Boston Red Sox (1903-Present)

Historical Moments:
1901: The Boston Americans begin their inaugural season as one of the American League's charter franchise with a solid pitching staff lead by the all time win leader Cy Young. Cy would win 33 games that first season as the Americans would finish a close second to the Chicago White Sox, with a 79-57 record.

1902: The Boston Americans are in the race for first place again falling 6 and half games short while landing in 3rd with a record of 77-60.

1903: Prior to the start of the season the Presidents of the American and National Leagues sat down and made an agreement for a post-season series between the Champion of the American and National Leagues. This series would settle the World Championship of Major League Baseball. In their 3rd season the Americans once again have a strong pitching rotation led by Cy Young, but in this season he is joined by Bill Dinneen, and Tom Hughes who each win 20 games. The Americans cruise to the AL Pennant with a record of 91-47, and earn a birth to the Inaugural World Series. The first World Series game is played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, and Cy Young has the honors of delivering the first World Series Pitch. However the going is rough from the start as he allows 4 in the first inning runs en-route to a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. However Bill Dinneen steps up and pitches the first Series shut out in game 2. After the Americans lose Game 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh to trail 3-1 in the 9 game series Cy Young redeems his poor Game 1 performance to get Boston back in the series 3-2. In Game 6 Bill Dinneen wins his second Series game and draws the Americans even 6-3. After rain pushes back Game 7 the final game in Pittsburgh Cy Young comes back and wins again to send the Americans back to Boston up 4-3. In Game 8 the pitching honors fell to Dinneen again who pitched another shut out to o win his 3rd Series game, and give the Americans the very first World Series Championship.

1904: The Americans were strong again in 1904 leading the AL for most of the season. This was also highlighted on May 5th when Cy Young hurled the first perfect game in American League History. However, the New York Highlanders stayed close all year and caught them on the final weekend of the season. The Highlanders were led by Jack Chesboro who won an AL record 41 games, however Chesboro would cough up a Wild Pitch on the next last day of the season to allow the Americans to take home their second consecutive AL Pennant with a 95-59 record. However due to a protest by John McGraw manager of the New York Giants the only team not in favor of a World Series, the Americans were not able to defend their title as undisputed World Champions.

1905: The aging Americans are knocked out of their perch on top of the American League and fall to 4th Place with a 78-74 record.

1906: Just 3 years after winning the first ever World Series the Americans come crashing down in to last place posting an awful 49-105 record.

1907: After a horrid 1906 in which the Americans lost 105 games and finished last, Boston's American League Team began to be referred to their nickname to the more familiar Red Sox by fans and media. However the season gets off to a rough start when Chick Stahl the CF from the start in 1901 who assumed the duties of player manager at the end of the 1906 season took his own life near the end of spring training by drinking Carbolic Acid. The Sox would go on to finish in 7th Place with a record of 59-90.

1908: The Red Sox show significant improvement finishing in 5th Place with a 75-79 record. Near the end of the season Smokey Joe Wood makes his pitching debut, he would go on to be suitable successor to Cy Young.

1909: After 3 straight losing seasons the Red Sox show promise contending for first place before finishing in 3rd with a solid 88-63.

1910: The Red Sox take a slight step backwards finishing in 4th place with a record of 81-72.

1911: The Red Sox put together another winning season, but cant seem to rise above the middle of the pack finishing more then 20 games out of first with a 78-75 record.

1912: Built on his own land in the Fenway section of Boston, John Taylor moved his Boston Red Sox from the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which they leased, to a new stadium they owned, Fenway Park. The season opener was delayed two days by rain and when the New York Highlanders touched up starter Buck O'Brien for 5 runs early, the "Fenway Faithful" numbering 27,000 must have been praying for more rain that Saturday afternoon. However, the Sox wouldn't quit, as O'Brien was replaced by Charley Hall in the 4th, the Sox started to heat up. They tagged New York for 3 runs in the 4th, added another in the 6th and traded runs in the 8th. The game was knotted at 6 after 9 innings. 2B Steve Yerkes, who put up an impressive 5-for-6 performance, got into scoring position in the 11th inning. Tris Speaker ended the 3 hour and 20 minute game by knocking in Yerkes for a 7-6 victory. The Red Sox would go on to cruise to the AL pennant, with a franchise best record at 105-47. The Red Sox opponent in the World Series was the same New York Giants who refused to face them in 1904. The Red Sox got off to a fast start in the series taking a 3 games to 1 lead after 5 games which includes one game, which ended in a 6-6 tie due to darkness. However the Giants would not go down as they jumped all over the Sox in Games 6 and 7 to force a decisive 8th Game. However even after 9 innings the World Series was not settled, and the game went to the 10th tied 1-1. Things appeared bleak as the Red Sox were down 2-1 after the Giants scored in the top of the 10th. However Giants LF Fred Snodgrass dropped a fly ball and allowed the game to be tied up. The Red Sox would then win the World Series when Larry Gardner brought in the winning run with a Sacrifice Fly.

1913: In the Red Sox 2nd season as Fenway things don't go quite as well, as the Sox fall back to the middle of the pack with a 79-71 record that lands them in 4th Place.

1914: The Red Sox purchased the contract of Babe Ruth for $8,000 from the Baltimore Orioles, which was then a minor league franchise. The Orioles had discovered the young Ruth while he was enrolled at St. Mary's School, a Baltimore institution for wayward boys, which had a strong athletic program. At 6' 2" and 200 pounds (reportedly all muscle in his youth), Ruth was a large presence with tremendous ability. When the big lefthander took to the mound for the Sox he threw with terrific velocity. He also hit with power at the plate and showed agility in the outfield. It was clear early the Babe was the complete package. In his first Major League action the Babe Won 2 games and lost 1 while batting .200 in 10 at bats. The Sox would go on to finish in 2nd Place with a 91-63 record.

1915: The Red Sox were powerhouses in the AL again winning 101 games to edge out the Detroit Tigers for the AL Pennant. In his first full season Babe Ruth won 18 games while just losing 8 on the mound, while he hit the first 3 HR of his legendary career. In the World Series the Sox faced the Philadelphia Phillies. After being shut down by Grover Cleveland Alexander in Game 1 the Red Sox won 3 consecutive 2-1 Pitcher's duels. The Red Sox would fall behind early in Game 5 but Harry Hooper would hit 2 Home Runs including 1 that gave the Sox the lead for good in the top of the 9th.

1916: The Red Sox found themselves in the thick of another race for the AL Pennant. In the end the Red Sox were superior again winning the American League by 5 games over the Chicago White Sox with a record of 94-60. The Babe cemented himself as one of the premier pitchers in all of baseball winning 23 games while sporting an AL leading 1.75 ERA. In the World Series the Sox faced the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Red Sox won the 1st game despite allowing 4 runs in the 9th inning runs, 6-5. In Game 2 The Dodgers scored 1 run off Babe Ruth in the 1st. That would be the only run they would score off the Bambino in the 14-inning game won by Babe Ruth, and the 2-1. After losing Game 3, the Red Sox would take Game 4 and 5 to become the first team win 4th World Series Championships.

1917: The Red Sox fall 9 games short in their bid for a 3rd straight Championship with a record of 90-62. However, Babe Ruth wins a career high 24 games. The Babe's season would be highlighted by a bizarre no hitter on June 23rd. The Babe walked the first batter of the game and was ejected after arguing with the umpire. Ernie Shore came in and produced a double play with his first pitch and then went on to retire the next 25 batters in order for a combined No Hitter.

1918: With World War I ragging in Europe the season is reduced to 126 games. The Boston Red Sox would benefit by holding the lead for the AL pennant with a 75-51 record, when the shortened season ends in August. The season also saw Babe Ruth start spending less time on the mound and more in the outfield, as his 11 HR were good enough to tie for the AL lead. In the World Series the Sox would face the Chicago Cubs. In Game 1 the Babe would extend his World Series scoreless inning streak to 22 as he won a 1-0 pitcher's duel. The Babe would take the mound again in Game 4 and would get another win. However the Babe's World Series scoreless inning streak would end at 29.2 innings, (a record that would stand for 43 years). The win also gave the Sox a 3-1 lead in the series. After losing Game 5 the Red Sox benefited from a Cubs error to win their 3rd Championship in 4 years, and 5th overall. Little did anyone know at that time the Red Sox who were the American League's premier franchise would not win another World Series in the 20th Century.

1919: In his first full season as an OF Babe Ruth establishes a new Major League record with 29 HR. The 29 HR by the Bambino was more then any other team's total. However, the Red Sox struggled to finish in 6th Place with a disappointing 66-71 record.

1920: It was clear entering the new decade that Babe Ruth was one of baseball's premier stars, and was destined to be a star Red Sox fans would be able to enjoy for many years. However, the Bambino's Red Sox career would come to a sudden and shocking end on January 3rd when Red Sox owner, and Broadway producer Harry Frazee sold him to the New York Yankees for $100,000. The sale was made so Frazee could produce a Broadway Musical entitled "No-No Nanette." This would change the paths of the 2 teams forever. Prior to the deal the Red Sox won 5 Championships, while the Yankees won none. Since the deal the Yankees have won 26, while the Red Sox have won none. The Red Sox would go to finish in 4th Place with a 72-81 record, in their first season without the Babe.

1921: The Red Sox continue to struggle in the middle of the pack finishing in 5th place with a record of 75-79.

1922: While the New York Yankees won their 2nd straight Al Pennant, the Red Sox who continued to sell off their stars to the Yanks would finish in last place with a record of 61-93.

1923: The Red Sox finish in last place for the 2nd straight season posting a record of 61-91.

1924: The Red Sox continue to struggle but climb out of last place while posting a record of 67-87, landing in 7th.

1925: The Red Sox finish in last place fore the 3rd time in 4 years, with a miserable 47-105 record.

1926: The Red Sox are in even worse then the previous year, finishing in last place again with a wretched 46-107 record.

1927: The Red Sox finish an embarrassing 59 games out of first place while landing in last with an awful 51-103 record.

1928: The Red Sox end a 3-year string of 100-losses with a 57-96 record, but still finish in last place 43 and half games out of first.

1929: The Red Sox close out the decade by finishing in last place again with a 58-96 record. It will be the 5th straight, and 7th time in 8 years that the Sox occupied the cellar.

1930: The Red Sox start of the decade in the same position they closed out the 20's, by finishing in last place with a 52-102 record.

1931: The Red Sox end a 6-year stint in last place by finishing in 6th Place with a still bleak 62-90 record.

1932: Things could not get much worse for the Red Sox, as they returned to last place with a franchise-worst record of 43-111, finishing 64 games behind the Babe Ruth led New York Yankees, who won their 4th World Championship since the fateful sale.

1933: At age 30, Tom Yawkey took the reins from the struggling franchise from Bob Quinn with a desire to guide the Red Sox back onto the winning path. In his first move he hired Eddie Collins away from Philadelphia Athletics to become the team's vice-president and general manager. This showed that Yawkey was willing to dip into his pocket and then dipped into his pocket to bring a solid squad to Fenway Park. In Yawkey's first season as owner the Sox would finish in 7th Place with a 63-86 record.

1934: The Red Sox acquire Left Grove from the Philadelphia Athletics for $125,000. Despite Grove struggling to an 8-8 record, the Sox finish in 4th place with a 76-76 record, ending a 15-year string of losing seasons.

1935: Joe Cronin takes over the reigns as manager and guides the Red Sox to their first winning season since 1918 at 78-75, which was good enough for 4th Place.

1936: The Red Six make another big purchase for the Philadelphia Athletics; this it is slugger Jimmie Foxx. However, the Sox would struggle to finish in 6th Place with a record of 74-80.

1937: The Red Sox continue to play mediocre baseball posting a record of 80-72 while finishing in 5th place.

1938: Led by Jimmie Foxx, who captures the AL MVP, the Red Sox challenge for the AL Pennant, before finishing 9 and half games out in 2nd place with a solid 88-61 record.

1939: Ted Williams makes a big splash in his rookie season, by batting .327 while smashing 31 homers, and driving in 145 RBI. However, the Sox would fall short again in their quest for the Pennant, by finishing in 2nd Place with an 89-63 record.

1940: The Red Sox finish with in 8 games of first place while landing in 4th place with a record of 82-72.

1941: Ted Williams went into the last day of the season hitting .3996, an average that officially rounds up to .400. With a .400 average safely in the record books and the Red Sox eliminated from the post-season with an 84-76 record., no one expected Ted to play in the September 28th season ending double header against the Philadelphia Athletics. Manager Joe Cronin even suggested Ted Williams take the day off. Never having backed into anything, there was no doubt in Williams' mind that he was going to play. Williams went 4-5 with a home run in the first game of the double header to raise his average to .404. Would he sit out the 2nd half? Fat chance. Ted was going for it all. Teddy Ballgame doubled and singled in 3 at bats to raise his average to a blistering .406. No one has managed to hit .400 since.

1942: With another spectacular season from Ted Williams, the Red Sox make another run for the Pennant, but fall short again with a solid record of 93-59. Following, the season Ted Williams, would enlist to fight in World War II, joining an impressive list of all-stars who would be absent from baseball, while fighting in Europe, and the Pacific.

1943: In the first season without Ted Williams, the Red Sox struggle mightily finishing in 7th Place with a 68-84 record.

1944: The Red Sox play mediocre baseball finishing with a .500 record of 77-77 while landing in 4th place.

1945: With the War rapping up the Red Sox play their 3rd season without Ted Williams, and finish in 7th Place, with a record of 71-83.

1946: With Ted Williams returning from flying combat missions for the Marines in the Pacific, the Red Sox were set to make their return to contention Ted Williams showed no rust hitting .342 while hitting 38 HR and driving in 123 RBI, and winning the AL MVP as the Red Sox won 104 games and cruised to their first AL Pennant in 28 years. In the World Series the heavily favored Red Sox faced the St. Louis Cardinals. However the Cardinals were able to completely shut down Ted Williams holding him to a .200 Batting Average while only knocking in 1 run. However after 5 games the Sox held 3 games to 2 lead, before losing the 6th game to set up a 7th and deciding game. In that game Enos Slaughter scored the winning run from first base on a single, as Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky was unable to get rid of the ball fast enough. Ted Williams would not make another appearance in the Series again.

1947: Ted Williams, captures the Triple Crown, but loses out on the MVP to Joe DiMaggio, of the New York Yankees. The Red Sox 3rd Place 83-71 record may have hurt Williams' MVP effort.

1948: The Red Sox finished the regular season in a 1st place tie with the Cleveland Indians at 96-58. This would force a one game playoff (the first of its kind in the American League) to be played at Fenway Park. In the end the Indians beat the Sox rather easily by a score of 8-3. Manager Joe McCarthy did not start Mel Parnell, who was the Sox best pitcher, because he was a rookie. Instead Denny Galehouse took the mound, and lost the game, thus ending the Red Sox season. To make matters worse if the Red Sox had won the World Series would have been an all Bean Town affair as the Braves represented the NL in Fall Classic.

1949: The New York Yankees had a lead over the Red Sox for most of the regular season. However, as September rolled around, the Sox managed to overtake the Yanks, and maintained a slim 1 game lead with 2 days to go, with the final 2 games in New York against the Yankees. The Sox, would lose both games, and let another shot at the Fall Classic pass them by as they settled for 2nd place with a 96-58 record.

1950: In the thick of a 4-team Pennant race all season the Red Sox, fall 4games short in 3rd Place with a record of 94-60.

1951: Despite a solid 87-67 record the Red Sox can only mage to get within 11 games of first place while landing in 3rd.

1952: With Ted Williams missing most of the season, fighting in the Korean War, the Red Sox struggle to finish in 6th Pace with a 76-78 record.

1953: Giving new meaning to the term 7th inning stretch, the Red Sox scored 17 runs in one inning against the Detroit Tigers on June 18th. The Sox sent 23 batters to the plate as the Tigers tried to stop the bleeding with three different pitchers. None of them worked. The Sox had 14 hits and six walks in the record-setting inning. Leading the charge was Dick Gernert and Gene Stephens. Stephens set a major league record with three hits in one inning, while Gernert knocked in four of the 17 runs. The Sox finished with 27 hits and 23 runs. It is too bad that only 3,626 fans showed up to see the barrage of runs. The Sox broke or tied 17 major league records that day, even though the greatest hitter in Sox history, Ted Williams was still fighting in the Korean War. With Williams returning late in the year the Sox, would go on to finish in 4th Place with a record of 84-69.

1954: Ted Williams misses a month due to an injury, and the Red Sox struggle to a 69-85 record, that landed them in a distant 4th Place.

1955: Despite injures limiting Ted Williams to 98 games the Red Sox, bounce back to finish with a record of 84-70 that had them in 4th Place again, but only 12 games out of 1st.

1956: In a carbon copy of the year before the Red Sox finish in 4thplace with a record of 84-70 for the second straight season.

1957: Ted Williams shows flashes of his younger days by leading the AL with a .388 average. The Red Sox would go on to finish in a 2nd Place tie with a record of 82-72.

1958: The Red Sox continue to play mediocre baseball as they finish in 3rd place with a record of 79-75.

1959: Ted Williams' age begins to show as he hits a career-worse .254, as the Red Sox struggle to finish in 5th Place with a 75-79 record.

1960: In his last at bat of a Hall of Fame career, Ted Williams sent 10,454 fans into a frenzy when he launched a 1-1 pitch from Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Jack Fisher high into the damp gray sky and into the Red Sox bullpen for a home run. In his customary fashion, Williams quickly circled the bases with his head down. Those who braved the cold that afternoon cheered wildly in an attempt to stir a show of emotion from the 42 year-old retiring star, but the "Splendid Splinter" kept it all inside. Having just missed a home run his last time up, Ted came to bat in the 8th inning and put the finishing touches on his brilliant career with homer No. 521. At the time of his retirement, his 521 homers placed him third on the all-time list behind Babe Ruth and former teammate Jimmie Foxx. The Sox did not fare as well, finishing in 7th Place with a 65-89 record.

1961: To replace Ted Williams, the Red Sox called up highly touted prospect Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz did not quite live up to expectations that first year, but he would go on to become a Hall of Famer, and a Sox legend in his own right. In the first season of the post-Williams era the Red Sox would finish in 6th Pace with a record of 76-86.

1962: The Red Sox continue to struggle as they finish in 8th place with a record of 74-88.

1963: The Red Sox continue to ride a wave of mediocrity as they finish in 7th place with a record of 76-85.

1964: The struggles of the Red Sox continue as Manager Johnny Pesky is fired near the end of an 8th place season that season the Red Sox post a 72-90 record.

1965: The Red Sox lose 100 games on the way to finishing in 9th Place, for the Sox it is 7th consecutive losing season.

1966: The Red Sox lose a league high 90 games but avoid finishing in last place by percentage points over the New York Yankees.

1967: After a string of 8 consecutive losing seasons, the Red Sox find themselves in the heart of a tight 3-team race. On August 18th all hope looked loss when hometown hero and one of the Red Sox top hitters Tony Conigliaro was lost for the season with a serve eye injury after getting hot in the face by a Jack Hamilton pitch. However, Carl Yastrzemski picked up his team, placed it squarely on his back and carried them to "The Impossible Dream". As the pressure mounted, Yaz got better, going 23 for his last 44, 10 for his last 13, 7 for his last 8, and 4-for-4 on the final game of the year to give the Sox the pennant by one game over the Detroit Tigers, and Minnesota Twins, with a record of 92-70. On that last day, the Sox fell behind the Twins 2-0 early. Move to the Sox batting in the 5th, the bases are loaded and up steps Yaz. Like there was ever a doubt, the captain ripped a long single to right to tie things up at two. The Sox would go up 5-2 and the combo of Yaz and Cy Young award winner Jim Lonborg would not let the Twins get close. Yaz ended up taking home the AL MVP while winning the Triple Crown, a feat no one in the Majors has accomplished since. In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals the Red Sox were able to take the Impossible Dream to a 7th game. However, the pitching of Bob Gibson was too much to overcome as he beat Jim Lonborg for his 3rd win of the series to hold of the Red Sox who forced a 7th game after falling behind 3 games to 1. Lonborg had captured 2 games himself to keep the Sox hopes alive, but matched up against a well rested Bob Gibson it was too much for even Lonborg to overcome.

1968: The Red Sox wake up from their "Impossible Dream", and have another strong season at 86-76, but finish 17 games out of first in 4th Place.

1969: Surpassing remarkable odds, Tony Conigliaro returned and batted .255 with 20 homers and won the Comeback Player of the Year award. However, the Sox would finish a distant 3rd in the AL East with a record of 87-75.

1970: Tony Conigliaro was even better as he belted 36 dingers with 116 RBI, as the Sox repeated their 3rd Place 87-75 performance. To assist his ability to see pitches, fans sitting in the centerfield bleachers at Fenway Park avoided wearing light-colored clothing. However, Conigliaro's vision worsened again and forced his retirement. He did make a brief but failed an attempt at a comeback in 1975, but in the end his injury was too much to overcome. In the end tragedy would strike too when at age 37, Conigliaro suffered a heart attack, which left him in poor physical health, before dying 8 years later at the young age of 45 in 1990.

1971: The Red Sox finished in 3rd place in the AL East again with a record of 85-77, as they played solid baseball all season.

1972: The Red Sox were frustrated and fell victim to rules set down after an early season 3-week Player's Strike. The Sox ended up playing 1 fewer games then the AL East Champion Detroit Tigers. However Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that no games cancelled due to the April strike would be made up, and this left the Sox a half game out with an 85-70 record when the season was over.

1973: The Red Sox would finish in 2nd Place again with another solid record of 89-73.

1974: Going in to September the Red Sox led the Baltimore Orioles and the AL East by 4 games. However, a slump at the wrong time led to a collapse and the Sox fell all the way down to 3rd place 7 games behind the division Champion Orioles with an 84-78 record.

1975: Fred Lynn and Jim Rice both playing in their first full season battle all season for Rookie of the Year honors. Rarely does a team led by 2 Rookies even contend but the outstanding years by Lynn and Rice were of historic proportions. Each batted over .300, hit over 20 HR, and drove in over 100 RBI. On the mound Luis Tiant, and the irreverent Left Bill "Spaceman" Lee led the Sox to their first division title with a 95-65 record, as Fred Lynn claimed not only Rookie of the Year honors, but became the first player to take home the MVP in the very same season. In the ALCS the Red Sox would take on the Oakland A's who had only won the last 3 consecutive World Series. Surprisingly the Sox would not only win, but they would win easily sweeping the defending Champions in 3 straight games. In the World Series the Red Sox would face the Cincinnati Reds as the Fall Classic took on new meaning. The Series would get off to a fast start for the Sox as Luis Tiant shut down the Big Red Machine 6-0. In Game 2 it looked as if the Sox would win again heading to the 9th with a 2-1 lead. After a lead off double by Johnny Bench starter Bill Lee was removed and replaced by reliever Dick Drago. Drago would retire the first two men he faced and got the Sox with in one out of 2-0 series lead, but Dave Concepcion would tie the game on a single, steal second and score the eventual winning run on a Ken Griffey double. Game 3 saw 6 Homers hit as the game went to extra innings. However Ed Armbrister of the Reds bunt in the 10th inning would bring a controversial ending to the game when he interfered with Carlton Fisk's throw and the ball sailed into the center. After the Sox rebounded to win Game 4 the Reds took Game 5, and the series returned to Fenway Park Reds leading 3 games to 2. This would set the stage for the most dramatic game in baseball and World Series history. After 3 days of rain postponed Game 6 the Red Sox were able to tap Luis Tiant who won Games 1 and 4 to start Game 6. The Sox got off to a fast start scoring 3 in the first and lead 3-0 after 4. However the Reds scored 3 to tie the game in the 5th, and would take the lead 5-3 in the 7th. After the Reds tacked on an insurance run in the 8th all hope looked lost for the Old Towne Team. With 2 outs and 2 on Manager Darrell Johnson called on Bernie Carbo to pinch hit. Reds reliever Pedro Borbon seemed to have Carbo over matched as he quickly got ahead of him 0-2. The next pitch Carbo still looking overmatched barely fouled off to keep alive. Then pout of nowhere Carbo delivered a dramatic 3-run game-tying homer to Center Field to tie the game at 6. Over the next 3 innings both teams had opportunities to win the game but were turned away. Then in the 12th Carlton Fisk delivered the winning blow when he homered down the Left Field line to force a 7th and deciding game. After a Game 6 that many still call the greatest game ever played Game 7 would draw the highest Television audience in baseball history. Things looked good for the Sox in that 7th game as the Sox grabbed a fast 3-0 lead. Through 5 innings the Sox led 3-0 and Bill Lee had the Big Red Machine off balance. The all of a sudden with one swing if the bat the game would change suddenly when Tony Perez homered with 1 on in the 6th. The Reds would tie the game in the 7th, and win the game on a Joe Morgan single in the 9th. Once again the Red Sox would come up short in a Championship chase, however no one could consider the 1975-team losers.

1976: With the Red Sox still within reach of first place the Sox bought Joe Rudi, and Rollie Fingers from the Oakland Athletics for a million dollars. Rudi and Fingers each suited up ready to be called upon. However Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled the deal was illegal and neither would ever appear in a game for the Red Sox in 1976. Eventually Rudi would wear a Sox uniform, but years after his prime. The season would end in disappointment too as the Sox finished a distant 3rd with a record of 83-79.

1977: Led by a spectacular offense the Red Sox were able to compete in a 3-way battle for the Eastern Division until the final weekend of the season. However the lack of pitching would haunt the Sox as the finished in a tie for 2nd Place with a record of 97-64.

1978: The Red Sox would get off to a flying start, and by the middle of the season led their division by 10 games and even had a 14 � games cushion on the New York Yankees. The Line-up was even stronger then the year before as Jim Rice hit 46 HR, and drove in 139 RBI en-route to winning the AL MVP. The pitching was even stronger for the Sox as Dennis Eckersley won 20, and newly acquired Mike Torrez gave them a proven winner to stabilize the pitching staff. However the Sox began to stumble a bit August as the Yankees made a final charge to defend their crown. Going into September the Sox still had a stranglehold leading the Yankees by 4 with 4 Game series at Fenway Park beginning on September 7. Not only would the Sox get swept and see their division lead completely vanish, but in each game the Sox would be blown out in what would become known as the Boston Massacre. Eventually the Sox would start winning again and would remain close to the Yankees for the rest of the year, and on the final day of the season found themselves in a tie for the division with 99 wins. This would set up a one game playoff much like the one in 1948 to be played at Fenway Park. The Sox would get off to a fast start as Carl Yastrzemski hit a HR to give the Sox an early 2-0 lead off the Yankees dominate Cy Young winner Ron Guidry. The lead would hold up until the 7th as Mike Torrez kept the Yanks off balance all day. Then Bucky Dent perhaps the least likely Yankee to go deep ht a 3-run Homer over the Green Monster to give the Yankees a lead. The Yankees would build on the lead, but the Sox would come back, and in the 9th Yaz came up to the plate with tying run on 3rd and winning run on 1st. However heroics were not meant to be as Yaz popped weekly to Graig Nettles at 3rd base, and the curse seemed to rear its head once again.

1979: On September 12th Carl Yastrzemski now 40-years old delivered the 3,000 hit of his prestigious career with a ground ball up the right side. The season would end in disappointment again as the Sox despite winning 91 games was never really in the race for the Division Championship.

1980: Manager Don Zimmer is dismissed near the end of the season as the Red Sox finish in 4th place with a record of 83-77.

1981: After playing mediocre baseball before the strike the Red Sox make a serious run for the AL East title in the 2nd half of a strike shortened split season coming 1 and half games short while posting a combined record of 59-49.

1982: The Red Sox string of winning season continues with an 89-73 record, but they can only manage a 3rd Place finish, 6 games out of first.

1983: On October 2nd the stern exterior cracked enough for millions of fans to catch a glimpse of the man behind the number 8. When Carl Yastrzemski exited the dugout before the scheduled game with the Cleveland Indians after a gathering with teammates in the clubhouse the cheers were deafening. Six minutes of roaring appreciation for the man who guarded the left field wall for the Olde Towne Team over 2decades. Yaz was presented with a car, a boat and a Bronco, a silver bat, silver bowl, and a rocking chair. They were small tokens of New England's appreciation for Yastrzemski's efforts and approach to the game, presented before a moment that stands clear in memory of all who could see it. Yaz jogged to the fans, beginning a run around the field where he shook as many hands as he could. He made his way down the right field line, waved to the screaming fans in the center field bleachers and headed for the familiar confines of left field before reaching the Red Sox dugout. In total Yaz would end his career with 3, 419 hits, 452 HR, and 1,844 Runs Batted in. However, Yaz's career would not end on a winning note as the Sox sunk to 6th Place with a record of 78-84.

1984: In the first season with out Yaz the Red Sox put up a respectable 84-78 record, but are not even a factor for the division title, while finishing in 4th Place.

1985: The Red Sox suffer through a mediocre season finishing in 5th place with a .500 record of 81-81.

1986: On April 29th Roger Clemens had a historic day by striking out a 9-inning record 20 Seattle Mariners in a game at Fenway Park. That game would symbolize both the season for Roger Clemens and the Boston Red Sox. Clemens would go on to dominate the American League winning 24 games, and lead the league with a 2.48 ERA. Clemens domination would even shine in the All Star Game as he too home the games MVP. It would not be the only hardware the Rocket would take home that season as he won both the Cy Young, and MVP. As for the Red Sox they would lead the way in the AL East for most of the season. The Yankees provided a strong challenge but this time it would be the Sox who would prevail with division championship winning 95 games. In the ALCS the Sox would take on the California Angels. The series would get off to a disappointing start when the Angels battered Roger Clemens to take Game 1 by a score of 8-1. The Sox would rebound to take the second game and headed off to Anaheim tied 1 game apiece. After the Angels took Game 3 the Red Sox led Game 4, 3-0 in the 9th. However Roger Clemens would run out of gas and the Sox would lose the lead, and in the 11th lose the Game to fall behind in the series 3 games to 1. Things would even look bleaker for the Sox, when the Angels grabbed 5-2 lead heading to the 9th. Then with 2-outs and 2 on Dave Henderson, and the Red Sox were down to their last strike when all of a sudden Henderson lifted a 3-run Homer to give the Sox a lead. The Sox were in trouble again in the bottom of the 9th when the Angels tied the game and had the bases loaded but the Sox would hold on and win the Game in 11 innings to send the series back to Fenway 3-2. The Red Sox would easily win the next 2 games and the Old Towne Team found itself back in the Fall Classic.

1986: In the World Series the Red Sox would face the heavily favored New York Mets. The Red Sox would win the first 2 games at Shea only to lose the next 2 at Fenway. After Bruce Hurst dominated the Mets for the second time in Game 5 the Red Sox would send Roger Clemens to close out the Mets in 6 games. The Sox would lead Game 6 early but the Mets would battle back to tie. The Sox would take the lead again in thee 7th only to be tied again in the 8th, as the game would go in to extra innings. Leading off the 10th Dave Henderson gave the Sox the lead again, and an insurance run gave everyone the feeling that the Curse of the Bambino was over. The Sox would quickly get the first two outs. Champaign was ready in the Red Sox clubhouse, as was the trophy. Bruce Hurst was all ready declared by the media to be World Series MVP. The scoreboard at Shea Stadium even flashed assign congratulating the Red Sox for winning the 1986 World Series. Manager John McNamara even kept the hobbling veteran 1st Baseman Buckner in the game so he could be on the field for the last out. Then without warning the Mets would comeback first it started innocently enough when Gary Carter singled up the middle. He was followed by singles from Kevin Mitchell, and Ray Knight. The lead, which seemed so comfortable moments ago, had become tenuous at 5-4 as the tying run was only 90 feet away. McNamara not wanting to se Calvin Scharldi hit anymore brought in Bob Stanley. Stanley would get Mookie Wilson to 2 strikes before uncorking a Wild Pitch that would suddenly tie the game. The Sox were stunned, and moments later the game would be lost when Mookie's slow dribbler went through Bill Buckner's legs to force a 7th game. After a Sunday Night rain out the Sox were able to tap Bruce Hurst to start Game 7. Hurst had the lead until the 6th inning 3-0, but much like in 1975 the lead would be lost, and soon there after so would the game, as the Sox were left the wonder what might have been.

1987: Roger Clemens repeats his Cy Young performance, but the Red Sox fall to 5th place with a disappointing 78-84 record that had them 20 games out of 1st.

1988: The Red Sox would get off to a slow start, and after 85 games were barely above .500 when the decision was made to fire John McNamara. The move seemed to work magic on the Sox as new manager Joe Morgan seemed to work magic and the Sox went on a 13-game winning streak. In the 2nd half of the season the Sox became unbeatable at home winning 20 straight games at Fenway, as they charged back into the AL East race. The Sox would remain hot all the way trough September and would over take the Tigers to win the division by 1 game, with an 89-73 record. However the Sox would not provide much challenge in the ALCS losing in 4 straight games to the Oakland Athletics.

1989: The Red Sox would stumble again and finished with a disappointing 3rd Place 83-79 record.

1990: The Red Sox found themselves in another tight race for the division title beating out the Toronto Blue Jays by 2 games to AL East despite only winning 88 games. However, just like in 1988 the Sox would not even provide a challenge to the Oakland Athletics losing in 4 games. This would extend their post-season losing streak to 10 games.

1991: Roger Clemens claims his 3rd Cy Young award as the Red Sox contend for the division again, but this time they fall 7 games short with an 84-78 record, that lands them in a 2nd Place tie with the Detroit Tigers.

1992: The Red Sox struggle all year and finish in last place with a record of 73-89. Following the season 3B Wade Boggs, would stun the entire Red Sox Nation, by signing a Free Agency Deal with New York Yankees.

1993: Led by Mo Vaughn who has a break out season with 29 homers and 101 RBI the Red Sox rebound off their last place season nicely and finish in 5th place just missing the .500 mark with a record of 80-82.

1994: When the Player's Strike ended the season on August 12th, the Red Sox were already out of the playoff picture, and fighting just to stay out of last place with a 54-61 record.

1995: The Red Sox surprised even their own fans by playing wonderful baseball the whole year, and winning their division with an 86-58 record. In the first ever ALDS the Red Sox were matched up against a superior Cleveland Indians team. In Game 1, Tim Naehring hit a home run in the top of the 11th inning to give the Sox a lead. All seemed safe with ace closer Rick Aguilera coming in, as he had blown only 1 game during the regular season, since the Sox acquired him in the middle of the season. The first man up was Albert Belle fouled off several pitches before hammering a hanging forkball into the left field standing-room-only crowd. With the score tied the action moved to the bottom of the 15th inning.. With 2 outs the weak hitting Tony Pe�a, a former smashed a 3-0 pitch into the stands to give the Tribe a dramatic opening game victory. From that point, it was all down hill for the Sox, as the Indians took the next 2 games, to complete the 3-game sweep. These losses pushed the Sox' record of consecutive postseason defeats to 13. To make matters worse AL MVP Mo Vaughn went 0 for 10 in the series.

1996: On September 15th Roger Clemens duplicated his 1986 feat by striking out 20 Tigers in game at Detroit. As it would turn out it would be the last great moment for the Rocket Man in a Red Sox uniform as trouble between him and GM Dan Duquette boiled over, and the Rocket lifted off for Toronto after the season in which the Sox finished in 3rd Place with an 85-77 record.

1997: In the first season without Roger Clemens, the Red Sox struggled and finished in 4th Place with a record of 78-84. Meanwhile Clemens won his 4th Cy Young, playing on a poor Toronto Blue Jays club.

1998: To make up for the loss off Roger Clemens one season earlier the Red Sox acquired Pedro Martinez from the Montreal Expos. Despite being miles behind the e New York Yankees the Red Sox for the division title, the Sox take the AL Wild Card with a record of 92-70, and head off to the postseason where they face the Cleveland Indians again. In the Game 1 of the ALDS in Cleveland the Red Sox send Pedro Martinez to the mound. Martinez is able to work his magic as the Sox put an end to their record 13-game postseason losing streak. However that would be the only win for the olde town team as the Tribe bounced back to win the next 3 games and the series.

1999: The Red Sox find themselves behind the New York Yankees again in the AL East. To make matters worse long time Sox hero Roger Clemens is now in the hated pinstripe uniform of the Yankees. However Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez dominates the AL and the Red Sox claim the Wild Card again with a record of 94-68 to earn another series against the Cleveland Indians. After losing the first 2 games all hope looked lost again, but the Red Sox were able to take advantage of weak Indian pitching to win the next 2 and force a decisive 5th game in Cleveland. In Game 5 the Indians hoped all over the Red Sox, but the Sox were able to get back in the games, as Charles Nagy was unable to hold the lead. Manager Jimy Williams seeing the next round in reach decided to insert Pedro Martinez into the game during the 5th, and he would not even allow a base runner as the Red Sox pulled away to win the series and earn an ALCS match-up with the Yankees. In the ALCS the Yankees took the first 2 games in the Bronx, before a Game 3 match-up between Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens. The match-up ended up a mismatch as the Sox won the Game 13-1. However, it would be the only game the Yankees would lose in the series, and postseason. The Red Sox would be closed out in 5, and had salt poured into their ruins when Clemens won the final game of the World Series for the Yankees.