Season in Review: 1997

The Jimy Williams era did not start off well at all.  Of course the biggest issue was the departure of Boston icons Roger Clemens and Mike Greenwell and the trade of Jose Canseco.  GM Dan Duquette did not do a whole lot to make up for those losses either, choosing to pick up a bunch of reclamation projects and low-risk players.  Two rookies came through though so it was not all doom and gloom.  Just mostly.  Boston finished in fourth place at 78-84.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS
Mo Vaughn
The Hit Dog had another big year for the Red Sox in 1997, but some cracks were beginning to show in his image.  He dealt with injuries for a big chunk of the year, got in some trouble with the law, and there were starting to be serious concerns about whether he would stay with the Red Sox.  Nevertheless, he hit .315/.420/.560 with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs.

John Valentin
Valentin was the subject of trade rumors coming into the season as he was set to lose his starting shortstop job to Nomar Garciaparra.  Eventually he agreed to move to second base.  Then after Tim Naehring went down for the season, he moved to third base where he played much of the rest of his career.  He very quietly put together a good season, hitting .306/.372/.499 with 18 home runs and 77 RBIs.

Tim Wakefield
Wakefield had moments where he looked like the 1995 version of himself.  He ended up with only a 12-15 record, but his ERA was a decent 4.25 and he pitched more than 200 innings.  He struck out 151 and pitched four complete games with two shutouts, both leading the team.  He was the definition of a workhorse and that was something Boston sorely needed in 1997.

Tom Gordon
Flash started the season as the team's ace by default.  He was the most consistent starter for the Red Sox but ended up with a losing record due to a lack of offensive support when he was on the mound.  After the trading deadline, Gordon was moved to closer, a role in which he flourished, as will be seen in 1998.  For the season, Gordon was 6-10 with a team-leading 3.74 ERA and 159 strikeouts.  He also chalked up 11 saves after moving to the bullpen.

Reggie Jefferson
Jefferson had the highest batting average in the league for quite awhile but did not qualify for the title since he was platooning with Mike Stanley for most of the year.  By the time he started to get enough at-bats to qualify, his average had dropped quite a bit.  He still ended up hitting .319/.358/.470, leading the team in average.  He also hit 13 home runs and drove in 67.  He had a 22 game hitting streak in 1997 as well.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Aaron Sele
Sele showed flashes of brilliance but for the most part was very inconsistent.  He ended up leading the team with 13 wins, against 12 losses, but his ERA was an unsightly 5.38 and he ended up with 122 strikeouts in 177.1 innings.

Troy O'Leary
After a bit of a down season in 1996, O'Leary came back to be the most consistent Red Sox outfielder, which really is not saying much when the outfield consists of Darren Bragg and Wil Cordero.  Still, he hit .309/.358/.479 with 15 home runs and 80 RBIs.  Acceptable numbers for an outfielder, but nothing horribly impressive.

Tim Naehring
Naehring was having a breakout season in 1997, hitting .286/.375/.467 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs through 70 games.  Then he went down with an injury.  He never played again.

Jeff Frye
Frye came into the season as a jack-of-all-trades utility man and played every position but pitcher and catcher at some point in the season.  He quietly put together a very nice season and ended up winning the starting second base job after Naehring got hurt and Valentin moved to third.  He ended up hitting .312/.352/.433 with three home runs, 51 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS
Jim Corsi
This is how bad Boston was at picking up new players.  Their best acquisition was a middle reliever who pitched in 52 games.  Corsi was pretty decent in the little work that he did, ending up with a nice 3.43 ERA and a 5-3 record, and he struck out almost twice as many hitters as he walked, but there is not much else to say.

Shane Mack
I remember reading some analysts calling this a potential steal.  Mack played in Japan the prior season.  He ended up with a nice batting line, but only played in 60 games due to injuries.  He hit .315/.368/.438, but only hit three home runs and drove in 17.

Bret Saberhagen
The biggest name acquisition the Red Sox got coming into the season was former two-time Cy Young winner Saberhagen.  But due to an injury the prior season, he was not able to make his debut with the Red Sox until very late in the season and only ended up pitching in six games the entire year.  How's that for making people forget about Roger Clemens?

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITIONS
Derek Lowe
Boston made one trade at the deadline, trading off closer Heathcliff Slocumb who was getting bombed a lot to the Mariners for Lowe and Jason Varitek.  It was one of the greatest trades the team ever made, though neither player did much in 1997.  Lowe ended up pitching in eight games out of the bullpen, taking two losses, but with a decent 3.38 ERA.

Jason Varitek
Varitek had one at-bat and singled.

FAVORITE ROOKIES
Nomar Garciaparra
Could it be any one else?  This is one of the greatest rookie seasons ever.  Garciaparra was the leadoff hitter in 1997 and ended up hitting .306/.342/.534 with 30 home runs, 98 RBIs (a leadoff hitter record), and 22 stolen bases.  He lead the league in at-bats, hits, and triples and finished second in runs and total bases.  It was an incredible rookie season that ended up with him winning Rookie of the Year unanimously.  He was also the team's lone All Star.

Scott Hatteberg
Hatteberg actually had a somewhat impressive rookie season as well that was completely overshadowed by Nomar's incredible season.  He ended the season taking over the starting catcher job from Bill Haselman by hitting .277/.354/.434 with ten home runs and 44 RBIs.  He actually drew more walks than the dangerous Garciaparra, an ability that would serve him well in his career.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
Steve Avery
Like Saberhagen, Avery was a former star pitcher Boston picked up as a reclamation project.  Avery was mostly healthy though, he was just really bad.  The left-hander ended up going 6-7 with an awful 6.42 ERA and 51 strikeouts versus 49 walks in 95 innings.  He also got paid a lot of money to do it, then managed to have his contract for 1998 vest, meaning Boston was stuck with him for another year.

Wil Cordero
Cordero had been moved to left field where his fielding was actually decent for the first time in his career and he was hitting relatively decently for awhile too, that is until he was arrested for domestic assault, then gave a thoroughly embarrassing interview about it.  That was it for Cordero with the Red Sox.  He did hit 18 home runs though, so there is that.

John Wasdin
Seriously, this is all Boston could get for Jose Canseco after a very good 1996?  Wasdin was at least versatile, but he ended up with an ugly 4-6 record and a 4.40 ERA.  He did pitch 124.1 innings and was used as a starter and reliever, even finishing ten games.  His versatility was the lone good thing about him though.  He coughed up 18 home runs, leading to the nickname "Way Back" Wasdin.

Robinson Checo
Another pitcher picked up on the cheap to help Boston fans forget Clemens.  Checo had previously pitched in Japan and was expected to be a decent long-term investment.  It did not work out that way.  He ended up making it into only five games but did have a 3.38 ERA and struck out 14 in 13.1 innings.  Unfortunately this was the high point of his career.

Rudy Pemberton
Like Dwayne Hosey in 1996, Pemberton came off an incredibly strong September the year before to win a starting outfield job.  Also, like Hosey, he tanked.  Pemberton was the starting right-fielder and ended up hitting .238/.314/.365 with two home runs in 27 games.  He was done as a Major Leaguer.

Season in Review: 1996

Kevin Kennedy's second and final season as the Red Sox was a letdown after their AL East Championship season of 1995.  There was again a lot of roster turnover and Boston consulted with an individual more known for rotisserie (fantasy) baseball which lead to some slightly unusual personnel decisions.  The team got off to a dreadful 6-19 start which they never really recovered from, despite the fact that they were one of the top teams during the summer.  This was a year when they traded off a lot of players.  Unfortunately, most of the players they acquired did very little.  They finished the season at 85-77, in third place

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS
Mo Vaughn
After his MVP season of 1995, Vaughn was under some pressure to repeat his performance.  If anything, he was better.  Vaughn was the sole All Star for the Red Sox in 1996 as he hit .326/.420/.583.  He lead the league in plate appearances and finished in the top ten in just about every major offensive category.  He hit 44 home runs with 143 RBIs.  It was a monster season for the Hit Dog.

John Valentin
Unlike Vaughn, Valentin was not able to continue his success from the previous season.  He was still decent though, if a little bit more average in 1996.  Valentin ended the season at .296/.374/.436 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs.  He also stole nine bases while being caught ten times.  His numbers across the board were down.  With the impending emergence of Nomar Garciaparra, Valentin's name started getting bandied about in trade rumors.

Roger Clemens
Despite a losing record, The Rocket was back in fine form.  He finished the season with a 10-13 record, but lead the league with 257 strikeouts and had a 3.63 ERA.  Clemens also replicated his record 20 strikeout game late in the season, this time against the Tigers.  Unfortunately this was the final season for Clemens in Boston.

Jose Canseco
Canseco was on his way to one of his best seasons until missing a month and a half with an injury.  He ended up only playing in 96 games, but finished with a batting line of .289/.400/.589 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs.  Had he played the full season, he would have likely ended up with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Tim Wakefield
The knuckleballer was nowhere near as impressive in 1996 as he had been the previous season.  He still won 14 games, but lost 13 and finished with an ERA of 5.14.  But he was a workhorse, pitching 211.2 innings and striking out 140.  Such is the plight of the knuckleball pitcher.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Tim Naehring
The longtime prospect continued to improve.  He looked like a good bet to become a star after hitting .288/.363/.444 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He did only get 16 doubles, which is kind of an odd thing for someone with that many home runs.

Mike Greenwell
It was Gator's final season in Boston.  1996 ended up being his final season in the Major Leagues despite an attempt with the Reds.  He ended up only appearing in 77 games, but had a high point when he had a nine RBI game, accounting for all of Boston's runs, a record.  His season line was .295/.336/.441 with seven home runs.

Reggie Jefferson
Jefferson had bounced from team to team for years before finally breaking through in 1996.  He was able to play in over 100 games for the first time due to injuries to Canseco and Greenwell.  He responded with a terrific season, hitting .347/.388/.593 with 19 home runs and 74 RBIs.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS
Mike Stanley
One of the rare players to come to the Red Sox directly from the Yankees and actually do well.  Stanley was 33 years old but a terrific hitter.  He was not quite the same behind the plate though and 1996 would be his last season as a full-time catcher.  He ended up hitting .270/.383/.506 with 24 home runs and 69 RBIs.  He also walked more than he struck out, unusual for a catcher.  It was the best offensive season by a Red Sox catcher since Carlton Fisk.

Tom Gordon
The diminutive right-hander was brought to Boston to be a number two starter, but he did not end up having a terribly good year.  His record was 12-9 which was a little deceptive because his ERA ended up being 5.59.  He did strike out 171 hitters in 215.1 innings though.

Heathcliff Slocumb
Since Rick Aguilera left as a free agent, Boston swung a trade with the Phillies to acquire closer Slocumb.  He got off to a horrific start but calmed down to become one of the most reliable closers in the league.  He ended up with 31 saves for the Red Sox and 88 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITIONS
Darren Bragg
As I mentioned earlier, Boston traded off a number of players in 1996, including Mike Stanton, Jamie Moyer, Kevin Mitchell, and Jeff Manto.  Bragg was acquired in the Moyer trade and ended up having the longest tenure in Boston of any of the new players.  He hit .252/.357/.365 with Boston and became the team's starting center fielder.  He was always a hard-nosed player which endeared him to the fans.

FAVORITE ROOKIE
Mark Brandenburg
This is the closest I could find to a decent rookie in 1996.  The side-arming Brandenburg was acquired in the Stanton trade and ended up with a 4-2 record, 3.81 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.  Not bad.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
Kevin Mitchell
After playing in Japan in 1995, Mitchell returned to the Major Leagues with the Red Sox and was one of the more unusual acquisitions by the team.  He was expected to add some extra pop to the lineup but ended up playing only 27 games.  He hit reasonably well with a line of .304/.385/.413 but only hit two home runs and drove in 13.  He was later dealt to the Reds for two players who never made the Red Sox big league team.

Wil Cordero
Cordero was yet another player acquired because of his offensive ability, despite the fact that he was something less than a wizard in the field.  He was more a disappointment due to getting hurt early on and only playing in 59 games.  He did hit .288/.330/.404 with three home runs and 37 RBIs.  Boston ended up getting Jeff Frye to make up for losing Cordero for most of the season.

Alex Cole
This one is more personal.  I am not sure anyone really expected much out of Alex Cole, but I always liked him.  He was fast and he wore goggles.  It was endearing.  He ended up only playing in 24 games with the Red Sox with a terrible .222/.296/.319 line.  He did steal five bases, but he was caught three times.  Not impressive at all.  He was only brought in, along with Milt Cuyler, in case Dwayne Hosey was a fluke, which he was, but neither Cole nor Cuyler were any good either, so Boston did the sensible thing and brought Lee Tinsley back and then acquired Bragg.  It worked out, sort of.

My First Red Sox Game

I went to my first Red Sox game in Kansas City in 1997 on August 2nd. Unfortunately, the team was not particularly good in 1997.

Aaron Sele started the game and he was going through a ridiculously uneven year. You never knew which Aaron Sele you were going to get on any given day. Unfortunately, the bad Aaron Sele showed up at this game and he lasted less than three innings. He was relieved by Mark Brandenburg, Butch Henry, Kerry Lacy, and Ron Mahay, none of whom were terribly impressive or lasted long with the Red Sox.

Looking back at this box score, one thing really strikes me. I had no idea Shane Mack stayed with the Red Sox as long as he did. He was in this game, although he didn't do much. Nomar Garciaparra, Darren Bragg, and Mike Benjamin all had multi-hit games. Benjamin and Reggie Jefferson each hit doubles, and the runs were all driven in by Jefferson and Mike Stanley, towards the end of his tenure with the Sox. Mike Benjamin committed two errors.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
I remember seeing Tom Gordon playing long toss before the game, and it was not long before he was converted into a reliever.

Wil Cordero took some abuse from the crowd as this was soon after he was arrested for domestic abuse.

Walt McKeel, Jesus Tavarez, Troy O'Leary, and Jeff Frye all saw some action as well.