Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 11: Mike Andrews

Boston has not historically developed a lot of good second-basemen.  Bobby Doerr was not technically developed by the Red Sox.  Beyond him, the most well-known include Marty Barrett, Jody Reed, and Dustin Pedroia, with Pedroia the only All Star.  Mike Andrews is a fourth second-baseman and, like Pedroia, Andrews was an All Star.

Mike Andrews came up with the Red Sox in the mid-1960's.  He flew by under the radar because he came up at the same time as Jim Lonborg, Rico Petrocelli, George Scott, and Reggie Smith and while Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro were becoming stars.  So few noticed that the second-baseman was a pretty good contact hitter.

Andrews was a rookie in 1967.  That season he hit .263/.346/.352 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs.  He walked almost as much as he struck out and played good defense.  In 1968 his numbers increased somewhat, but it was 1969 when Andrews really came into his own.  That was his All Star season as he hit .293/.390/.455 with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs.  Impressive numbers for a middle infielder at the time.  He hit 17 home runs and drove in 65 in 1970, but his slash line was not as good.

Andrews was traded to the White Sox before the 1971 season for future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.  He had a good season in fewer games in 1971.  In 1972 he started to decline and eventually found himself in Oakland in 1973 when he played for the eventual World Champs.  Andrews was briefly famous when A's owner Charlie Finley attempted to replace him on the World Series roster after making back-to-back errors.  Finley tried to force him to sign an affidavit claiming he was injured to replace him with Manny Trillo.  The problem was that Andrews was not injured and he refused to sign the affidavit.  Teammates were upset and manager Dick Williams decided to quit the A's after the season.  Andrews was eventually released by Finley and never played in the Majors again.

Mike Andrews has been the CEO of the Jimmy Fund for the last 25 years.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 10: Bill Campbell

I am sure that a visible pattern is becoming obvious.  A lot of relief pitchers have ended up in these posts.  Here is yet another one.

Bill Campbell was the first high-profile free agent contract the Red Sox signed.  He had previously been a highly successful reliever for the Twins and had won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award in 1976.  In 1977 he went to the Red Sox on a five-year contract, a shocking contract at the time, and too many years for a reliever now.

1977 was Campbell's only great season under the new contract.  He went 13-9 with a 2.96 ERA and 31 saves.  He struck out 114 and walked 60 in 140 innings.  He finished 60 out of the 69 games he appeared in.  This was at a time when the closer position was becoming more prominent.  Sparky Lyle won the AL Cy Young award that season as a closer and Campbell actually finished fifth in the voting with his impressive season.  Lyle's and Campbell's seasons were not really all that different.  Lyle had a better ERA by a decent-sized margin, 2.17 to 2.96.  Lyle also had four fewer losses and walked only 33 to Campbell's 60, but Campbell had five more saves, three more innings, 19 fewer hits, and 46 more strikeouts.  Campbell was a 4.8 WAR pitcher compared to Lyle's 3.7.  The Yankees also won the division, which was probably a large part of the reason that Lyle won the award.  Campbell did win both the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year and the AL Fireman of the Year awards so it was pretty clear that his season was at least on par with Lyle's, if not better.

Unfortunately that was pretty much it for Campbell as an elite reliever.  In 1978 he was decent, going 7-5 with a 3.91 ERA but only saved four, pitching in just 50.1 innings.  In 1979 he saved nine and was 3-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 54.2 innings.  1980 saw his ERA rise again to 4.79 and he did not notch a single save.  1981 was his last season in Boston and his numbers improved somewhat as he saved seven and had a 3.17 ERA.

 After his last season of his five-year deal, Campbell signed with the Cubs.  He bounced around after that but never rose to the same level of play again, though he did appear in 82 games one season for the Cubs and held on through the 1987 season.

 

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 9: Lee Smith

I started collecting in 1991 so my first cards showed stats from the 1990 season.  Lee Smith started the 1990 season in Boston but was traded early on, so I just missed him.  Now you might think it odd that I am talking about Lee Smith, a potential Hall of Famer, in a series titled "Unknown Heroes", but Lee Smith really did kind of fly under the radar in his time in Boston.  I doubt many people think of the Red Sox when they think of Smith.  They may think of the Cubs or the Cardinals, but not likely the Red Sox first.  It helped that Smith was not an All Star and did not lead the league in saves in either of his full seasons with the Red Sox.

Smith was picked up in a pretty good trade for the Red Sox.  Boston sent Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi to the Cubs for Smith, making the call as soon as GM Lou Gorman learned he was on the block.  Schiraldi and Nipper never did a whole lot after leaving Boston, meanwhile Lee Smith eventually developed into one of the best closers of all time.

Smith was good in 1988, going 4-5 with a 2.80 ERA and saving 29.  He struck out 96 in 83.2 innings and was an overpowering presence at the end of the game for the AL East Champions.  In 1989 he was 6-1 with a 3.57 ERA and 25 saves, while again striking out 96, this time in just 70.2 innings.  It was another impressive season for the big closer.

Boston made the odd decision to sign Twins closer Jeff Reardon prior to the 1990 season despite inferior numbers.  Apparently the idea was to have two closers ready and have a strong bullpen.  Naturally that caused a little dissension and Smith was not happy.  He appeared in 11 games for the Red Sox, going 2-1 with a 1.88 and four saves before being traded to the Cardinals for Tom Brunansky.  Smith became the dominating, potential Hall of Famer in St. Louis.

Smith's tenure in Boston is not the first thing many people remember when they think of his Hall of Fame case, but he did have two strong seasons there.  As a result there is an effect on the after-career cards of him.  He has had exactly one card issued of him after his career with the Red Sox and that was a buyback card.  He has never had an autograph or relic card with the Red Sox.  That is unfortunate.

Nevertheless, his SLU is still my favorite one in my entire collection.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 8: Mark Clear

I have mentioned my affinity for closers before.  Mark Clear was kind of a closer, though he pitched at a time when relief roles were not as well-defined as they are now.  Nevertheless there was no dispute that Mark Clear was a relief pitcher.  He pitched in 225 games with the Red Sox and never started a single one.  In fact, he started precisely one game in his entire career, in his ninth season.  Clear never really picked up a lot of saves, his career high was 16.  He did win a lot of games in a relief role though.

Clear was acquired in a trade with the Angels prior to the 1981 season along with Carney Lansford and Rick Miller for Rick Burleson and Butch Hobson.  Unlike the other trade with the Angels before the '81 season, this one worked out reasonably well for Boston.  Lansford won the batting title in '81 and kept third base warm for Wade Boggs.  Miller was a regular outfielder for a couple of years.  And of course Clear was a valuable member of the Red Sox bullpen for a few years.

Clear had his best season with the Red Sox in 1982.  He was an All Star that season and went 14-9 with a 3.00 ERA and 109 strikeouts and 61 walks in 105 innings.  He also saved 14 games.  Clear did have a tendency to walk too many batters, which was a big problem for him throughout his career, but he also racked up very nearly a strikeout an inning for his career (804 strikeouts in 804.1 innings).  Clear had a bad year in 1983 but rebounded nicely in 1984 and 1985.  He was then traded to the Brewers for utility infielder Ed Romero, a less than good trade for the Red Sox.

Mark Clear was not the most effective reliever, but he got the job done more often than not, plus he had one hell of a mustache.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 7: Rich Gedman

I have always been a big fan of catchers.  Tony Pena was an early favorite player solely on the basis that he was the team's catcher when I first started watching baseball.  So of course I gravitated toward Rich Gedman, whose tenure in Boston was over just the season before my interest in baseball.  It helped that Gedman was a fan favorite in Boston.

Gedman made his Major League debut in 1980 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1981 when he hit .288/.317/.434 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 62 games in the strike-shortened season.  Gedman dealt with some injuries for the next two seasons before breaking out in 1984.  That season he hit .269/.312/.506 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs.  The next season he was an All Star for the first time as he hit .295/.362/.484 with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs.  At that time he was considered one of the better young catchers in the Major Leagues.  Gedman was still just 25 and looked to have a bright future in front of him.

In 1986, Gedman made his second All Star team as he hit .258/.315/.424 with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He helped the team make it to the World Series and hit .357 in the ALCS and .200 in the World Series against the Mets.  Unfortunately he allowed a costly passed ball that set up the game-winning hit in Game 6.

In the spring of 1987, Gedman signed a late free agent contract and was likely one of the many victims of collusion.  He did not sign until May, despite having been an All Star in the previous two seasons.  That coupled with injuries lead to him only playing in 52 games and hitting just one home run.  The next season he improved somewhat, but his numbers were still down as he hit just .231/.279/.368 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs.  His numbers further declined in 1989 and he lost a lot of time to Rick Cerone behind the plate.

Tony Pena was signed as a free agent prior to the 1990 season and Gedman was shipped to Houston after just ten games.  Gedman then played parts of two more seasons with the Cardinals.  In 1993 he played in the Yankees minor league system before hanging it up.

Rich Gedman was a very good catcher for three years and looked to be one of the best catchers in the league.  Unfortunately injuries took their toll, but he was still a fan favorite.  I thought he would have an autograph in this year's Archives set, but that apparently fell through.  Hopefully some day.  His 1982 Donruss card was an early card that I sought heavily until I eventually added it to my collection.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 6: Bill Lee

Nicknamed "Spaceman", Bill Lee was one of a kind.  He had a flamboyant personality that was often difficult for his managers to deal with.  Don Zimmer in particular had his issues with Lee.  Lee nicknamed him "Gerbil" and the nickname stuck.  He was well-known for his advocacy of marijuana and other counter-cultural issues.  He was also very outspoken.  He connected with Boston-area college students of the time period because of his alternative viewpoints on a number of issues.

But, beyond all of that, Bill Lee was a very good, sometimes great, pitcher.  Lee made his Major League debut in 1969.  He spent the first four seasons of his career pitching mostly out of the bullpen.  He generally pitched pretty well, particularly in 1972 when he went 9-2 with a 2.74 ERA.  He pitched 102 innings mostly out of the pen and racked up 74 strikeouts and 46 walks.

In 1973 Lee was transitioned into spending most of his time in the starting rotation, starting 33 out of his 38 games.  It was also probably his most successful season as he finished the year with a 17-11 record, 2.75 ERA, and 120 strikeouts versus 76 walks in 284 innings.  He also made his only All Star team that year.  He followed that season up with two more 17 win seasons in 1974 and 1975, the year the Red Sox went to the World Series.  His performance in 1975 earned him some MVP votes.  He pitched well in the World Series, starting two games and having an ERA of 3.14 with no record.  He started Game 7 and was in line for the win until Roger Moret gave up a game-tying hit.  He also had a hit in the game.

1976 began the downturn in his career.  Lee injured his shoulder in a benches-clearing brawl with the Yankees.  He only pitched in 24 games that season and his record was a disappointing 5-7 with a 5.63 ERA.  He pitched slightly better the next two seasons but he was deep in Zimmer's doghouse.  After the 1978 season in which he was 10-10 with a 3.46 ERA, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for no-name infielder Stan Papi.  It was a terrible trade for Boston as Lee rebounded somewhat and Papi played in just 51 games over two seasons.

Lee was definitely a character, the kind of character that keeps things interesting.  Unfortunately his career was over when I was still too young to even know about baseball.  So I never got to watch Lee personally.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt 5: Oil Can Boyd

You know that anyone with the nickname "Oil Can" is likely to be a fan favorite and Boyd certainly was.  The skinny pitcher had a big delivery and showed a lot of emotion on the mound, celebrating after strikeouts and innings.  Unfortunately when I started watching baseball, Boyd had already moved on to the Montreal Expos, so I never really got to see him in his prime.

Boyd came up with the Red Sox in 1982.  He arrived in Boston to stay in August of 1983, at a time in which Boston was developing a number of good, young pitchers.  Boyd was another in a line of homegrown Red Sox pitchers that included Bob Ojeda, John Tudor, Bruce Hurst, Steve Crawford, Al Nipper, and Roger Clemens, a run that the team has not come close to matching since.  Boyd was probably the most entertaining to watch of the bunch.

Boyd made a big impact fairly quickly as he tied for the team lead in victories with 12 in 1984.  1985 was his  best season with the Red Sox as he went 15-13 with a 3.70 ERA and 154 strikeouts.  He was very good again in 1986, going 16-10 with a 3.78 ERA and 129 strikeouts.  Unfortunately injuries would start to take their toll after that and he did not pitch another full season with the Red Sox.

After three injury plagued seasons, Boyd moved on to Montreal in 1990 and had a very good season.  In 1991, he split the season between Montreal and Texas.  It was his final season in the Majors.  He attempted a couple of comebacks, but never made.  Boyd was just recently pitching in the independent leagues.

Boyd's status as a fan favorite has begun to get more notice in the last few years as he has started showing up in sets.  He appeared in 2009 in Sweet Spot, along with having autograph cards and he is slated to appear in this year's Archives set with an autograph.  I will have to try to pick it up.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 4: Bob Stanley

I have mentioned before that I am a fan of closers.  Bob Stanley was never really a superstar although he did have some highly successful seasons.  In fact, Stanley was an All Star in both 1979 and 1983.  Nicknamed "The Steamer", Stanley was an important bullpen arm for the Red Sox at the time that the closer role was evolving into a much more important role.

Stanley came up in 1977 and split time as a starter and reliever.  He was mostly used in relief in 1978 and went 15-2 with a 2.60 ERA and 10 saves.  He was never really known as a strikeout pitcher and he only struck out 38 in 141.2 innings.  He received votes for both the MVP and Cy Young Award.  In 1979 he made his first All Star team going 16-12 with a 3.99 ERA.

In 1980 Stanley was shifted into more of a bullpen role.  He still started 17 games, but finished 25 with 14 saves.  He still won 10 games.  From 1981 through 1986 though he only started two games.  This was an important time period as closers were becoming a much more prominent part of baseball.  Bruce Sutter, Dave Righetti, and Dan Quisenberry were all highly successful closers at that time.

1982 through 1984 were his most successful seasons as a reliever.  In 1982 Stanley went 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA and 14 saves forming an impressive bullpen tandem with Mark Clear.  1983 was Stanley's best season and was one of the most successful closer seasons in Red Sox history, certainly since Dick Radatz.  He set a record with 33 saves and finished the season 8-10 with a 2.85 ERA.  His saves record held until 1991.

Unfortunately Stanley played an instrumental role in the 1986 World Series loss, uncorking a wild pitch that tied Game 6 and then giving up the go ahead run on the Mookie Wilson dribbler that went through Bill Buckner's legs.  The next season Stanley was used as a starter but went 4-15.  He was a reliever the rest of his time with Boston.

Stanley retired in 1989 and held team records for appearances (637) and saves (188).  His saves record has since been eclipsed by Jonathan Papelbon but his appearances record seems safe for quite some time.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt 3: Dave Henderson

I started watching baseball in 1991.  By that time Dave Henderson was a big part of the Oakland Athletics outfield playing in between Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson.  Hendu was a great player.  So when I started paying close attention to the backs of baseball cards and discovered that Hendu was once a Red Sox outfielder, I was surprised.  I also knew I had to get cards of him.

Henderson was never quite as good with Boston though.  He played parts of two seasons with Boston.  In 1986 he was acquired along with Spike Owen from the Mariners to take over for the aging Tony Armas in center field.  He did not hit particularly well during the season finishing with a line of .196/.226/.314 with one home run and three RBIs in 36 games.  But in the ALCS against the Angels, Henderson hit a home run that gave Boston a massive win and got the team back into the series.  It is one of the biggest home runs in Red Sox history.  And he built on that with a terrific World Series performance in which he hit .400/.448/.760 with two home runs and five RBIs.

He hit better in 1987 with a final line of .234/.313/.418 and eight home runs.  It was not a terrific season and he was starting to get squeezed by the appearance of Ellis Burks in the majors.  Henderson was traded in September to the Giants for Randy Kutcher.

Henderson had one card in 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams and an autograph parallel.  I am still trying to get that auto.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 2: Bruce Hurst

Bruce Hurst made a terrific number two starter behind Roger Clemens for several years.  The left-hander was an innings eater and a big part of Red Sox rotations from 1982 through 1988.  He made small contributions in 1980 and 1981 before becoming a full-time member of the rotation part of the way through the 1982 season.

Hurst pitched for some less than impressive Red Sox teams for a few years, otherwise his record would have been much better.  As it is, Hurst was one of winningest southpaws in Red Sox history with an 88-73 record with the Red Sox.

Hurst was a decent pitcher up until 1986 when he took the next step.  In 1986 he went 13-8 with a 2.99 ERA and 167 strikeouts as the second ace in the AL Champions' rotation.  But he saved his best for the postseason.  Hurst pitched in two games in the ALCS and won one with a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings.  Then, in the World Series, he pitched in three games, winning two with a 1.96 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 23 innings.  Hurst was actually prematurely named the World Series MVP when Boston was on the verge of winning the World Series, before the Bill Buckner error.

Hurst was named to the All Star team in 1987 by Red Sox manager John McNamara, but he did not pitch.  He ended the season 15-13 with a 4.41 ERA and a career high 190 strikeouts in 238.2 innings and 15 complete games.  Then in 1988 he had the best season of his career going 18-6 with a 3.66 ERA and 166 strikeouts.  He was fifth in the Cy Young vote and 14th in the MVP vote.  He was 0-2 but had a 2.77 ERA in two games against the Athletics in the ALCS.

After the 1988 season Hurst signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres where he excelled in a pitcher's park for the first time in his career.  He then pitched one season each for the Rockies and Rangers.

Hurst is kind of forgotten about these years but he was one of the best pitchers the Red Sox had in the 1980's, often forming an impressive one-two punch with Roger Clemens.  Hurst has not had a lot of cards since his retirement, only showing up in 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams and having the occasional buyback cards.  I hoped that Fan Favorites would get him in at some time, but the brand did not last long enough.  Hurst was also due to have a Starting Lineup figure in 1989 but that was halted when he left for the Padres.  So the vast majority of my Bruce Hurst cards come from his playing days.

Unknown Heroes Before My Time Pt. 1: Marty Barrett

I started watching the Red Sox in 1991.  Marty Barrett still had cards showing him with the Red Sox that came out in 1991, but he had moved on to the Padres.

Barrett was a slick-fielding, singles-hitting second baseman for the Red Sox for the greater part of the 1980's.  He did not have a lot of power but was a decent table-setter for Boston.  He made his Major League debut in 1982 but did not have a full rookie season with the team until 1984.  He had a decent rookie season, hitting .303/.358/.383.  He would continue to have numbers close to those through 1988.  Of particular interest was Barrett's ability to walk far more often than he struck out.  He was one of the most difficult hitters to strike out.

1986 was possibly Barrett's best season.  He hit .286/.353/.381 with four home runs, 60 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.  He lead the league in sacrifice hits, as he would for the next two seasons as well, and was among the league leaders in at-bats and several defensive categories.  In addition, Barrett performed very well in the postseason.  He won the ALCS MVP by hitting .367/.406/.433 with eleven hits and five RBIs.  His success continued in the World Series when he collected 13 hits and ended with a line of .433/.514/.500 with four RBIs.  His 24 hits in the postseason were a record at the time.  It certainly was not Marty Barrett's fault that Boston did not win the 1986 World Championship.

Barrett continued to play reasonably well for a middle infielder of that time period through the 1988 season.  He started to have injury problems though in 1989, suffering a knee injury that would plague him the rest of his career.  His career only lasted an additional three seasons, during which time he only played in 160 games.