1989 Boston Red Sox season

The 1989 Boston Red Sox season was the 89th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 83–79, six games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

1989 Boston Red Sox
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Fenway Park
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	83–79 (.512)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	Jean Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan
President	John Harrington
General manager	Lou Gorman
Manager	Joe Morgan
Television	WSBK-TV, Ch. 38 (Sean McDonough, Bob Montgomery) NESN (Ned Martin, Jerry Remy)
Radio	WPLM-FM 99.1 WPLM-AM 1390 (Ken Coleman, Joe Castiglione) WRCA (Bobby Serrano, Hector Martinez)
Stats	ESPN.com Baseball Reference
← 1988 Seasons 1990 →

Offseason

• November 20, 1988: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[1]
• December 8, 1988: Spike Owen was traded with Dan Gakeler to the Montreal Expos for John Dopson and Luis Rivera.^[2]
• February 6, 1989: Danny Heep signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.^[3]

Regular season

Record by month^[4]

Month	Record		Cumulative		AL East		Ref.
	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Position	GB
April	10	12	10	12	3rd (tie)	1	[5]
May	14	12	24	24	2nd	2	[6]
June	12	15	36	39	3rd	6+1⁄2	[7]
July	14	12	50	51	3rd	3	[8]
August	18	15	68	66	3rd	4	[9]
September	14	13	82	79	3rd	7	[10]
October	1	0	83	79	3rd	6	[11]

Highlights

Wade Boggs had 205 hits and 107 walks,^[12] becoming the first player in MLB history to have at least 200 hits and 100 walks in four consecutive seasons.^[13] He also became the first player in the modern era (after 1900) to have at least 200 hits in seven consecutive seasons.^[13]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Toronto Blue Jays	89	73	.549	—	46‍–‍35	43‍–‍38
Baltimore Orioles	87	75	.537	2	47‍–‍34	40‍–‍41
Boston Red Sox	83	79	.512	6	46‍–‍35	37‍–‍44
Milwaukee Brewers	81	81	.500	8	45‍–‍36	36‍–‍45
New York Yankees	74	87	.460	14½	41‍–‍40	33‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians	73	89	.451	16	41‍–‍40	32‍–‍49
Detroit Tigers	59	103	.364	30	38‍–‍43	21‍–‍60

Record vs. opponents

1989 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–7	6–6	6–6	7–6	10–3	6–6	7–6	4–8	8–5	5–7	6–6	9–3	7–6
Boston	7–6	—	4–8	7–5	8–5	11–2	4–8	6–7	6–6	7–6	7–5	5–7	6–6	5–8
California	6–6	8–4	—	8–5	5–7	11–1	4–9	7–5	11–2	6–6	5–8	7–6	6–7	7–5
Chicago	6–6	5–7	5–8	—	7–5	4–8	6–7	10–2	5–8	5–6	5–8	7–6	3–10	1–11
Cleveland	6–7	5–8	7–5	5–7	—	5–8	8–4	3–10	5–7	9–4	2–10	6–6	7–5	5–8
Detroit	3–10	2–11	1–11	8–4	8–5	—	6–6	6–7	5–7	6–7	4–8	4–8	4–8	2–11
Kansas City	6–6	8–4	9–4	7–6	4–8	6–6	—	8–4	7–6	6–6	7–6	9–4	8–5	7–5
Milwaukee	6–7	7–6	5–7	2–10	10–3	7–6	4–8	—	9–3	8–5	5–7	7–5	5–7	6–7
Minnesota	8–4	6–6	2–11	8–5	7–5	7–5	6–7	3–9	—	6–6	6–7	7–6	5–8	9–3
New York	5–8	6–7	6–6	6–5	4–9	7–6	6–6	5–8	6–6	—	3–9	8–4	5–7	7–6
Oakland	7–5	5–7	8–5	8–5	10–2	8–4	6–7	7–5	7–6	9–3	—	9–4	8–5	7–5
Seattle	6–6	7–5	6–7	6–7	6–6	8–4	4–9	5–7	6–7	4–8	4–9	—	6–7	5–7
Texas	3–9	6–6	7–6	10–3	5–7	8–4	5–8	7–5	8–5	7–5	5–8	7–6	—	5–7
Toronto	6–7	8–5	5–7	11–1	8–5	11–2	5–7	7–6	3–9	6–7	5–7	7–5	7–5	—

Notable transactions

• August 5, 1989: Ed Romero was released by the Red Sox.^[14]
• August 7, 1989: Greg A. Harris was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[15]

Other Transactions

• September 25: Pitcher Bob Stanley announces his retirement; the Red Sox inform Jim Rice that he will not be invited back to the team next year.^[16]

Opening Day lineup

26	Wade Boggs	3B
17	Marty Barrett	2B
24	Dwight Evans	RF
39	Mike Greenwell	LF
12	Ellis Burks	CF
14	Jim Rice	DH
7	Nick Esasky	1B
10	Rich Gedman	C
3	Jody Reed	SS
21	Roger Clemens	P

Source:^[17]

The Red Sox lost their Opening Day game, 5–4 in 11 innings, to the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by President George H. W. Bush.^[18]

Alumni game

The team held an old-timers game on May 6, before a scheduled home game against the Texas Rangers. Festivities included an appearance by Carl Yastrzemski, shortly after his election to the Hall of Fame.^[19] Red Sox alumni lost to a team of former MLB players from other clubs, by a 9–0 score in three innings of play.^[19]

Roster

1989 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers 52 Mike Boddicker 50 Tom Bolton 23 Oil Can Boyd 21 Roger Clemens 40 John Dopson 44 Wes Gardner 27,42 Greg Harris 31 Eric Hetzel 15 Dennis Lamp 47 Rob Murphy 49 Joe Price 54 Mike Rochford 48 Lee Smith 41 Mike Smithson 46 Bob Stanley		Catchers  6 Rick Cerone 10 Rich Gedman 20 John Marzano Infielders 17 Marty Barrett 26 Wade Boggs  7 Nick Esasky 30 Sam Horn  3 Jody Reed  2 Luis Rivera 11 Ed Romero		Outfielders 12 Ellis Burks 24 Dwight Evans 39 Mike Greenwell 29 Danny Heep  5 Randy Kutcher 18 Carlos Quintana 16 Kevin Romine 19 Jeff Stone 19,20 Dana Williams Other batters 14 Jim Rice		Manager 35 Joe Morgan Coaches 33 Dick Berardino (Bullpen) 37 Al Bumbry (First base) 34 Bill Fischer (Pitching) 32 Richie Hebner (Hitting) 36 Rac Slider (Third base)

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	AVG	SLG
Wade Boggs	156	621	113	205	51	7	3	54	2	107	.330	.449
Mike Greenwell	145	578	87	178	36	0	14	95	13	56	.308	.443
Nick Esasky	154	564	79	156	26	5	30	108	1	66	.277	.500
Jody Reed	146	524	76	151	42	2	3	40	4	73	.288	.393
Dwight Evans	146	520	82	148	27	3	20	100	3	99	.285	.463
Ellis Burks	97	399	73	121	19	6	12	61	21	36	.303	.471
Marty Barrett	86	336	31	86	18	0	1	27	4	32	.256	.318
Luis Rivera	93	323	35	83	17	1	5	29	2	20	.257	.362
Danny Heep	113	320	36	96	17	0	5	49	0	29	.300	.400
Rick Cerone	102	296	28	72	16	1	4	48	0	34	.243	.345
Kevin Romine	92	274	30	75	13	0	1	23	1	21	.274	.332
Rich Gedman	93	260	24	55	9	0	4	16	0	23	.212	.292
Jim Rice	56	209	22	49	10	2	3	28	1	13	.234	.344
Randy Kutcher	77	160	28	36	10	3	2	18	3	11	.225	.363
Ed Romero	46	113	14	24	4	0	0	6	0	7	.212	.248
Carlos Quintana	34	77	6	16	5	0	0	6	0	7	.208	.273
Sam Horn	33	54	1	8	2	0	0	4	0	8	.148	.185
John Marzano	7	18	5	8	3	0	1	3	0	0	.444	.778
Jeff Stone	18	15	3	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	.200	.200
Dana Williams	8	5	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.200	.400
Team Totals	162	5666	774	1571	326	30	108	716	56	643	.277	.403

Source:

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Roger Clemens	17	11	3.13	35	35	0	253.1	215	101	88	93	230
Mike Boddicker	15	11	4.00	34	34	0	211.2	217	101	94	71	145
John Dopson	12	8	3.99	29	28	0	169.1	166	84	75	69	95
Mike Smithson	7	14	4.95	40	19	2	143.2	170	84	79	35	61
Dennis Lamp	4	2	2.32	42	0	2	112.1	96	37	29	27	61
Rob Murphy	5	7	2.74	74	0	9	105.0	97	38	32	41	107
Wes Gardner	3	7	5.97	22	16	0	86.0	97	64	57	47	81
Bob Stanley	5	2	4.88	43	0	4	79.1	102	54	43	26	32
Lee Smith	6	1	3.57	64	0	25	70.2	53	30	28	33	96
Joe Price	2	5	4.35	31	5	0	70.1	71	35	34	30	52
Oil Can Boyd	3	2	4.42	10	10	0	59.0	57	31	29	19	26
Eric Hetzel	2	3	6.26	12	11	0	50.1	61	39	35	28	33
Greg A. Harris	2	2	2.57	15	0	0	28.0	21	12	8	15	25
Tom Bolton	0	4	8.31	4	4	0	17.1	21	18	16	10	9
Mike Rochford	0	0	6.75	4	0	0	4.0	4	7	3	4	1
Team Totals	83	79	4.01	162	162	42	1460.1	1448	735	650	548	1054

Source:

Statistical leaders

Wade Boggs

Category	Player	Statistic
Youngest player	Carlos Quintana	23
Oldest player	Dwight Evans	37
Wins Above Replacement	Wade Boggs	8.4

Source:^[20]

Batting

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
G	Games played	Wade Boggs	156
PA	Plate appearances	Wade Boggs	742
AB	At bats	Wade Boggs	621
R	Runs scored	Wade Boggs	113
H	Hits	Wade Boggs	205
2B	Doubles	Wade Boggs	51
3B	Triples	Wade Boggs	7
HR	Home runs	Nick Esasky	30
RBI	Runs batted in	Nick Esasky	108
SB	Stolen bases	Ellis Burks	21
CS	Caught stealing	Wade Boggs	6
BB	Base on balls	Wade Boggs	107
SO	Strikeouts	Nick Esasky	117
BA	Batting average	Wade Boggs	.330
OBP	On-base percentage	Wade Boggs	.430
SLG	Slugging percentage	Nick Esasky	.500
OPS	On-base plus slugging	Wade Boggs	.879
OPS+	Adjusted OPS	Wade Boggs	142
TB	Total bases	Nick Esasky	282
GIDP	Grounded into double play	Mike Greenwell	21
HBP	Hit by pitch	Wade Boggs	7
SH	Sacrifice hits	Marty Barrett	15
SF	Sacrifice flies	Wade Boggs	7
		Dwight Evans
IBB	Intentional base on balls	Wade Boggs	19

Source:^[20]

Pitching

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
W	Wins	Roger Clemens	17
L	Losses	Mike Smithson	14
W-L %	Winning percentage	Roger Clemens	.607 (17-11)
ERA	Earned run average	Roger Clemens	3.13
G	Games pitched	Rob Murphy	74
GS	Games started	Roger Clemens	35
GF	Games finished	Lee Smith	50
CG	Complete games	Roger Clemens	8
SHO	Shutouts	Roger Clemens	3
SV	Saves	Lee Smith	25
IP	Innings pitched	Roger Clemens	253+1⁄3
SO	Strikeouts	Roger Clemens	230
WHIP	Walks plus hits per inning pitched	Roger Clemens	1.216

Source:^[20]

Awards and honors

Awards

• Wade Boggs, Silver Slugger Award (3B)
• Nick Esasky, AL Player of the Month (August)

Accomplishments

• Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Runs (113)
• Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Doubles (51)

All-Star Game

• Wade Boggs, third base, starter
• Mike Greenwell, outfield, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

The Gulf Coast League Red Sox replaced the Arizona League Red Sox/Mariners (a cooperative team) as the domestic Rookie League affiliate.

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Pawtucket Red Sox	International League	Ed Nottle
AA	New Britain Red Sox	Eastern League	Butch Hobson
A	Lynchburg Red Sox	Carolina League	Gary Allenson
A	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 Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.
Source:^[21][22]