1990 Boston Red Sox season explained

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

• November 13, 1989: The Red Sox waive Jim Rice.^[1]
• December 6, 1989: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[2]
• December 6, 1989: Jeff Reardon was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[3]
• December 19, 1989: Rick Cerone was released by the Red Sox.^[4]
• December 20, 1989: Sam Horn was released by the Red Sox.^[5]

February

• February 5, 1990: Pitcher Eric Hetzel agrees to a one-year contract with the Red Sox; pitcher Joe Johnson and infielder Jim Pankovits agree to contracts with the Pawtucket Red Sox.^[6]
• February 6, 1990: First Base Coach Al Bumbry agrees to a one-year deal with the Red Sox.^[7]
• February 9, 1990: Pitcher Rob Murphy agreed to a two-year $1.75 million contract with the Red Sox.^[8]
• February 14, 1990: Bill Buckner agrees to a Triple-A Contract with the Red Sox.^[9]
• February 15, 1990: Greg A. Harris was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[10]

Regular season

Record by month^[11]

Month	Record		Cumulative				Ref.
	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Position	GB
April	11	8	11	8	2nd		[12]
May	12	14	23	22	3rd	1	[13]
June	20	9	43	31	1st	+	[14]
July	12	17	55	48	1st (tie)	—	[15]
August	19	9	74	57	1st	+	[16]
September	12	16	86	73	1st	+1	[17]
October	2	1	88	74	1st	+2	[18]

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.^[19]

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,^[20] giving the Yankees an 18–31 record, games behind the first-place Red Sox.^[21] The firing made Fenway Park arguably the scene of Dent's best moment as a player and worst moment as manager.^[22] 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.^[23] 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."^[23] Author Bill Pennington called the firing of Dent "merciless."^[24] However, Yankees television analyst Tony Kubek blasted at Steinbrenner for the firing in a harsh, angry way.^[25] 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...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."^[26] 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...If you really are a winner, you should not have handled this like a loser."^[26] He then said, angrily, "George, you're a bully and a coward."^[27] 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."^[26] 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.^{[28] [29] [30]}

Notable transactions

• May 4, 1990: Lee Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Brunansky.^[31]
• June 4, 1990: Les Norman was selected by the Red Sox in the 26th round of the 1990 MLB draft, but did not sign.^[32]
• June 5, 1990: Bill Buckner was released by the Red Sox.^[33]
• June 8, 1990: Rich Gedman was sent to the Houston Astros as part of a conditional deal.^[34]
• August 23, 1990: Cecilio Guante signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.^[35]
• August 30, 1990: The Red Sox traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen.^[36]

Opening Day lineup

26		3B
17		2B
39		LF
12		CF
24		DH
13	Billy Jo Robidoux	1B
6		C
3		SS
16		RF
21		P

Source:^[37]

Red Sox debuts

!Player!Position!Date!Game!Source

	Catcher	4/9/1990	Vs. Detroit Tigers	[38]
Billy Jo Robidoux	First Base	4/9/1990	Vs. Detroit Tigers
Jeff Reardon	Pitcher	4/17/1990	@ Chicago White Sox	[39]
Dana Kiecker	Pitcher	4/12/1990	@ Detroit Tigers	[40]
Daryl Irvine	Pitcher	4/28/1990	Vs. Oakland Athletics	[41]
Jerry Reed	Pitcher	5/4/1990	@ Oakland Athletics	[42]
Tom Brunansky	Right Field	5/6/1990	@ Oakland Athletics	[43]
Jeff Gray	Pitcher	6/10/1990	Vs. Cleveland Indians	[44]
Tim Naehring	Second Base	7/15/1990	Vs. Kansas City Royals	[45]
Joe Hesketh	Pitcher	8/3/1990	Vs. Detroit Tigers	[46]
Rick Lancellotti	Pinch Hitter	8/10/1990	@ Seattle Mariners	[47]
Mike Marshall	Designated Hitter	8/20/1990	Vs. Baltimore Orioles	[48]
Phil Plantier	Pinch Hitter	8/21/1990	Vs. Baltimore Orioles	[49]
Larry Andersen	Pitcher	9/2/1990	Vs. New York Yankees	[50]
Scott Cooper	Pinch Hitter	9/5/1990	@ Oakland Athletics	[51]
Jim Pankovits	Second Base	9/17/1990	@ Chicago White Sox	[52]

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.^[53]

Roster

1990 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		OutfieldersDesignated HittersPinch hitter		ManagerCoaches

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

bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="20%"	Player	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	G	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	AB	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	R	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	H	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	2B	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	3B	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	HR	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	RBI	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	SB	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	BB	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	AVG	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	SLG
Wade Boggs	155	619	89	187	44	5	6	63	0	87	.302	.418
Mike Greenwell	159	610	71	181	30	6	14	73	8	65	.297	.434
Jody Reed	155	598	70	173	45	0	5	51	4	75	.289	.390
Ellis Burks	152	588	89	174	33	8	21	89	9	48	.296	.486
Carlos Quintana	149	512	56	147	28	0	7	67	1	52	.287	.383
Tony Peña	143	491	62	129	19	1	7	56	8	43	.263	.348
Tom Brunansky	129	461	61	123	24	5	15	71	5	54	.267	.438
Dwight Evans	123	445	66	111	18	3	13	63	3	67	.249	.391
Luis Rivera	118	346	38	78	20	0	7	45	4	25	.225	.344
Marty Barrett	62	159	15	36	4	0	0	13	4	15	.226	.252
Kevin Romine	70	136	21	37	7	0	2	14	4	12	.272	.368
Mike Marshall	30	112	10	32	6	1	4	12	0	4	.286	.464
Tim Naehring	24	85	10	23	6	0	2	12	0	8	.271	.412
John Marzano	32	83	8	20	4	0	0	6	0	5	.241	.289
Randy Kutcher	63	74	18	17	4	1	1	5	3	13	.230	.351
Danny Heep	41	69	3	12	1	1	0	8	0	7	.174	.217
Billy Jo Robidoux	27	44	3	8	4	0	1	4	0	6	.182	.341
Bill Buckner	22	43	4	8	0	0	1	3	0	3	.186	.256
Phil Plantier	14	15	1	2	1	0	0	3	0	4	.133	.200
Rich Gedman	10	15	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	5	.200	.200
Rick Lancellotti	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000
Jeff Stone	10	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.500	.500
Scott Cooper	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000
Jim Pankovits	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.---	.---
Team Totals	162	5516	699	1502	298	31	106	660	53	598	.272	.395

Source:https://baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1990-batting.shtml

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

bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="20%"	Player	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	W	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	L	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	ERA	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	G	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	GS	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	SV	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	IP	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	H	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	R	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	ER	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	BB	bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%"	SO
Roger Clemens	21	6	1.93	31	31	0	228.1	193	59	49	54	209
Mike Boddicker	17	8	3.36	34	34	0	228.0	225	92	85	69	143
Greg A. Harris	13	9	4.00	34	30	0	184.1	186	90	82	77	117
Dana Kiecker	8	9	3.97	32	25	0	152.0	145	74	67	54	93
Tom Bolton	10	5	3.38	21	16	0	119.2	111	46	45	47	65
Dennis Lamp	3	5	4.68	47	1	0	105.2	114	61	55	30	49
Wes Gardner	3	7	4.89	34	9	0	77.1	77	43	42	35	58
Rob Murphy	0	6	6.32	68	0	7	57.0	85	46	40	32	54
Jeff Reardon	5	3	3.16	47	0	21	51.1	39	19	18	19	33
Jeff Gray	2	4	4.44	41	0	9	50.2	53	27	25	15	50
Jerry Reed	2	1	4.80	29	0	2	45.0	55	27	24	16	17
Eric Hetzel	1	4	5.91	9	8	0	35.0	39	28	23	21	20
Joe Hesketh	0	4	3.51	12	2	0	25.2	37	12	10	11	26
Larry Andersen	0	0	1.23	15	0	1	22.0	18	3	3	3	25
John Dopson	0	0	2.04	4	4	0	17.2	13	7	4	9	9
Daryl Irvine	1	1	4.67	11	0	0	17.1	15	10	9	10	9
Lee Smith	2	1	1.88	11	0	4	14.1	13	4	3	9	17
John Leister	0	0	4.76	2	1	0	5.2	7	5	3	4	3
Mike Rochford	0	1	18.00	2	1	0	4.0	10	10	8	4	0
Danny Heep	0	0	9.00	1	0	0	1.0	4	1	1	0	0
Team Totals	88	74	3.72	162	162	44	1442.0	1439	664	596	519	997

Source:https://baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1990-pitching.shtml

Statistical leaders

Category	Player	Statistic
Youngest player		21
Oldest player		40
		10.4

Source:^[54]

Batting

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
G			159
PA	Plate appearances		713
AB	At bats	Wade Boggs	619
R	Runs scored	Wade Boggs	89
		Ellis Burks
H	Hits	Wade Boggs	187
2B	Doubles		45
3B	Triples	Ellis Burks	8
HR	Home runs	Ellis Burks	21
RBI		Ellis Burks	89
SB	Stolen bases	Ellis Burks	9
CS		Ellis Burks	11
BB		Wade Boggs	87
SO	Strikeouts		105
BA		Wade Boggs	.302
OBP		Wade Boggs	.386
SLG		Ellis Burks	.486
OPS		Ellis Burks	.835
OPS+		Ellis Burks	128
TB		Ellis Burks	286
GIDP			23
HBP		3 tied	4
SH	Sacrifice hits		12
SF		Tom Brunansky	8
IBB		Wade Boggs	19

Source:^[54]

Pitching

Abbr.	Category	Player	Statistic
W	Wins		21
L	Losses		9
		Dana Kiecker
W-L %		Roger Clemens	.778 (21–6)
ERA		Roger Clemens	1.93
G	Games pitched		68
GS	Games started		34
GF	Games finished		37
CG	Complete games	Roger Clemens	7
SHO		Roger Clemens	4
SV	Saves	Jeff Reardon	21
IP		Roger Clemens
SO	Strikeouts	Roger Clemens	209
WHIP		Rogers Clemens	1.082

Source:^[54]

ALCS

See main article: article and 1990 American League Championship Series.

Game 1

October 6, 1990, at Fenway Park

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	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

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	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

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	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

align=left width=28%	Team	width=6%	1	width=6%	2	width=6%	3	width=6%	4	width=6%	5	width=6%	6	width=6%	7	width=6%	8	width=6%	9	width=6%	R	width=6%	H	width=6%	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

• Mike Boddicker – Gold Glove Award (P)
• Ellis Burks – Silver Slugger Award (OF), Gold Glove Award (OF)
• Roger Clemens – AL Pitcher of the Month (August)

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.

The Red Sox shared a DSL team with the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres.
Source:^{[55] [56]}

External links

• 1990 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1990 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com

Notes and References

1. News: Harber . Paul . November 14, 1989 . Rice Waived by Red Sox: Attention Turned to Esasky . 57 & 59 . The Boston Globe.
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lampde01.shtml Dennis Lamp Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reardje01.shtml Jeff Reardon Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/ceronri01.shtml Rick Cerone Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
5. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsa01.shtml Sam Horn Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
6. News: February 6, 1990 . Red Sox Sign Three . 12 . . Associated Press.
7. News: Cafardo . Nick . February 7, 1990 . Bumbry Agrees to 1-Year Deal . 79 . The Boston Globe.
8. News: Cafardo . Nick . February 10, 1990 . Murphy Agrees on 2-Year Deal . 33 & 34 . The Boston Globe.
9. News: Cafardo . Nick . February 15, 1990 . Buckner Makes It Official With Sox . 91 . The Boston Globe.
10. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harrigr01.shtml Greg Harris Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
11. Web site: The 1990 Boston Red Sox . . October 11, 2020.
12. Web site: Events of Monday, April 30, 1990.
13. Web site: Events of Thursday, May 31, 1990.
14. Web site: Events of Saturday, June 30, 1990.
15. Web site: Events of Tuesday, July 31, 1990.
16. Web site: Events of Friday, August 31, 1990.
17. Web site: Events of Sunday, September 30, 1990.
18. Web site: Events of Wednesday, October 3, 1990.
19. Web site: Single Season Grounding Into Double Play Records. Baseball-Almanac.com. October 12, 2020.
20. Web site: The 1990 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log . . October 12, 2020.
21. Web site: Standings At Close of Play of June 5, 1990 . . October 12, 2020.
22. News: Dent dumped by Yankees . June 7, 1990 . Nick Cafardo . Nick . Cafardo . The Boston Globe . 37 . newspapers.com.
23. News: His back was against the wall . June 7, 1990 . Dan . Shaughnessy . Dan Shaughnessy . The Boston Globe . 37 . newspapers.com.
24. Book: Pennington, Bill. Chumps to Champs: How the Worst Teams in Yankees History Led to the '90s Dynasty. 2019. Bill Pennington. 9781328849854. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32.
25. News: Kubek Speaks Out Against Dent Firing. June 7, 1990. Hal. Bock. Associated Press.
26. News: Kubek: George a Loser. June 7, 1990. Bob. Raissman. New York Daily News. 64.
27. News: At MSG, Kubek Reigns Over George. June 8, 1990. Bob. Raissman. New York Daily News. 71.
28. News: Steinbrenner Under Fire In New York. June 8, 1990. Associated Press. 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..
29. News: ABC Exec Gives Boss Static. June 8, 1990. Bob. Raissman. New York Daily News. 68.
30. News: Players blame themselves; fans point to Steinbrenner . Pedulla . Tom . Shuster . Rachel . USA Today . June 7, 1990 . 7C.
31. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithle02.shtml Lee Smith Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
32. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/normale01.shtml Les Norman Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
33. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bucknbi01.shtml Bill Buckner Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
34. Web site: Rich Gedman Stats .
35. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guantce01.shtml Cecilio Guante Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
36. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bagweje01.shtml Jeff Bagwell Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
37. Web site: Boston Red Sox 5, Detroit Tigers 2 . April 9, 1990 . . October 12, 2020.
38. News: Cafardo . Nick . Fainaru . Steve . April 10, 1990 . Robidoux Was Just A Little Bit Nervous At First . 32 . The Boston Globe.
39. News: Cafardo . Nick . April 18, 1990 . Red Sox fall to White Sox . 33 & 37 . The Boston Globe.
40. News: Atkins . Harry . April 13, 1990 . Tigers snarl at Sox . 37 & 42 . . Associated Press.
41. News: April 28, 1990 . Boggs, Evans Lead Red Sox To 12-3 Rout Of Athletics . 7B . . Associated Press.
42. News: Cafardo . Nick . May 5, 1990 . Evans: The Right Move . 33 . The Boston Globe.
43. News: May 7, 1990 . Oakland defeats Bosox . 13 & 15 . . Associated Press.
44. News: June 11, 1990 . Candiotti's Knuckler Puzzles Red Sox . 13 . . Associated Press.
45. News: Fainaru . Steve . July 16, 1990 . Rivera Will Continue To Fight For Starting Job . 43 . The Boston Globe.
46. News: August 4, 1990 . Red Sox again rock Robinson . 11 . . Associated Press.
47. News: Cafardo . Nick . August 11, 1990 . Lancellotti To Get His Chance . 37 . The Boston Globe.
48. News: Shaugnessy . Dan . August 21, 1990 . He dodged city for a while, but new Marshall is in town . 61 & 63 . The Boston Globe.
49. News: Cafardo . Nick . August 22, 1990 . Doctors Examine Evans . 87 . The Boston Globe.
50. News: September 3, 1990 . Bolton Pitches Red Sox by NY for 10th Straigth . 9 . . Associated Press.
51. News: September 6, 1990 . A's, Welch mug Red Sox 10-0 . 2B . . Associated Press.
52. News: Cafardo . Nick . September 17, 1990 . Morgan Is Still Hoping For Change In The Lineup . 44 . The Boston Globe.
53. News: Baseball . . . 2C . May 20, 1990 . May 24, 2018 . newspapers.com.
54. Web site: 1990 Boston Red Sox Statistics . . October 16, 2020.
55. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
56. Book: Boston Red Sox Media Guide . 1990 . 141 . March 14, 2021 . Wayback Machine.