1978 Boston Red Sox season

1978 Boston Red Sox
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Fenway Park (since 1912)
Boston, Massachusetts (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan, Jean Yawkey
General manager(s)	Haywood Sullivan
Manager(s)	Don Zimmer
Local television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Dick Stockton, Ken Harrelson)
Local radio	WITS-AM 1510 (Ned Martin, Jim Woods)
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The 1978 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing second in the American League East with a record of 99 wins and 64 losses, after at one point having a 10-game lead.

Offseason

• November 23, 1977: Mike Torrez was signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox.^[1]
• December 8, 1977: Don Aase and cash were traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for Jerry Remy.^[2]
• December 27, 1977: Dick Drago was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[3]
• March 28, 1978: Denny Doyle was released by the Red Sox.^[4]
• March 30, 1978: Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Ted Cox, and Bo Díaz were traded by the Red Sox to the Cleveland Indians for Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall.^[5]

Regular season

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	63	0.613	—	55–26	45–37
Boston Red Sox	99	64	0.607	1	59–23	40–41
Milwaukee Brewers	93	69	0.574	6½	54–27	39–42
Baltimore Orioles	90	71	0.559	9	51–30	39–41
Detroit Tigers	86	76	0.531	13½	47–34	39–42
Cleveland Indians	69	90	0.434	29	42–36	27–54
Toronto Blue Jays	59	102	0.366	40	37–44	22–58

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–8	4–6	8–1	9–6	7–8	2–8	7–8	5–5	6–9	11–0	9–1	7–4	8–7
Boston	8–7	—	9–2	7–3	7–8	12–3	4–6	10–5	9–2	7–9	5–5	7–3	3–7	11–4
California	6–4	2–9	—	8–7	6–4	4–7	9–6	5–5	12–3	5–5	9–6	9–6	5–10	7–3
Chicago	1–8	3–7	7–8	—	8–2	2–9	8–7	4–7	8–7	1–9	7–8	7–8	11–4	4–6
Cleveland	6–9	8–7	4–6	2–8	—	5–10	5–6	5–10	5–5	6–9	4–6	8–1	1–9	10–4
Detroit	8–7	3–12	7–4	9–2	10–5	—	4–6	7–8	4–6	4–11	6–4	8–2	7–3	9–6
Kansas City	8–2	6–4	6–9	7–8	6–5	6–4	—	6–4	7–8	6–5	10–5	12–3	7–8	5–5
Milwaukee	8–7	5–10	5–5	7–4	10–5	8–7	4–6	—	4–7	10–5	9–1	5–5	6–4	12–3
Minnesota	5–5	2–9	3–12	7–8	5–5	6–4	8–7	7–4	—	3–7	9–6	6–9	6–9	6–4
New York	9–6	9–7	5–5	9–1	9–6	11–4	5–6	5–10	7–3	—	8–2	6–5	6–4	11–4
Oakland	0–11	5–5	6–9	8–7	6–4	4–6	5–10	1–9	6–9	2–8	—	13–2	6–9	7–4
Seattle	1–9	3–7	6–9	8–7	1–8	2–8	3–12	5–5	9–6	5–6	2–13	—	3–12	8–2
Texas	4–7	7–3	10–5	4–11	9–1	3–7	8–7	4–6	9–6	4–6	9–6	12–3	—	4–7
Toronto	7–8	4–11	3–7	6–4	4–10	6–9	5–5	3–12	4–6	4–11	4–7	2–8	7–4	—

Notable transactions

• May 20, 1978: Bob Ojeda was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.^[6]

Opening Day lineup

2	Jerry Remy	2B
7	Rick Burleson	SS
14	Jim Rice	DH
8	Carl Yastrzemski	LF
27	Carlton Fisk	C
19	Fred Lynn	CF
15	George Scott	1B
24	Dwight Evans	RF
4	Butch Hobson	3B
21	Mike Torrez	P

The "Boston Massacre"

Boston at one point in July held a 14-game lead over rival New York. However, after working their way back capped by a 4-game sweep at Fenway, the Yanks tied the division. Then, in a one-game playoff, the Yanks won 5-4 with the help of a home run by Bucky Dent.^[7] The Yanks went on to win the World Series in 6 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although Dent became a Red Sox demon, the Red Sox would get retribution in 1990 when the Yankees fired Dent as their manager during a series at Fenway Park.^[7][8]

Roster

1978 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 16 Tom Burgmeier 22 Bill Campbell 26 Reggie Cleveland 41 Dick Drago 43 Dennis Eckersley 31 Andy Hassler 26 John LaRose 37 Bill Lee 28 Allen Ripley 47 Bobby Sprowl 46 Bob Stanley 23 Luis Tiant 21 Mike Torrez 45 Jim Wright		Catchers 27 Carlton Fisk 10 Bob Montgomery Infielders 30 Bob Bailey  3 Jack Brohamer  7 Rick Burleson 17 Frank Duffy  4 Butch Hobson 18 Fred Kendall  2 Jerry Remy 15 George Scott		Outfielders 29 Sam Bowen  1 Bernie Carbo 24 Dwight Evans 38 Garry Hancock 19 Fred Lynn 14 Jim Rice  8 Carl Yastrzemski		Manager 34 Don Zimmer Coaches 33 Walt Hriniak 32 Al Jackson 35 Johnny Pesky 36 Eddie Yost

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

= Indicates team leader

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Fisk, CarltonCarlton Fisk	157	571	94	162	.284	20	88	7
1B	Scott, GeorgeGeorge Scott	120	412	51	96	.233	12	54	1
2B	Remy, JerryJerry Remy	148	583	87	162	.278	2	44	30
3B	Hobson, ButchButch Hobson	147	512	65	128	.250	17	80	1
SS	Burleson, RickRick Burleson	145	626	75	155	.248	5	49	8
LF	Rice, JimJim Rice	163	677	121	213	.315	46	139	7
CF	Lynn, FredFred Lynn	150	541	75	161	.298	22	82	3
RF	Evans, DwightDwight Evans	147	497	75	123	.247	24	63	8
DH	Bailey, BobBob Bailey	43	94	12	18	.191	4	9	2

^[9]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski	144	523	70	145	.277	17	81	4
Brohamer, JackJack Brohamer	81	244	34	57	.234	1	25	1
Duffy, FrankFrank Duffy	64	104	12	27	.260	0	4	1
Hancock, GarryGarry Hancock	38	80	10	18	.225	0	4	0
Carbo, BernieBernie Carbo	17	46	7	12	.261	1	6	1
Kendall, FredFred Kendall	20	41	3	8	.195	0	4	0
Montgomery, BobBob Montgomery	10	29	2	7	.241	0	5	0
Bowen, SamSam Bowen	6	7	3	1	.143	1	1	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	CG	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Eckersley, DennisDennis Eckersley	35	16	268.1	20	8	2.99	71	162
Torrez, MikeMike Torrez	36	15	250	16	13	3.96	99	120
Tiant, LuisLuis Tiant	32	12	212.1	13	8	3.31	57	114
Lee, BillBill Lee	28	8	177	10	10	3.46	59	44
Ripley, AllenAllen Ripley	15	1	73	2	5	5.55	22	26
Sprowl, BobbyBobby Sprowl	3	0	12.2	0	2	6.39	10	10

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Wright, JimJim Wright	24	116	8	4	3.57	24	56
Hassler, AndyAndy Hassler	13	30	2	1	3.00	13	23

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
Stanley, BobBob Stanley	52	15	2	10	2.60	38
Drago, DickDick Drago	37	4	4	7	3.03	42
Burgmeier, TomTom Burgmeier	35	2	1	4	4.40	24
Campbell, BillBill Campbell	29	7	5	4	3.91	47
LaRose, JohnJohn LaRose	1	0	0	0	22.50	3
Cleveland, ReggieReggie Cleveland	1	0	1	0	0.00	0

AL East tie-breaker game

October 2, 1978 at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	5	8	0
Boston Red Sox	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	4	11	0
WP: Ron Guidry (25-3)   LP: Mike Torrez (16-13)   Sv: Goose Gossage (27) Home runs: NYY: Bucky Dent, Reggie Jackson BOS: Carl Yastrzemski

Awards and honors

• Jim Rice, OF, American League Most Valuable Player

League leaders

• Jim Rice, American League leader, Hits (213)
• Jim Rice, American League leader, Home runs (46)
• Jim Rice, American League leader, RBIs (139)

All-Stars

All-Star Game

• Carlton Fisk, Catcher, starter
• Fred Lynn, Center field, starter
• Jim Rice, Left field, starter
• Rick Burleson, reserve
• Dwight Evans, reserve
• Jerry Remy, reserve
• Carl Yastrzemski, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Pawtucket Red Sox	International League	Joe Morgan
AA	Bristol Red Sox	Eastern League	Tony Torchia
A	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Carolina League	Bill Slack
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

Notes

1. Mike Torrez page at Baseball Reference
2. Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
3. Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
4. Denny Doyle page at Baseball Reference
5. Dennis Eckersley page at Baseball Reference
6. Bob Ojeda page at Baseball Reference
7. Cafardo, Nick (June 7, 1990). "Dent Dumped by Yankees". The Boston Globe. p. 37.
8. Shaughnessy, Dan (June 7, 1990). "His Back Was Against the Wall". The Boston Globe. p. 37.
9. 1978 Boston Red Sox Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

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.
• 1978 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1978 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com