Rich Gedman was behind the plate for all seven SB.
September 1, 1983: Tom Brunansky had two homers and a single, accounting for six RBI, as the Twins shut out the Red Sox 11-0.
September 29, 1983: Boston tied the game against the Yankees on a Jim Rice homer in the eighth inning, and took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth when Ed Jurak doubled Reid Nichols home. In the bottom of the ninth, New York's Willie Randolph walked and Ken Griffey, Sr. brought him home with a double. The game was tied at three runs each. Mark Clear replaced John Tudor on the mound and got Dave Winfield to fly out. He intentionally walked Don Baylor, and followed with another (unintentional) walk to Oscar Gamble. Don Mattingly singled to left to score Baylor and win the game.
1984 86-76, 4th place in the AL East, 18 games back of the Detroit Tigers
May 15, 1984: Roger Clemens started his first major league game, getting a "no decision" in a 7-5 loss. Although Clemens had a good spring training, the organization waited to call him up until May so that he would not be eligible for arbitration for an extra year. Cleveland runners swiped seven bases off of the Sox (including six off of Clemens) during the game.
May 25, 1984: The Red Sox traded Dennis Eckersley to the Chicago Cubs for 1B Bill Buckner and OF Mike Brumley.
May 26, 1984: George Brett had six RBI on three hits during an 11-7 Kansas City Royals victory at Fenway Park.
July 2, 1984: Oakland's Rickey Henderson stole second base three times, and third once, as Oakland won, 9-6, in Boston.
August 9, 1984: Charlie Mitchell made his major league debut when he came into pitch for Boston in the eighth inning at Texas. He gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Rangers 1B Pete O'Brien.
September 14, 1984: The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 7-1, dropping Boston to 16-1/2 games back (with 16 remaining) -- eliminating them from contention.
1985 81-81, 5th place in the AL East, 18-1/2 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays
August 16, 1985: The Red Sox led the Yankees, 4-3, going into the bottom of the ninth at Yankee Stadium. Boston's Steve Crawford gave up a single to Ron Hassey. Willie Randolph sacrificed Hassey to second, and Mike Pagliarulo drove him home on a single to left. Crawford retired the next two batters, and the game went into extra innings. Dave Righetti held the Red Sox scoreless in the top of the tenth. Crawford retired the first two New York batters in the bottom of the inning. Dave Winfield doubled and Dan Pasqua was intentionally walked. Crawford walked Butch Wynegar, and Bob Stanley was brought in pitch. Stanley walked the next batter, Willie Randolph, to force the winning run home.
August 19, 1985: Boston had not beaten New York since April 24, losing eight consecutive games to the Yankees.
Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd led the majors in hits allowed (273). The Red Sox committed 145 errors in the field, the most in the American League. SS Jackie Gutierrez had one of the worst seasons of any starting player in recent baseball history. He batted .218 with an on-base percentage of .250, a slugging percentage of .273, and a fielding percentage of .943.
November 13, 1985: The Sox traded Tom McCarthy, Bob Ojeda, John Mitchell, and Chris Bayer to the Mets in exchange for Calvin Schiraldi, Wes Gardner, John Christensen, and La Schelle Tarver. The two teams would meet in the following year's World Series. Ojeda won game three for the Mets, and Schiraldi was one strike away from winning the World Series when he gave up Ray Knight's single in the tenth inning of game six to keep the Mets hopes alive.
During the offseason, The Red Sox fired minor league instructor Tommy Harper. Harper claimed racism; that his firing was in retaliation for his exposing that the Red Sox allowed white players to affiliate with the (openly-segregated) Winter Haven Elks Lodge during 1984 spring training. The United States EEOC and Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination later sided with Harper.
1986 95-66, AL Champions, lost to the New York Mets in the World Series
Boston won the AL East, and met the Angels in the ALCS. They lost three of the first four games in the best-of-seven series. In game five, down by three runs in the ninth, Boston was facing elimination. Don Baylor and Dave Henderson hit homers to give Boston a 6-5 lead. California tied it up, but Boston won the game in the eleventh on a Henderson sacrifice fly. The Sox won games six (10-4) and seven (8-1) to advance to the World Series. Despite losing, California still holds the record for the most hits (71), and the most total bases (103), of any team in an ALCS.
Facing the New York Mets, Boston took the first two games of the World Series, 1-0 and 9-3; the Red Sox had won five straight postseason games.
October 21, 1986: New York's Lenny Dykstra led off with a home run in the first, the start of a four-run inning for the Mets. The Mets had thirteen hits as former Red Sox pitcher Bob Ojeda beat Oil Can Boyd, 7-1, cutting the Boston lead to one game.
October 22, 1986: Boston Manager John McNamara chose Al Nipper (who was ineffective all season) over Bruce Hurst to pitch game four. Massachusetts native Ron Darling was on the mound for the Mets, and pitched seven shutout innings. Nipper lost 6-2; the Series was tied at two games apiece. Gary Carter had two home runs in the game. He had three RBIs in both games three and four.
October 25, 1986: Two days earlier, Boston beat Dwight Gooden for the second time; they led the Series three games to two. The Red Sox had their young ace, Roger Clemens, on the mound for game six. The bullpen was well rested after Bruce Hurst had gone the distance in game five.
In the top of the first, Wade Boggs led off with a single. After Marty Barrett and Bill Buckner made outs, Jim Rice was walked, and Boggs was driven in on a Dwight Evans double -- but Rice failed to score from first. In the second, three singles brought Spike Owen home. Despite Bob Ojeda's rocky start (four singles, a walk, and a double in the first two innings), Boston held only a 2-0 lead. Clemens did not allow a hit through four, and carried the 2-0 lead into the fifth inning. The Mets' Darryl Strawberry walked and stole second. Ray Knight's single brought him home. Knight took third when Dwight Evans misplayed a Mookie Wilson single. Danny Heep hit into a double play, but Knight scored to tie the game. Bob Ojeda grounded out to end the Mets' inning.
Roger McDowell came in to pitch the seventh for the Mets. He walked Marty Barrett to start off the inning. Bill Buckner moved him to second base. Ray Knight fielded an easy grounder off the bat of Jim Rice, but threw the ball over Keith Hernandez's head -- advancing Boston's Barrett to third and allowing Rice to take first. The Sox had runners on the corners with one out, and took back the lead on a Dwight Evans sacrifice. Jim Rice was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. In the top of the eighth, Dave Henderson singled and Spike Owen bunted him to second. Mike Greenwell pinch-hit for Clemens, striking out. Wade Boggs and Marty Barrett both walked; Boston had two outs and the bases loaded (still up by one run). The Mets brought in lefty Jesse Orosco to face Bill Buckner. Buckner had only one hit in eleven chances with runners in scoring position in the Series. He hit .218 versus lefties during the regular season, and Orosco was considered one of the toughest pitchers a lefty could face. John McNamara decided to leave the left-handed Buckner in the game, instead of pinch-hitting Don Baylor. After flying out to end the inning, Buckner took his position at first.
Lee Mazzilli tied it up in the eighth inning on a Gary Carter sac fly off of Calvin Schiraldi. Knotted at three, the game went into extra innings. Henderson led off the tenth with a homerun for Boston. Later in the inning Boggs doubled with two outs, and Barrett drove him in. Boston had a 5-3 lead. Wally Backman hit a fly to left for the Mets first out in the bottom of the tenth. Keith Hernandez followed with a deep fly to center for the second out. With nobody on and two outs, the Shea Stadium scoreboard read "Congratulations Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions." Boston pitcher Bruce Hurst was selected as the World Series MVP.
Gary Carter hit a 2-1 fastball for a single to left. Kevin Mitchell (who was in the already in the clubhouse arranging for his plane ride home) was called upon to pinch hit. Mitchell and Schiraldi had played together in Jackson, Mississippi in 1983. Mitchell remembered that Schiraldi had once told him that if he ever faced him, he would start with a fastball inside, and try to get him to bite on a slider away. Schiraldi started with a fastball inside, and Mitchell lined the slider to center; Carter was on second. Ray Knight faced Calvin Schiraldi. Schiraldi got ahead with a 0-2 count; Boston was one strike away from winning. On the next pitch, Knight blooped the ball into short center; Carter scored and Mitchell advanced to third. The Mets were down by one, 5-4. Bob Stanley came in to face Mookie Wilson. The count went to 2-2; Boston was again one strike away. Third base coach Bud Harrelson advised Mitchell to be ready to charge home on a wild pitch. Wilson fouled off two balls; for thefourthtime, the Red Sox were one strike away from breakingthe curse.
Stanley's next pitch bounced off of Catcher Rich Gedman, allowing Mitchell to score the tying run. Knight advanced to second base. With Knight taking a large lead, Marty Barrett snuck in for what seemed like an easy pickoff, but Bob Stanley was too focused on the plate to realize. Wilson fouled off the pitch. On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, Wilson hit a slow grounder towards first. The ball rolled under Bill Buckner's glove into short right as Knight rounded third to score the winning run. Bostonstranded fourteenrunners in the game. McNamara later said that he had left Buckner in the game so that he would be on the field when the team won the World Series.
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October 27, 1986: In the second inning of game seven, Rich Gedman and Dwight Evans hit back-to-back solo homers, and Wade Boggs drove in another run, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. Bruce Hurst had given up only one hit through five innings when Lee Mazzilli and Mookie Wilson hit a pair of singles in the sixth. Tim Teufel walked to load the bases. Keith Hernandez lined to center, making it 3-2. Dwight Evans just missed catching Gary Carter's single to right as Wally Backman (who was running for Teufel) crossed the plate. Tied at three in the seventh, John McNamara called Calvin Schiraldi to the mound. Roger Clemens, who was also warming up, was passed over. Ray Knight led off with a homer and Schiraldi gave up two more hits. Both runners scored, giving the Mets a 6-3 lead. Boston answered back with two, on a Dwight Evans double, in the top of the eighth. McNamara again passed over Rogers Clemens to bring in Al Nipper to pitch the bottom of the inning. Darryl Strawberry hit an 0-2 homer over the right field wall, and pitcher Jesse Orosco had an RBI single on a fake bunt to make it 8-5. Orosco tossed a 1-2-3 ninth; the New York Mets won the 1986 World Series.
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The Red Sox stranded 69 runners, the second most ever in the World Series. Buckner batted .187 in the Series. Calvin Schiraldi allowed eight earned runs over the entire 1986 regular season, he allowed six during the World Series.
1987 78-84, 5th place in the AL East, 6 games back of the Detroit Tigers
July 23, 1987: The Red Sox released Bill Buckner, who was batting .278 and playing solid defense at first. Dwight Evans was moved in from right to man firstbase. The Angels picked up Buckner. He spent the remainder of his career with the Angels and Royals before returning to Boston in 1990, only to be released a second time by the Sox.
June 26, 1987: Roger Clemens was spotted to a 9-0 second inning lead over the Yankees. Wade Boggs' 25-game hitting streak was broken and Boston blew the nine-run lead as the Yankees won 12-11 in the tenth inning on a Wayne Tolleson RBI single.
August 2, 1987: Royals 3B Kevin Seitzer hit two home runs, a double, and three singles off of Red Sox pitching during a 13-5 Kansas City victory. Seitzer had hits off of four different Sox pitchers (Bob Stanley, Steve Crawford, Tom Bolton, and Calvin Schiraldi) and seven RBI.
September 7, 1987: Bruce Hurst took the mound against the Yankees at Fenway park. He gave up seven runs on twelve hits and two walks in 3-2/3 innings pitched. New York won 9-5.
September 29, 1987: After beating the Red Sox on the prior day (guaranteeing them a losing record), New York's Pat Kelly and Rickey Henderson both had one-out singles in the third. A double steal moved them to second and third. It was Henderson's 40th steal of the season, and the 700th of his career. Willie Randolph walked, and then Don Mattingly hit his sixth grand slam of the season (a major league record). He hit the homer into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium off of Boston's Bruce Hurst. Tom Bolton replaced Hurst, and the Yanks scored another run off of Bolton in the third. They scored one more in the eighth, as New York blanked the Sox, 6-0.
One year after going to the World Series, Boston finished six games under .500 (78-84). They went 2-11 against the Tigers. The Red Sox used six catchers during the season (including Mike Greenwell in one game). Marc Sullivan, Rich Gedman, John Marzano, Danny Shaeffer, and Dave Sax were the other five. They batted a combined .195.
1988 89-73, won the AL East, lost to the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS
July 29, 1988: Baltimore tradedex-All Star pitcher Mike Boddicker to the Red Sox in return forfutureAll-Stars Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling. Boddicker had two successful years with Boston. Anderson hit fifty home runs for Baltimore in 1996 and swiped 315 bases in his career. Curt Schilling became one of baseball's premier pitchers during the 1990s, and was voted the World Series co-MVP in 2001.
After Joe Morgan replaced John McNamara as manager on July 13, Boston went on to win their first nineteen out of twenty. With an 89-73 record, they won the division by one game.
October 5, 1988: Boston met Oakland for game one of the ALCS. The Athletics' Jose Canseco hit a solo homer off of Bruce Hurst in the fourth to post a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox tied it in the seventh. In the eighth, ex-Boston 3B Carney Lansford doubled, and ex-Boston OF Dave Henderson singled him in to take back the lead. Ex-Boston pitcher Dennis Eckersley held the Red Sox scoreless in the final two innings as Oakland won the opener 2-1.
October 6, 1988: The Red Sox scored twice in the sixth. Oakland scored three in the seventh on four hits, a balk, and a wild pitch, taking a 3-2 lead. Boston tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Red Sox closer Lee Smith gave up a ninth inning solo homer to rookie SS Walt Weiss, and Eckersley saved the game to beat the Red Sox by one run for the second day in a row.
October 8, 1988: Boston was up 5-0 going into the bottom of the second. Walt Weiss doubled for the A's. Both Mark McGwire and Carney Lansford homered. Oakland was within one run of the Sox. Oakland's Ron Hassey hit a two-run homer in the third, and his teammate Dave Henderson matched the feat in the eighth. Oakland's four home runs in the game tied the ALCS record. Dennis Eckersley saved his third game in as many days, as the Athletics won 10-6.
October 9, 1988: Jose Canseco hit his third homer of the ALCS in the first inning and the Athletics never lost the lead. Oakland's Dave Stewart, Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley (who got his record fourth save) gave up a total of only four hits and one run, as Oakland swept the series with a 4-1 victory.
The Red Sox set the record for most home runs allowed in a four game ALCS (seven, including four in the third game - another ALCS record). Boston's teamslugging percentagein the '88 ALCS was .288, Oakland's was .511.
December 8, 1988: Boston free agent Bruce Hurst signed with the Padres, despite a better offer (monetarily) from the Red Sox. Hurst went 55-38 for San Diego over the next four-plus years.
1989 83-79, 3rd place in the AL East, 6 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays
April 21, 1989: Bo Jackson had three stolen bases, and his Kansas City teammates added four more during a 7-4 victory over Boston at Fenway Park.
May 26, 1989: Chuck Finley tossed a one-hitter for the Angels, shutting out the Red Sox, 5-0, at Fenway. Boston's only hit came with two out in the eighth when Jody Reed singled.
June 4, 1989: Boston led Toronto 10-0 in the sixth inning. Toronto won the game 13-11 in the 12th.
June 13, 1989: Red Sox pitcher John Dopson balked four times in the first four innings of a game against the Tigers. Dopson led the league with fifteen balks during the season (and had three other multiple-balk games).
June 21, 1989: Gene Petralli had five hits off of Red Sox pitching during a 10-3 Texas Rangers victory at Fenway park.
October 28, 1989: The Oakland Athletics completed their four game sweep of the Giants in the World Series. The 1989 A's featured three former Red Sox players on their championship roster; closer Dennis Eckersley, 3B Carney Lansford, and OF Dave Henderson.
The 1989 Red Sox were 13-25 in one-run games.
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