1979 Boston Red Sox season

Major League Baseball season

Major League Baseball team season

1979 Boston Red Sox

League| American League
Division| East
Ballpark| Fenway Park
City| Boston, Massachusetts
Record| 91–69 (.569)
Divisional place| 3rd (11+1⁄2 GB)
Owners| Buddy LeRoux, Haywood Sullivan, Jean Yawkey
President| Jean Yawkey
General manager| Haywood Sullivan
Manager| Don Zimmer
Television| WSBK-TV, Ch. 38
(Ned Martin, Ken Harrelson)
Radio| WITS-AM 1510
(Ken Coleman, Rico Petrocelli)
Stats| ESPN.com
BB-reference
| <- 1978 | Seasons | 1980 ->

|
|

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, 11+1⁄2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles, who went on to win the AL championship.

## Offseason

[edit]

On December 7, 1978, pitcher Bill Lee was traded to the Montreal Expos for infielder Stan Papi.[1]

## Regular season

[edit]

Record by month[2] Month | Record | Cumulative | AL East | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Position | GB
April | 13 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 1st | +1⁄2 | [3]
May | 14 | 12 | 27 | 19 | 2nd | 2 | [4]
June | 20 | 8 | 47 | 27 | 2nd | 4+1⁄2 | [5]
July | 15 | 13 | 62 | 40 | 2nd | 7+1⁄2 | [6]
August | 16 | 13 | 78 | 53 | 3rd | 8+1⁄2 | [7]
September | 13 | 16 | 91 | 69 | 3rd | 11+1⁄2 | [8]

The Red Sox only played 160 games, as a home game scheduled against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 12,[9] and an away game scheduled against the Chicago White Sox on August 29,[10] were rained out and not rescheduled.

### Highlights

[edit]

Fred Lynn had a league-leading .333 batting average and had 39 home runs and 122 RBIs, while Jim Rice batted .325 with 39 homers and 130 RBIs. On the pitching staff, Dennis Eckersley was 17–10, down from 20–8 the prior season, and Mike Torrez was 16–13, matching his record of the previous year.

The season also featured Carl Yastrzemski's 3,000th hit and his 400th home run. His 400th home run came off of Mike Morgan of the Athletics on July 24.[11] Yaz became the seventh AL player and 18th MLB player to collect 400 home runs.[12] He joined the 3,000 hit club with a single off of Jim Beattie of the Yankees on September 12.[13] Yaz was the 15th player to collect 3,000 major league hits, and the first AL player to have both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.[14]

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

AL East Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Baltimore Orioles | 102 | 57  | .642  | —  | 55‍–‍24  | 47‍–‍33
Milwaukee Brewers | 95 | 66  | .590  | 8  | 52‍–‍29  | 43‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox | 91 | 69  | .569  | 11½  | 51‍–‍29  | 40‍–‍40
New York Yankees | 89 | 71  | .556  | 13½  | 51‍–‍30  | 38‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers | 85 | 76  | .528  | 18  | 46‍–‍34  | 39‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80  | .503  | 22  | 47‍–‍34  | 34‍–‍46
Toronto Blue Jays | 53 | 109  | .327  | 50½  | 32‍–‍49  | 21‍–‍60

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

1979 American League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

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

[edit]

* 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.[15]
* 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.[16]

### Opening Day lineup

[edit]

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

Source:[17]

### Roster

[edit]

1979 Boston Red Sox

Roster
Pitchers

* 16 Tom Burgmeier
* 22 Bill Campbell
* 41 Dick Drago
* 43 Dennis Eckersley
* 44 Joel Finch
* 31 Andy Hassler
* 42 Chuck Rainey
* 49 Win Remmerswaal
* 25 Steve Renko
* 28 Allen Ripley
* 46 Bob Stanley
* 21 Mike Torrez
* 30 John Tudor
* 45 Jim Wright

|  | Catchers

* 39 Gary Allenson
* 27 Carlton Fisk
* 10 Bob Montgomery
* 50 Mike O'Berry

Infielders

* 3 Jack Brohamer
* 7 Rick Burleson
* 17 Frank Duffy
* 1 Jim Dwyer
* 4 Butch Hobson
* 12 Stan Papi
* 2 Jerry Remy
* 5 George Scott
* 11 Ted Sizemore
* 5 Bob Watson
* 20 Larry Wolfe
* 8 Carl Yastrzemski

|  | Outfielders

* 24 Dwight Evans
* 19 Fred Lynn
* 17 Tom Poquette
* 14 Jim Rice

|  | Manager

* 34 Don Zimmer

Coaches

* 33 Walt Hriniak (Bullpen)
* 32 Al Jackson (Pitching)
* 35 Johnny Pesky (First base)
* 36 Eddie Yost (Third base)

## 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 | Gary Allenson | 108 | 241 | 49 | .203 | 3 | 22
1B | Bob Watson | 84 | 312 | 105 | .337 | 13 | 53
2B | Jerry Remy | 80 | 306 | 91 | .297 | 0 | 29
SS | Rick Burleson | 153 | 627 | 174 | .278 | 5 | 60
3B | Butch Hobson | 146 | 528 | 138 | .261 | 28 | 93
LF | Jim Rice | 158 | 619 | 201 | .325 | 39 | 130
CF | Fred Lynn | 147 | 531 | 177 | .333 | 39 | 122
RF | Dwight Evans | 152 | 489 | 134 | .274 | 21 | 58
DH | Carl Yastrzemski | 147 | 518 | 140 | .270 | 21 | 87

#### 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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Carlton Fisk | 91 | 320 | 87 | .272 | 10 | 42
Jack Brohamer | 64 | 192 | 51 | .266 | 1 | 11
George Scott | 45 | 156 | 35 | .224 | 4 | 23
Tom Poquette | 63 | 154 | 51 | .331 | 2 | 23
Stan Papi | 50 | 117 | 22 | .188 | 1 | 6
Jim Dwyer | 76 | 113 | 30 | .265 | 2 | 14
Ted Sizemore | 26 | 88 | 23 | .261 | 1 | 6
Bob Montgomery | 32 | 86 | 30 | .349 | 0 | 7
Larry Wolfe | 47 | 78 | 19 | .244 | 3 | 15
Mike O'Berry | 43 | 59 | 10 | .169 | 1 | 4
Frank Duffy | 6 | 3 | 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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Mike Torrez | 36 | 252.1 | 16 | 13 | 4.49 | 125
Dennis Eckersley | 33 | 246.2 | 17 | 10 | 2.99 | 150
Bob Stanley | 40 | 216.2 | 16 | 12 | 3.99 | 56
Steve Renko | 27 | 171.0 | 11 | 9 | 4.11 | 99
Chuck Rainey | 20 | 103.2 | 8 | 5 | 3.82 | 41
John Tudor | 6 | 28.0 | 1 | 2 | 6.43 | 11

#### 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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Allen Ripley | 16 | 64.2 | 3 | 1 | 5.15 | 34
Joel Finch | 15 | 57.1 | 0 | 3 | 4.87 | 25

#### 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 | 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
Jim Wright | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.09 | 15
Win Remmerswaal | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.08 | 16
Andy Hassler | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8.80 | 7

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* Rick Burleson – Gold Glove Award (SS)
* Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF)
* Fred Lynn – Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (August)

All-Star Game

* Rick Burleson, reserve SS
* Fred Lynn, starting CF
* Jim Rice, starting RF
* Bob Stanley, reserve P
* Carl Yastrzemski, starting 1B

## Farm system

[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

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 Pioneers | New York–Penn League | Dick Berardino

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Winter Haven
Source:[18][19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Stout, Glenn; Johnson, Richard A. (2005). Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 392.
2. ^ "The 1979 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
3. ^ "Events of Monday, April 30, 1979".
4. ^ "Events of Thursday, May 31, 1979".
5. ^ "Events of Saturday, June 30, 1979".
6. ^ "Events of Tuesday, July 31, 1979".
7. ^ "Events of Friday, August 31, 1979".
8. ^ "Events of Sunday, September 30, 1979".
9. ^ "Red Sox look for clear skies". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. AP. August 13, 1979. p. 19. Retrieved October 11, 2020 - via newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Veeck Attacks New Postponement". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. AP. August 30, 1979. p. 69. Retrieved October 11, 2020 - via newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Another milestone for Yaz: 400th home run of career". Tucson Citizen. Tucson, Arizona. AP. July 25, 1979. p. 47. Retrieved October 10, 2020 - via newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Boston Red Sox 7, Oakland Athletics 3". Retrosheet. July 24, 1979. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
13. ^ "The 3,000 Hit Club: Carl Yastrzemski". baseballhalloffame.org.
14. ^ "Boston Red Sox 9, New York Yankees 2". Retrosheet. September 12, 1979. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
15. ^ Bob Watson page at Baseball Reference
16. ^ Ted Sizemore page at Baseball Reference
17. ^ "Boston Red Sox 7, Cleveland Indians 1". Retrosheet. April 5, 1979. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
18. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
19. ^ Boston Red Sox Media Guide. 1979. p. 43. Retrieved March 14, 2021 - via Wayback Machine.

## External links

[edit]

* 1979 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
* 1979 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com

* v
* t
* e

1979 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York
* Toronto

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Seattle
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1979 MLB draft
* 1979 All-Star Game
* 1979 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Boston Red Sox

* Established in 1901
* Formerly the Boston Americans
* Based in Boston, Massachusetts

Franchise|

* History
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* Owners and executives
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* First-round draft picks
* Logos and uniforms
* Hall of Fame

Ballparks|

* Huntington Avenue Grounds
* Braves Field
* Fenway Park

Spring training
Venues
West End Park
Majestic Park
Plant Field
Whittington Park
League Park
Heinemann Park
Ninth Street Park
Legion Field
Municipal Stadium
Payne Park
Oriole Park
Ansley Park
Scottsdale Stadium
Chain of Lakes Park
City of Palms Park
JetBlue Park at Fenway South

Culture|

| Fenway environs|

* Green Monster
* Kenmore Square
* Citgo Sign
* Pesky's Pole
* Yawkey Way

|

Groups|

* The Jimmy Fund
* Red Sox Nation
* Royal Rooters
* Surviving Grady
* The Soxaholix
* BLOHARDS

Individuals|

* Carl Beane
* Sherm Feller
* "Nuf Ced" McGreevy
* Jerry Remy
* Victoria Snelgrove
* Golden Outfield
* Wally the Green Monster

Music|

* "Tessie"
* "Dirty Water"
* "Sweet Caroline"
* "Dream On"
* "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"

Entertainment|

* Films: The Babe
* Fear Strikes Out
* Fever Pitch
* Field of Dreams
* Game 6
* Good Will Hunting
* Moneyball
* Patriots Day
* Still, We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie
* The Town
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* TV series: Cheers
* Four Days in October
* Sox Appeal
* Books: Faithful
* Now I Can Die in Peace
* Red Sox Rule
* Theo-logy
* Art: The Rookie

Lore|

* Curse of the Bambino
* Cy Young's perfect game
* Slaughter's Mad Dash
* 1948 AL tie-breaker game
* The Impossible Dream
* Carlton Fisk waves it fair
* 1978 AL East tie-breaker game
* Bill Buckner's error
* "Idiots" break the curse
* MLB Japan Opening Series 2008
* 2011 Major League Baseball wild card chase
* Boston Strong
* 2019 MLB London Series

Rivalries|

* New York Yankees
* Tampa Bay Rays

Administration|

* Owners: Fenway Sports Group
* John W. Henry
* Tom Werner
* President and CEO: Sam Kennedy
* Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations: Brian O'Halloran
* Chief Baseball Officer: Craig Breslow
* General Manager: TBA
* Manager: Alex Cora

World Series championships (9)|

* 1903
* 1912
* 1915
* 1916
* 1918
* 2004
* 2007
* 2013
* 2018

American League pennants (14)|

* 1903
* 1904
* 1912
* 1915
* 1916
* 1918
* 1946
* 1967
* 1975
* 1986
* 2004
* 2007
* 2013
* 2018

Division championships (10)|

* 1975
* 1986
* 1988
* 1990
* 1995
* 2007
* 2013
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018

Wild card berths (8)|

* 1998
* 1999
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2008
* 2009
* 2021

Minor league affiliates|

* Triple-A
* Worcester Red Sox
* Double-A
* Portland Sea Dogs
* High-A
* Greenville Drive
* Single-A
* Salem Red Sox
* Rookie
* FCL Red Sox
* DSL Red Sox

Broadcasting|

| Television|

* New England Sports Network (NESN)

|

Radio|

* WEEI-FM
* Radio network affiliates

Broadcasters|

* Dave O'Brien
* Dennis Eckersley
* Joe Castiglione
* Tom Caron

Seasons (124)

1900s|

* 1900 ·  1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909

1910s|

* 1910
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1920s|

* 1920
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1930s|

* 1930
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1940s|

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1960s|

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1970s|

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1980s|

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1990s|

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2000s|

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2010s|

* 2010
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2020s|

* 2020
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