1966 Boston Red Sox season

1966 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Fenway Park (since 1912)
Boston, Massachusetts (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Tom Yawkey
General manager(s)	Dick O'Connell
Manager(s)	Billy Herman (W-64; L-82) and Pete Runnels (W-8; L-8)
Local television	WHDH-TV, Ch. 5
Local radio	WHDH-AM 850 (Ken Coleman, Ned Martin, Mel Parnell)
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The 1966 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 9th in the American League with a record of 72 wins and 90 losses, 26 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. After 1966, the Red Sox would not lose 90 games until 46 years later in 2012.

Offseason

• November 29, 1965: Jimy Williams was drafted from the Red Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 first-year draft.^[1]
• November 30, 1965: Eddie Bressoud was traded by the Red Sox to the New York Mets for Joe Christopher.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	97	63	0.606	—	48–31	49–32
Minnesota Twins	89	73	0.549	9	49–32	40–41
Detroit Tigers	88	74	0.543	10	42–39	46–35
Chicago White Sox	83	79	0.512	15	45–36	38–43
Cleveland Indians	81	81	0.500	17	41–40	40–41
California Angels	80	82	0.494	18	42–39	38–43
Kansas City Athletics	74	86	0.463	23	42–39	32–47
Washington Senators	71	88	0.447	25½	42–36	29–52
Boston Red Sox	72	90	0.444	26	40–41	32–49
New York Yankees	70	89	0.440	26½	35–46	35–43

Record vs. opponents

1966 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIN	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	12–6	12–6	9–9	8–10	9–9	11–5	10–8	15–3	11–7
Boston	6–12	—	9–9	11–7	7–11	8–10	9–9	6–12	8–10	8–10
California	6–12	9–9	—	8–10	10–8	9–9	9–9	11–7	11–7	7–11
Chicago	9–9	7–11	10–8	—	11–7	8–10	13–5	4–14	9–9–1	12–6
Cleveland	10–8	11–7	8–10	7–11	—	9–9	6–12	9–9	12–6	9–9
Detroit	9–9	10–8	9–9	10–8	9–9	—	6–12	11–7	11–7	13–5
Kansas City	5–11	9–9	9–9	5–13	12–6	12–6	—	8–10	5–13	9–9
Minnesota	8–10	12–6	7–11	14–4	9–9	7–11	10–8	—	8–10	14–4
New York	3–15	10–8	7–11	9–9–1	6–12	7–11	13–5	10–8	—	5–10
Washington	7–11	10–8	11–7	6–12	9–9	5–13	9–9	4–14	10–5	—

Opening Day lineup

14	George Smith	2B
24	George Thomas	CF
8	Carl Yastrzemski	LF
25	Tony Conigliaro	RF
5	George Scott	3B
11	Tony Horton	1B
6	Rico Petrocelli	SS
22	Mike Ryan	C
26	Earl Wilson	P

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1966: Galen Cisco was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[3]
• June 14, 1966: Joe Christopher and Earl Wilson were traded by the Red Sox to the Detroit Tigers for Don Demeter and a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Julio Navarro to the Red Sox on June 21.^[2]

Roster

1966 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 28 Dennis Bennett 27 Bucky Brandon 38 Hank Fischer 37 Guido Grilli 16 Jim Lonborg 36 Pete Magrini 44 Don McMahon 23 Dave Morehead 19 Dan Osinski 17 Dick Radatz 18 Garry Roggenburk 21 Bob Sadowski 29 Ken Sanders 30 José Santiago 40 Rollie Sheldon 15 Bill Short 37 Lee Stange 18 Jerry Stephenson 42 Dick Stigman 26 Earl Wilson 26 John Wyatt		Catchers 22 Mike Ryan 10 Bob Tillman Infielders 39 Mike Andrews  1 Joe Foy 11 Tony Horton  3 Dalton Jones  2 Eddie Kasko  6 Rico Petrocelli  5 George Scott 14 George Smith		Outfielders 20 Joe Christopher 25 Tony Conigliaro  4 Don Demeter  4 Jim Gosger  7 Lenny Green 41 Reggie Smith 12 José Tartabull 24 George Thomas  8 Carl Yastrzemski		Managers 35 Billy Herman 32 Pete Runnels Coaches 31 Billy Gardner 33 Sal Maglie 34 Len Okrie 32 Pete Runnels

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
C	Ryan, MikeMike Ryan	116	369	79	.214	2	32
1B	Scott, GeorgeGeorge Scott	162	601	147	.245	27	90
2B	Smith, GeorgeGeorge Smith	128	403	86	.213	8	37
3B	Foy, JoeJoe Foy	151	554	145	.262	15	63
SS	Petrocelli, RicoRico Petrocelli	139	522	124	.238	18	59
LF	Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski	160	594	165	.278	16	80
CF	Demeter, DonDon Demeter	73	226	66	.292	9	29
RF	Conigliaro, TonyTony Conigliaro	150	558	148	.265	28	93

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
Thomas, GeorgeGeorge Thomas	61	173	41	.237	5	20
Horton, TonyTony Horton	6	22	3	.136	0	2
Christopher, JoeJoe Christopher	12	13	1	.077	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
Bennett, DennisDennis Bennett	16	75	3	3	3.24	77

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
Brandon, BuckyBucky Brandon	40	157.2	8	8	3.31	101

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
Wyatt, JohnJohn Wyatt	42	3	4	8	3.14	63

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	Dick Williams
AA	Pittsfield Red Sox	Eastern League	Eddie Popowski
A	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	Bill Slack
A	Waterloo Hawks	Midwest League	Dave Philley
A	Oneonta Red Sox	New York–Penn League	Matt Sczesny
Rookie	Covington Red Sox	Appalachian League	Rac Slider

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Toronto

Notes

1. Jimy Williams page at Baseball Reference
2. Joe Christopher page at Baseball Reference
3. Galen Cisco page at Baseball Reference

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.
• 1966 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1966 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com