1975 Boston Red Sox season

1975  Boston Red Sox
American League Champion American League East Champion
League	American League
Division	Eastern Division
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	95–65 (.594)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Tom Yawkey
President	Tom Yawkey
General managers	Dick O'Connell
Managers	Darrell Johnson
Television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Dick Stockton, Ken Harrelson)
Radio	WHDH-AM 850 (Ned Martin, Jim Woods)
Stats	ESPN.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

Long expectations

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

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

• October 24, 1974: Juan Marichal was released by the Red Sox. ^[1]
• March 29, 1975: Danny Cater was traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Danny Godby. ^[2]

Regular season

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+1⁄2	[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+1⁄2	[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

v t e 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	4½	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

1975 American League record v t e Sources:
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

• June 3: Dave Schmidt was selected by the Red Sox in the 2nd round of the 1975 Major League Baseball Draft ^[12]
• June 14: The Red Sox traded a player to be named later and cash to the California Angels for Denny Doyle. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Chuck Ross (minors) to the Angels on March 5, 1976. ^[13]

Opening Day lineup

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

1975 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 46 Steve Barr 43 Jim Burton 26 Reggie Cleveland 41 Dick Drago 21 Rick Kreuger 37 Bill Lee 29 Roger Moret 45 Dick Pole 28 Diego Seguí 23 Luis Tiant 38 Jim Willoughby 40 Rick Wise		Catchers 39 Tim Blackwell 27 Carlton Fisk 33 Tim McCarver 50 Andy Merchant 10 Bob Montgomery Infielders 11 Kim Andrew  7 Rick Burleson 17 Cecil Cooper 49 Steve Dillard 15,5 Denny Doyle  2 Doug Griffin 12 Bob Heise 51 Butch Hobson  5 Buddy Hunter 15 Deron Johnson  3 Dick McAuliffe  6 Rico Petrocelli  8 Carl Yastrzemski		Outfielders 20 Juan Beníquez  1 Bernie Carbo 24 Dwight Evans 19 Fred Lynn 16 Rick Miller 14 Jim Rice Other batters 25 Tony Conigliaro		Manager 22 Darrell Johnson Coaches 31 Don Bryant (Bullpen) 35 Johnny Pesky (First base) 36 Eddie Popowski (Special assignment) 32 Stan Williams (Pitching) 34 Don Zimmer (Third base)

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	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

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

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
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

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

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

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

Main article: 1975 American League Championship Series

Game 1

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

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

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

Main article: 1975 World Series

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

• Darrell Johnson – Associated Press AL Manager of the Year
• Fred Lynn – American League MVP, American League Rookie of the Year, Associated Press Athlete of the Year, Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (June)
• Luis Tiant – Babe Ruth Award

All-Star Game

• Fred Lynn, reserve OF
• Carl Yastrzemski, reserve 1B

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

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

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

• 1975 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1975 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
• 1975 ALCS Official Scorebook Magazine
• 1975 World Series Media Guide and Scorebook