1990 Boston Red Sox season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1990 Boston Red Sox
1990 AL East Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record88–74 (.543)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)Jean Yawkey,
Haywood Sullivan
General manager(s)Lou Gorman
Manager(s)Joe Morgan
Local televisionWSBK-TV, Ch. 38
(Sean McDonough, Bob Montgomery)
NESN
(Ned Martin, Jerry Remy)
Local radioWRKO
(Bob Starr, Joe Castiglione)
WROL
(Bobby Serrano, Hector Martinez)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
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The 1990 Boston Red Sox season was the 90th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. It was the third AL East division championship in five years for the Red Sox. However, the team was defeated in a four-game sweep by the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, as had been the case in 1988.

Offseason[]

  • December 6, 1989: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[1]
  • December 6, 1989: Jeff Reardon was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[2]
  • December 19, 1989: Rick Cerone was released by the Red Sox.[3]
  • December 20, 1989: Sam Horn was released by the Red Sox.[4]
  • February 15, 1990: Bill Buckner was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[5]
  • February 15, 1990: Greg A. Harris was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.[6]

Regular season[]

Record by month[7]
Month Record Cumulative AL East Ref.
Won Lost Won Lost Position GB
April 11 8 11 8 2nd 1+1⁄2 [8]
May 12 14 23 22 3rd 1 [9]
June 20 9 43 31 1st +3+1⁄2 [10]
July 12 17 55 48 1st (tie) — [11]
August 19 9 74 57 1st +6+1⁄2 [12]
September 12 16 86 73 1st +1 [13]
October 2 1 88 74 1st +2 [14]

Highlights[]

The Red Sox set a major league record, which still stands, for the most times grounding into a double play during a season, 174.[15]

On June 6, the Red Sox got a measure of retribution for Bucky Dent's home run in the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game. While in Boston for a four-game series, the New York Yankees fired Dent as their manager. The Red Sox had just defeated the Yankees in the first two games of the series,[16] giving the Yankees an 18–31 record, 8+1⁄2 games behind the first-place Red Sox.[17] The firing made Fenway Park arguably the scene of Dent's best moment as a player and worst moment as manager.[18] Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe criticized Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for firing Dent—his 18th managerial change in as many years—in Boston, and rhetorically asked if he couldn't have waited to fire Dent elsewhere.[19] Shaughnessy noted, "if Dent had been fired in Seattle or Milwaukee, this would have been just another event in an endless line of George's jettisons. But it happened in Boston and the nightly news had its hook."[19] Author Bill Pennington called the firing of Dent "merciless."[20] However, Yankees television analyst Tony Kubek blasted at Steinbrenner for the firing in a harsh, angry way.[21] At the beginning of the broadcast of the game on MSG Network, he said to Yankees television play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats, "George Steinbrenner made a big deal that the Dave Winfield situation was mishandled. I think George mishandled this. You don't take a Bucky Dent (at) the site of one of the greatest home runs in Yankee history and fire him and make it a media circus for the Boston Red Sox."[22] He then stared defiantly on camera and said to Steinbrenner, "You don't do it by telephone, either, George. You do it face to face, eyeball to eyeball, even though you may have had a deposition to give to Mr. Dowd (John Dowd, who investigated Steinbrenner's relationship with Howard Spira). If you really are a winner, you should not have handled this like a loser."[22] He then said, angrily, "George, you're a bully and a coward."[23] He then said that "What all this does, it just wrecks George Steinbrenner's credibility with his players, with the front office and in baseball more than it already is–if that's possible. It was just mishandled."[22] The firing of Dent shook New York to its core and the Yankees flagship radio station then, WABC, which also criticized the firing, ran editorials demanding that Steinbrenner sell the team.[24][25][26]

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 88 74 0.543 — 51–30 37–44
Toronto Blue Jays 86 76 0.531 2 44–37 42–39
Detroit Tigers 79 83 0.488 9 39–42 40–41
Cleveland Indians 77 85 0.475 11 41–40 36–45
Baltimore Orioles 76 85 0.472 11½ 40–40 36–45
Milwaukee Brewers 74 88 0.457 14 39–42 35–46
New York Yankees 67 95 0.414 21 37–44 30–51

Record vs. opponents[]

1990 American League Records
  • v
  • t

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 — 4–9 7–5 6–6 6–7 6–7 8–3 7–6 6–6 6–7 4–8 3–9 8–4 5–8
Boston 9–4 — 7–5 6–6 9–4 8–5 4–8 5–8 4–8 9–4 4–8 8–4 5–7 10–3
California 5–7 5–7 — 5–8 7–5 5–7 7–6 7–5 9–4 6–6 4–9 5–8 8–5 7–5
Chicago 6–6 6–6 8–5 — 5–7 5–7 9–4 10–2 7–6 10–2 8–5 8–5 7–6 5–7
Cleveland 7–6 4–9 5–7 7–5 — 5–8 6–6 9–4 7–5 5–8 4–8 7–5 7–5 4–9
Detroit 7–6 5–8 7–5 7–5 8–5 — 5–7 3–10 6–6 7–6 6–6 7–5 6–6 5–8
Kansas City 3–8 8–4 6–7 4–9 6–6 7–5 — 4–8 8–5 8–4 4–9 7–6 5–8 5–7
Milwaukee 6–7 8–5 5–7 2–10 4–9 10–3 8–4 — 4–8 6–7 5–7 4–8 5–7 7–6
Minnesota 6–6 8–4 4–9 6–7 5–7 6–6 5–8 8–4 — 6–6 6–7 6–7 5–8 3–9
New York 7–6 4–9 6–6 2–10 8–5 6–7 4–8 7–6 6–6 — 0–12 9–3 3–9 5–8
Oakland 8–4 8–4 9–4 5–8 8–4 6–6 9–4 7–5 7–6 12–0 — 9–4 8–5 7–5
Seattle 9–3 4–8 8–5 5–8 5–7 5–7 6–7 8–4 7–6 3–9 4–9 — 7–6 6–6
Texas 4–8 7–5 5–8 6–7 5–7 6–6 8–5 7–5 8–5 9–3 5–8 6–7 — 7–5
Toronto 8–5 3–10 5–7 7–5 9–4 8–5 7–5 6–7 9–3 8–5 5–7 6–6 5–7 —


Notable transactions[]

  • May 4, 1990: Lee Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Brunansky.[27]
  • June 4, 1990: Les Norman was selected by the Red Sox in the 26th round of the 1990 MLB draft, but did not sign.[28]
  • June 5, 1990: Bill Buckner was released by the Red Sox.[5]
  • August 23, 1990: Cecilio Guante signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.[29]
  • August 30, 1990: The Red Sox traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen.[30]

Opening Day lineup[]

26 Wade Boggs 3B
17 Marty Barrett 2B
39 Mike Greenwell LF
12 Ellis Burks CF
24 Dwight Evans DH
13 Billy Jo Robidoux     1B
  6 Tony Peña C
  3 Jody Reed SS
16 Kevin Romine RF
21 Roger Clemens P

Source:[31]

Alumni game[]

The team held an old-timers game on May 19, before a scheduled home game against the Minnesota Twins. Red Sox alumni pitchers Bill Lee, Bill Monbouquette, and Dick Radatz allowed just one hit (to former Detroit Tiger Willie Horton) in the four-inning game, as Boston won by a 2–0 score over a team of MLB alumni from other clubs.[32]

Roster[]

1990 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Designated Hitters

Pinch hitter

  • 45 Scott Cooper
 Manager

Coaches

Statistical leaders[]

Roger Clemens
Category Player Statistic
Youngest player Phil Plantier 21
Oldest player Bill Buckner 40
Wins Above Replacement Roger Clemens 10.4

Source:[33]

Batting[]

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
G Games played Mike Greenwell 159
PA Plate appearances Wade Boggs 713
AB At bats Wade Boggs 619
R Runs scored Wade Boggs 89
Ellis Burks
H Hits Wade Boggs 187
2B Doubles Jody Reed 45
3B Triples Ellis Burks 8
HR Home runs Ellis Burks 21
RBI Runs batted in Ellis Burks 89
SB Stolen bases Ellis Burks 9
CS Caught stealing Ellis Burks 11
BB Base on balls Wade Boggs 87
SO Strikeouts Tom Brunansky 105
BA Batting average Wade Boggs .302
OBP On-base percentage Wade Boggs .386
SLG Slugging percentage Ellis Burks .486
OPS On-base plus slugging Ellis Burks .835
OPS+ Adjusted OPS Ellis Burks 128
TB Total bases Ellis Burks 286
GIDP Grounded into double play Tony Peña 23
HBP Hit by pitch 3 tied 4
SH Sacrifice hits Luis Rivera 12
SF Sacrifice flies Tom Brunansky 8
IBB Intentional base on balls Wade Boggs 19

Source:[33]

Pitching[]

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
W Wins Roger Clemens 21
L Losses Greg A. Harris 9
Dana Kiecker
W-L % Winning percentage Roger Clemens .778 (21–6)
ERA Earned run average Roger Clemens 1.93
G Games pitched Rob Murphy 68
GS Games started Mike Boddicker 34
GF Games finished Jeff Reardon 37
CG Complete games Roger Clemens 7
SHO Shutouts Roger Clemens 4
SV Saves Jeff Reardon 21
IP Innings pitched Roger Clemens 228+1⁄3
SO Strikeouts Roger Clemens 209
WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched Rogers Clemens 1.082

Source:[33]

ALCS[]

Main article: 1990 American League Championship Series

Game 1[]

October 6, 1990, at Fenway Park

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 9 13 0
Boston 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
W: Dave Stewart (1-0)   L: Larry Andersen (0-1)  
HR: BOS – Wade Boggs (1)

Game 2[]

October 7, 1990, at Fenway Park

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 13 1
Boston 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0
W: Bob Welch (1-0)   L: Greg Harris (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (1)
HR: None

Game 3[]

October 9, 1990, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 3
Oakland 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 x 4 6 0
W: Mike Moore (1-0)   L: Mike Boddicker (0-1)  S: Dennis Eckersley (2)
HR: None

Game 4[]

October 10, 1990, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 1
Oakland 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 3 6 0
W: Dave Stewart (2-0)   L: Roger Clemens (0-1)  S: Rick Honeycutt (1)
HR: None

Awards and honors[]

Awards
Accomplishments
  • Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (4)

All-Star Game

  • Wade Boggs, Third Base, Starter
  • Ellis Burks, Outfield, Reserve
  • Roger Clemens, Pitcher, Reserve

Farm system[]

See also: Minor League Baseball

The Lynchburg Red Sox and Winter Haven Red Sox changed classification from Class A to Class A-Advanced.

Level Team League Manager
AAA Pawtucket Red Sox International League Ed Nottle and Johnny Pesky
AA New Britain Red Sox Eastern League Butch Hobson
A-Advanced Lynchburg Red Sox Carolina League Gary Allenson
A-Advanced Winter Haven Red Sox Florida State League Dave Holt
A-Short Season Elmira Pioneers New York–Penn League Mike Verdi
Rookie GCL Red Sox Gulf Coast League Felix Maldonado
Rookie DSL cooperative Dominican Summer League  

The Red Sox shared a DSL team with the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres.[34]
Source:[35][36]

References[]

  1. ^ Dennis Lamp Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  2. ^ Jeff Reardon Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  3. ^ Rick Cerone Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  4. ^ Sam Horn Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  5. ^ a b Bill Buckner Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ^ Greg Harris Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  7. ^ "The 1990 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Events of Monday, April 30, 1990".
  9. ^ "Events of Thursday, May 31, 1990".
  10. ^ "Events of Saturday, June 30, 1990".
  11. ^ "Events of Tuesday, July 31, 1990".
  12. ^ "Events of Friday, August 31, 1990".
  13. ^ "Events of Sunday, September 30, 1990".
  14. ^ "Events of Wednesday, October 3, 1990".
  15. ^ "Single Season Grounding Into Double Play Records". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  16. ^ "The 1990 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Standings At Close of Play of June 5, 1990". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Cafardo, Nick (June 7, 1990). "Dent dumped by Yankees". The Boston Globe. p. 37 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b Shaughnessy, Dan (June 7, 1990). "His back was against the wall". The Boston Globe. p. 37 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Pennington, Bill (2019). Chumps to Champs: How the Worst Teams in Yankees History Led to the '90s Dynasty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 32. ISBN 9781328849854.
  21. ^ Bock, Hal (June 7, 1990). "Kubek Speaks Out Against Dent Firing". Associated Press.
  22. ^ a b c Raissman, Bob (June 7, 1990). "Kubek: George a Loser". New York Daily News. p. 64.
  23. ^ Raissman, Bob (June 8, 1990). "At MSG, Kubek Reigns Over George". New York Daily News. p. 71.
  24. ^ "Steinbrenner Under Fire In New York". Associated Press. June 8, 1990. Firing the manager is nothing new for George Steinbrenner, who made Bucky Dent the 18th victim in the 17 years he's owned the New York Yankees. But it has touched a nerve in New York, where just about everyone wants to have Steinbrenner fired. Even the team's media outlets have joined the bandwagon...The latest critic is hardly a likely one—Fred Weinhaus, general manager of WABC radio, the Yankees' flagship station. 'We're tired of what we have and we deserve better,' said Weinhaus, who has run editorials demanding that Steinbrenner either sell the team or bring in a knowledgeable baseball man and give him full power to run it.
  25. ^ Raissman, Bob (June 8, 1990). "ABC Exec Gives Boss Static". New York Daily News. p. 68.}
  26. ^ Pedulla, Tom; Shuster, Rachel (June 7, 1990). "Players blame themselves; fans point to Steinbrenner". USA Today. p. 7C.
  27. ^ Lee Smith Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  28. ^ Les Norman Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  29. ^ Cecilio Guante Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  30. ^ Jeff Bagwell Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  31. ^ "Boston Red Sox 5, Detroit Tigers 2". Retrosheet. April 9, 1990. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  32. ^ "Baseball". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. May 20, 1990. p. 2C. Retrieved May 24, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  33. ^ a b c "1990 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  34. ^ "DSL Tigers/Padres/Red Sox - BR Bullpen".
  35. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  36. ^ Boston Red Sox Media Guide. 1990. p. 141. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

External links[]

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