1975 American League Championship Series

The 1975 American League Championship Series was a semifinal matchup in Major League Baseball's 1975 postseason between the Boston Red Sox and the three-time defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics for the right to advance to the World Series. The Red Sox swept the series in three games to win their first AL pennant in eight years, which ended Oakland's pursuit of a fourth consecutive World Series title.^[1]

1975 American League Championship Series
Team (Wins) Manager(s) Season Boston Red Sox (3) Darrell Johnson 95–65 (.594) GA: 4+1⁄2 Oakland Athletics (0) Alvin Dark 98–64 (.605) GA: 7
Dates	October 4–7
Umpires	Don Denkinger Lou DiMuro Bill Kunkel Ron Luciano Jim Evans Hank Morgenweck
Broadcast
Television	NBC KPIX (OAK) WSBK-TV (BOS)
TV announcers	NBC: Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek (in Boston) Joe Garagiola and Maury Wills (in Oakland) KPIX: Monte Moore and Bob Waller WSBK-TV: Dick Stockton and Ken Harrelson
← 1974 ALCS 1976 →

Background

During the regular season, the Red Sox posted a 95–65 (.594) record to win their first American League East division title, while the "Swingin' A's" went 98–64 (.605) to take the American League West for the fifth consecutive season.

The Red Sox had experienced players such as Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, and Dwight Evans, and two sensational rookies – Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. Lynn took most of the headlines by playing a flawless center field, hitting .331 with 21 home runs and 105 RBIs, and was the first major league player to win the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. Despite suffering a broken wrist in late September, Rice finished with a .309 average, 22 homers, and 102 RBIs.

Summary

See also: 1975 Major League Baseball postseason

Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox

Boston won the series, 3–0.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 4	Oakland Athletics – 1, Boston Red Sox – 7	Fenway Park	2:40	35,578[2]
2	October 5	Oakland Athletics – 3, Boston Red Sox – 6	Fenway Park	2:27	35,578[3]
3	October 7	Boston Red Sox – 5, Oakland Athletics – 3	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	2:30	49,358[4]

Game summaries

Game 1

October 4, 1975 1:00 pm (ET) at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

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
WP: Luis Tiant (1–0)   LP: Ken Holtzman (0–1)

Boston starter Luis Tiant allowed just one run on three hits to defeat the Athletics, 7–1, in the ALCS opener. Tiant struck out eight and walked three in a complete game effort, retiring the side in order in four innings. Juan Beníquez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Fred Lynn ended 1-for-4 with two RBIs, and Carlton Fisk went 1-for-4 with two runs scored for the Red Sox. Oakland starter Ken Holtzman was saddled with the loss by yielding five hits and four runs (two unearned) with four strikeouts and a walk in 6+1⁄3 innings of work.

Game 2

October 5, 1975 4:00 pm (ET) at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

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
WP: Roger Moret (1–0)   LP: Rollie Fingers (0–1)   Sv: Dick Drago (1) Home runs: OAK: Reggie Jackson (1) BOS: Carl Yastrzemski (1), Rico Petrocelli (1)

Carl Yastrzemski hit a two-run home run to lead the Red Sox past the Athletics, 6–3, in Game 2. Boston starter Reggie Cleveland was solid through five innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Rico Petrocelli also homered, Carlton Fisk went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Fred Lynn went 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Red Sox. Athletics starter Vida Blue lasted three innings and gave up just three runs on six hits. The win went to Roger Moret, who tossed one scoreless inning of relief, and Dick Drago worked the final three innings to close out the contest. Rollie Fingers took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits over four innings. Reggie Jackson hit a two-run homer and Sal Bando went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a run for the Athletics.

Game 3

October 7, 1975 5:15 pm (PT) at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California

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
WP: Rick Wise (1–0)   LP: Ken Holtzman (0–2)   Sv: Dick Drago (2)

After three consecutive championships, the Athletics' dynasty came to an end, as the Red Sox took the third game, 5-3, to sweep the series, their first series win since 1918. Boston starter Rick Wise allowed three runs (two unearned) on six hits in 7+1⁄3 innings of work. Both Denny Doyle and Carlton Fisk collected two hits with one run and an RBI, and Rick Burleson went 2-for-4 with one run scored to pace the Red Sox. On just two days' rest, Ken Holtzman started for Oakland and was tagged for four runs on seven hits in just 4+2⁄3 innings to take his second loss in the series. Dick Drago earned the save for pitching 1+2⁄3 innings of shutout ball for Boston while Carl Yastrzemski made two great defensive plays in left field and collected two hits. Sal Bando went 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Athletics.^[1]

This game, and Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, were the first LCS games ever played at night;^[5] both were regionally televised by NBC.

Composite box

1975 ALCS (3–0): Boston Red Sox over Oakland A's

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston Red Sox	2	0	0	4	3	1	6	2	0	18	31	4
Oakland A's	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	7	19	5
Total attendance: 120,514   Average attendance: 40,171

Series Statistics

Boston Red Sox

Batting

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Player	GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	Reference
Juan Beníquez	3	12	2	3	1	0	0	1	0	.250	.250	.333	[6]
Rick Burleson	3	9	2	2	2	0	0	1	1	.444	.500	.667	[7]
Cecil Cooper	3	10	0	4	2	0	0	1	0	.400	.400	.600	[8]
Denny Doyle	3	11	3	3	0	0	0	2	0	.273	.250	.273	[9]
Dwight Evans	3	10	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	.100	.182	.200	[10]
Carlton Fisk	3	12	4	5	1	0	0	2	0	.417	.417	.500	[11]
Fred Lynn	3	11	1	4	1	0	0	3	0	.364	.364	.455	[12]
Rico Petrocelli	3	12	1	2	0	0	1	2	0	.167	.167	.417	[13]
Carl Yastrzemski	3	11	4	5	1	0	1	2	1	.455	.500	.818	[14]

Pitching

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

Player	G	GS	IP	H	BB	R	ER	SO	W	L	SV	ERA	Reference
Reggie Cleveland	1	1	5	7	1	3	3	2	0	0	0	5.40	[15]
Dick Drago	2	0	4+2⁄3	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	2	0.00	[16]
Roger Moret	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00	[17]
Luis Tiant	1	1	9	3	3	1	0	8	1	0	0	0.00	[18]
Rick Wise	1	1	7+1⁄3	6	3	3	2	2	1	0	0	2.45	[19]

Oakland Athletics

Batting

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Player	GP	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	Reference
Sal Bando	3	12	1	6	2	0	0	2	0	.500	.500	.667	[20]
Bert Campaneris	3	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.083	.000	[21]
Ray Fosse	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	[22]
Phil Garner	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	[23]
Tommy Harper	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	─	1.000	─	[24]
Jim Holt	3	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	.333	.333	.667	[25]
Don Hopkins	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	[26]
Reggie Jackson	3	12	1	5	0	0	1	3	0	.417	.417	.667	[27]
Bill North	3	10	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.000	.167	.000	[28]
Joe Rudi	3	12	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	.250	.250	.417	[29]
Gene Tenace	3	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.250	.000	[30]
César Tovar	2	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.667	.500	[31]
Claudell Washington	3	12	1	3	1	0	0	1	0	.250	.250	.333	[32]
Billy Williams	3	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.125	.000	[33]

Pitching

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

Player	G	GS	IP	H	BB	R	ER	SO	W	L	SV	ERA	Reference
Glenn Abbott	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	[34]
Vida Blue	1	1	3	6	0	3	3	2	0	0	0	9.00	[35]
Dick Bosman	1	0	0+1⁄3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	[36]
Rollie Fingers	1	0	4	5	1	3	3	3	0	1	0	6.75	[37]
Ken Holtzman	2	2	11	12	1	8	5	7	0	2	0	4.09	[38]
Paul Lindblad	2	0	4+2⁄3	5	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1.93	[39]
Jim Todd	3	0	1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	[40]