The 1982 Boston Red Sox season was the 82nd season in the franchise's

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses, six games behind the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, who went on to win the AL championship.

Offseason

* February 25, 1982: Mark Fidrych was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.

Regular season

Highlights

In his second year as Red Sox manager,

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Yor ...

kept the Sox clubhouse on an even keel, and while Boston helped make the season interesting, it was the

all the way finishing at 95–67, one game ahead of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and six up on third-place Boston. Boston's best that year was a bullpen featuring Mark Clear, with 14 wins and 14 saves, and Bob Stanley, with 12 wins and 14 saves. John Tudor, who had been a disappointing 4–3 in 1981, was 13–10.

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

was 13–13 and

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (19 ...

9–9. Torrez would be traded in the offseason. Carney Lansford hit .301 this year, only his second, and his last as a Red Sox. Jim Rice hit .309, with 24 homers and 97 RBIs, and

Dwight Evans Dwight Evans may refer to: * Dwight Evans (baseball) (born 1951), American former baseball player * Dwight Evans (politician) (born 1954), American politician {{hndis, Evans, Dwight ...

had another big year: .292, 32 homers and 98 RBIs.

Carl Yastrzemski Carl Michael Yastrzemski ( ; nicknamed "Yaz"; born August 22, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year Major League career with the Bost ...

, heading toward the end of his career, hit .275, with 16 homers and 72 RBIs. A catcher named

Rich Gedman Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

from

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, hit .249. A rookie also came up and surprised a lot of people: Wade Boggs had been the top hitter in the minors the previous year but had a hard time staying with Boston. He made his major league debut on April 10, 1982, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, going 0-for-4. Once he got into the lineup on June 25, when Lansford was hurt, he stayed on and hit .349.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 7, 1982: In the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd rou ...

, the Red Sox drafted Sam Horn in the first round (16th pick) and

Kevin Romine Kevin Andrew Romine (born May 23, 1961) is a former utility outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox throughout his career (1985–1991). Biography Romine attended Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley, Cali ...

in the second round.

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day had been scheduled for April 5 at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

again the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, but it was postponed due to snow. Additional games were also postponed due to weather conditions. The team finally started their season on April 10, with a doubleheader against the

at Memorial Stadium. Source:

Alumni game

Before a scheduled game with the Texas Rangers on May 1, the Red Sox held their first

old-timers game Old-Timers' Day (or Old-Timers' Game) refers to a tradition in Major League Baseball where a team devotes the early afternoon preceding a weekend game to honor retired players who played for the organization during their careers. The retired play ...

at Fenway, marking 50-years of ownership by the Yawkey family. It was notable for the participation of 63-year-old Red Sox legend

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

, who made a shoestring catch while playing the outfield. Other participants included Bobby Doerr,

Boo Ferriss David Meadow Ferriss (December 5, 1921 – November 24, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitcher, pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1950. Ferriss was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inabil ...

, Jackie Jensen, Bob Montgomery, Johnny Pesky, and Jimmy Piersall.

Roster

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'' Sourc

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'' Sourc

Statistical leaders

Source:

Batting

Source:

Pitching

Source:

Awards and honors

Dwight Evans Dwight Evans may refer to: * Dwight Evans (baseball) (born 1951), American former baseball player * Dwight Evans (politician) (born 1954), American politician {{hndis, Evans, Dwight ...

– Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Gold Glove Award (OF) ; All-Star Game * Mark Clear, reserve P *

, starting P *

, reserve OF

Farm system

Source:

References

External links

1982 Boston Red Sox team
at ''Baseball-Reference''
1982 Boston Red Sox season
at baseball-almanac.com {{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Red Sox