| 1988 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
| American League East champions | |
| League | American League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 89–73 (.549) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Owners | Jean Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan |
| President | John Harrington[a] |
| General manager | Lou Gorman |
| Managers |
|
| 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 |
The1988 Boston Red Sox season was the 88th season in the franchise'sMajor League Baseball history. TheRed Sox finished first in theAmerican League East with a record of 89–73 but were then swept by theOakland Athletics in theALCS.
The team is best remembered for its change of fortune following its change ofmanager; afterJohn McNamara was replaced byJoe Morgan, the team won its next 12 games in a stretch nicknamed "Morgan Magic".[3]
| Month | Record | Cumulative | AL East | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Position | GB | ||
| April | 14 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 2nd | 1 | [7] |
| May | 11 | 16 | 25 | 22 | 4th | 7 | [8] |
| June | 14 | 12 | 39 | 34 | 3rd | 6 | [9] |
| July | 21 | 9 | 60 | 43 | 3rd | 1+1⁄2 | [10] |
| August | 13 | 16 | 73 | 59 | 2nd | 2 | [11] |
| September | 16 | 12 | 89 | 71 | 1st | +3 | [12] |
| October | 0 | 2 | 89 | 73 | 1st | +1 | [13] |
The 1988 team seemed to start much better than their chaotic 1987 predecessors, going 14–6 in April;[6] however, the team went sour thereafter, especially forJim Rice as he moved from left field todesignated hitter.Dwight Evans also had problems when he played first base, and the usually reliableLee Smith had problemsclosing, including giving up a game-winning home run to theDetroit Tigers onOpening Day.[14]

The Red Sox had an 11–16 record in May,[6] followed by a slightly better June with a 14–12 record,[6] but lost pitcherJeff Sellers when he was hit by a line drive in Cleveland that broke his hand.Wes Gardner was moved from the bullpen to therotation, but the team and its fans were losing patience.
At theAll-Star break, the Red Sox were 43–42, ninegames behind the Tigers in theAL East standings.[15] Management had seen enough, firingJohn McNamara and elevating third base coachJoe Morgan to manager.[16]
On July 15, the first game after the All-Star break, the Red Sox andRoger Clemens beat theKansas City Royals andBret Saberhagen, 3–1.[17] This began a 12-game winning streak,[17] which launched the Red Sox to first place over the slumping Tigers andNew York Yankees. The Red Sox would later set an American League record of 24 straight home victories. Two months after Morgan became manager, the team was 81–63 and in first place by4+1⁄2 games.[18] The team cooled off in the final two weeks of the season, finishing with nine losses in their final 13 games,[17] but held on to win the AL East, finishing one game ahead of the Tigers, for their second division title in three seasons.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 53–28 | 36–45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1 | 50–31 | 38–43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 47–34 | 40–41 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 45–36 | 42–39 |
| New York Yankees | 85 | 76 | .528 | 3½ | 46–34 | 39–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 84 | .481 | 11 | 44–37 | 34–47 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 107 | .335 | 34½ | 34–46 | 20–61 |
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 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 0–12 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 10–3 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| California | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 9–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 7–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 3–9 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 12–0 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Milwaukee | 9–4 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | — | 3–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 9–3 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |
| 5 | Brady Anderson | CF |
| 17 | Marty Barrett | 2B |
| 26 | Wade Boggs | 3B |
| 14 | Jim Rice | LF |
| 39 | Mike Greenwell | RF |
| 24 | Dwight Evans | 1B |
| 30 | Sam Horn | DH |
| 10 | Rich Gedman | C |
| 7 | Spike Owen | SS |
| 21 | Roger Clemens | P |
Source:[14]
The team held anold-timers game on May 14, before a scheduled home game against theSeattle Mariners. The alumni game marked the 40th anniversary of the1948 Red Sox team, which had lost a one-game playoff to theCleveland Indians.[21] The visiting (non-Red Sox) alumni team, skippered byLou Boudreau—who had beenplayer-manager of the 1948 Cleveland squad—prevailed by an 8–2 score, led by fourRBIs from formerPittsburgh PirateManny Sanguillén.[21]
| 1988 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters
| Manager Coaches
| ||||||
| Past games legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Sox Win (#bfb) | Red Sox Loss (#fbb) | Game postponed (#bbb) | All-Star Game (#bbcaff) | Clinched Division (#039) |
| Bold denotes a Red Sox pitcher | ||||
| 1988 Regular Season Game Log (89–73) (Home: 53–28; Road: 36–45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April (14–6) (Home: 8–4; Road: 6–2)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
May (11–16) (Home: 6–8; Road: 5–8)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
June (14–12) (Home: 7–6; Road: 7–6)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
July (21–9) (Home: 15–0; Road: 6–9)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
August (13–16) (Home: 9–5; Road: 4–11)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
September (16–12) (Home: 8–5; Road: 8–7)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | Rich Gedman | 95 | 299 | 69 | .231 | 9 | 39 |
| 1B | Todd Benzinger | 120 | 405 | 103 | .254 | 13 | 70 |
| 2B | Marty Barrett | 150 | 612 | 173 | .283 | 1 | 65 |
| 3B | Wade Boggs | 155 | 584 | 214 | .366 | 5 | 58 |
| SS | Jody Reed | 109 | 338 | 99 | .293 | 1 | 28 |
| LF | Mike Greenwell | 158 | 590 | 192 | .325 | 22 | 119 |
| CF | Ellis Burks | 144 | 540 | 159 | .294 | 18 | 92 |
| RF | Dwight Evans | 149 | 559 | 164 | .293 | 21 | 111 |
| DH | Jim Rice | 135 | 485 | 128 | .264 | 15 | 72 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Cerone | 84 | 264 | 71 | .269 | 3 | 27 |
| Spike Owen | 89 | 257 | 64 | .249 | 5 | 18 |
| Larry Parrish | 52 | 158 | 41 | .259 | 7 | 26 |
| Brady Anderson | 41 | 148 | 34 | .230 | 0 | 12 |
| Kevin Romine | 57 | 78 | 15 | .192 | 1 | 6 |
| Ed Romero | 31 | 75 | 18 | .240 | 0 | 5 |
| Sam Horn | 24 | 61 | 9 | .148 | 2 | 8 |
| Pat Dodson | 17 | 45 | 8 | .178 | 1 | 1 |
| John Marzano | 10 | 29 | 4 | .138 | 0 | 1 |
| Randy Kutcher | 19 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Quintana | 5 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Clemens | 35 | 264.0 | 18 | 12 | 2.93 | 291 |
| Bruce Hurst | 33 | 216.2 | 18 | 6 | 3.66 | 166 |
| Oil Can Boyd | 23 | 129.2 | 9 | 7 | 5.34 | 71 |
| Mike Boddicker | 15 | 89.0 | 7 | 3 | 2.63 | 56 |
| Steve Ellsworth | 8 | 36.0 | 1 | 6 | 6.75 | 16 |
| Steve Curry | 3 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 8.18 | 4 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wes Gardner | 36 | 149.2 | 8 | 6 | 3.50 | 106 |
| Mike Smithson | 31 | 126.2 | 9 | 6 | 5.97 | 73 |
| Jeff Sellers | 18 | 85.2 | 1 | 7 | 4.83 | 70 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Smith | 64 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 2.80 | 96 |
| Bob Stanley | 57 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3.19 | 57 |
| Dennis Lamp | 46 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3.48 | 49 |
| Tom Bolton | 28 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4.75 | 21 |
| John Trautwein | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | 8 |
| Zach Crouch | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 0 |
| Mike Rochford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Rob Woodward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| W:Rick Honeycutt (1–0) L:Bruce Hurst (0–1) S:Dennis Eckersley (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR:OAK –José Canseco (1) | ||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| W:Gene Nelson (1–0) L:Lee Smith (0–1) S:Dennis Eckersley (2) | ||||||||||||
| HR:OAK –José Canseco (2) BOS –Rich Gedman (1) | ||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| Oakland | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | X | 10 | 15 | 1 |
| W:Gene Nelson (2–0) L:Mike Boddicker (0–1) S:Dennis Eckersley (3) | ||||||||||||
| HR:OAK –Mark McGwire (1) Carney Lansford (1) Ron Hassey (1) Dave Henderson (1) BOS –Mike Greenwell (1) | ||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Oakland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| W:Dave Stewart (1–0) L:Bruce Hurst (0–2) S:Dennis Eckersley (4) | ||||||||||||
| HR:OAK –José Canseco (3) | ||||||||||||
TheLynchburg Red Sox replaced theGreensboro Hornets as a Class A affiliate. TheArizona League Red Sox/Mariners (a cooperative team) were added as a Rookie League affiliate.
Arizona League team affiliation shared with theSeattle Mariners[23]
Source:[2][24]