# 1965 Boston Red Sox season

The 1965 Boston Red Sox season was the 65th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox, with Billy Herman at the helm, finished ninth in the American League (AL) with a record of 62 wins and 100 losses (this is, to date, the most recent season the team has lost 100+ games in a season), 40 games behind the AL champion Minnesota Twins, against whom the 1965 Red Sox lost 17 of 18 games. The team drew only 652,201 fans to Fenway Park, seventh in the ten-team league but the Red Sox' lowest turnstile count since 1945, the last year of World War II.
One of the team's few bright spots was that 20-year old Tony Conigliaro led the AL with 32 home runs, becoming the youngest home run champion in AL history.
On September 16, 1965, at Fenway Park, third-year right-hander Dave Morehead, 22, threw the club's first no-hitter since August 1, 1962, and 13th in its history, when he defeated the Cleveland Indians (and Luis Tiant), 2–0. Morehead, only 10–16 on the season after today, fanned eight and permitted only one baserunner, Rocky Colavito, who drew a base on balls in the second inning.
From a long-term viewpoint, September 16 was also consequential when, prior to the game, owner Tom Yawkey dismissed longtime confidant Pinky Higgins as executive vice president and general manager. Higgins, 56, had been associated with the Red Sox continuously since May 1946, as a third baseman, minor- and major-league field manager, and front-office executive. His successor, fellow senior executive Dick O'Connell, 50, the club's business manager, will supervise the team's successful rebuilding and win two AL pennants (1967, 1975) and two The Sporting News Executive of the Year Awards during his dozen years as general manager.

## Offseason

* October 14, 1964: The Red Sox release veteran outfielders Al Smith, 36, and Dick Williams, 35. They will later name Williams the 1965 manager of their new Triple-A affiliate, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League.
* November 29, 1964: The Red Sox trade first baseman Dick Stuart, 32, to the Philadelphia Phillies for left-handed pitcher Dennis Bennett, 25.
* November 30, 1964: In the first-year draft, the Red Sox select, among others, southpaw Sparky Lyle, 20, from the Baltimore Orioles, and lose infielder Tim Cullen, 22, to the Washington Senators. In the minor league draft, the Red Sox select right-hander Gary Waslewski, 23, from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 51‍–‍30 |
| Chicago White Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | 7 | 48‍–‍33 | 47‍–‍34 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 94 | 68 | .580 | 8 | 46‍–‍33 | 48‍–‍35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 89 | 73 | .549 | 13 | 47‍–‍34 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Cleveland Indians | 87 | 75 | .537 | 15 | 52‍–‍30 | 35‍–‍45 |
| New York Yankees | 77 | 85 | .475 | 25 | 40‍–‍43 | 37‍–‍42 |
| Los Angeles / California Angels | 75 | 87 | .463 | 27 | 46‍–‍34 | 29‍–‍53 |
| Washington Senators | 70 | 92 | .432 | 32 | 36‍–‍45 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Boston Red Sox | 62 | 100 | .383 | 40 | 34‍–‍47 | 28‍–‍53 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 59 | 103 | .364 | 43 | 33‍–‍48 | 26‍–‍55 |

### Record vs. opponents

1965 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA/ CAL | MIN | NYY | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 8–10 |
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 4–14 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 1–17 | 9–9 | 11–7 |
| Chicago | 9–9 | 14–4 | — | 10–8 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 13–5 |
| Cleveland | 8–10 | 10–8 | 8–10 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 11–7 |
| Detroit | 7–11 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | — | 13–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 |
| Kansas City | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 5–13 | — | 5–13 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 6–12 |
| Los Angeles / California | 5–13 | 13–5 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 13–5 | — | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 |
| Minnesota | 10–8 | 17–1 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–9 | — | 13–5 | 15–3 |
| New York | 5–13 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 5–13 | — | 11–7 |
| Washington | 10–8 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 12–6 | 3–15 | 7–11 | — |
NOTE: The Los Angeles Angels changed their name to California Angels on September 2, 1965, with the season in progress.

### Notable transactions

* March 30, 1965: The Red Sox purchase the contract of nine-year veteran centerfielder Lenny Green, 32, from the Baltimore Orioles.
* June 8, 1965: In the first-of-its-kind 1965 Major League Baseball Draft, the Red Sox select outfielder Billy Conigliaro, 17-year-old brother of their star sophomore right fielder, from Swampscott High School in the Boston suburb, as their first-round selection (fifth overall). They also pick Amos Otis, 18, then a shortstop, in the fifth round (95th overall).
* September 14, 1965: The Red Sox trade veteran relief pitcher Jack Lamabe, 29, to the Houston Astros for pitcher Bucky Brandon, 25, then a minor-leaguer.

### Opening Day lineup

| 38 | Rico Petrocelli | SS |
| 7 | Lenny Green | CF |
| 8 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
| 25 | Tony Conigliaro | RF |
| 6 | Lee Thomas | 1B |
| 12 | Félix Mantilla | 2B |
| 11 | Frank Malzone | 3B |
| 10 | Bob Tillman | C |
| 27 | Bill Monbouquette | P |

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Bob Tillman | 111 | 368 | 79 | .215 | 6 | 35 |
| 1B | Lee Thomas | 151 | 521 | 141 | .271 | 22 | 75 |
| 2B | Félix Mantilla | 150 | 534 | 147 | .275 | 18 | 92 |
| 3B | Frank Malzone | 106 | 364 | 87 | .239 | 3 | 34 |
| SS | Rico Petrocelli | 103 | 323 | 75 | .232 | 13 | 33 |
| LF | Carl Yastrzemski | 133 | 494 | 154 | .312 | 20 | 72 |
| CF | Lenny Green | 119 | 373 | 103 | .276 | 7 | 24 |
| RF | Tony Conigliaro | 138 | 521 | 140 | .269 | 32 | 82 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Dalton Jones | 112 | 367 | 99 | .270 | 5 | 37 |
| Jim Gosger | 81 | 324 | 83 | .256 | 9 | 35 |
| Ed Bressoud | 107 | 296 | 67 | .226 | 8 | 25 |
| Chuck Schilling | 71 | 171 | 41 | .240 | 3 | 9 |
| Tony Horton | 60 | 163 | 48 | .294 | 7 | 23 |
| Russ Nixon | 59 | 137 | 37 | .270 | 0 | 11 |
| Mike Ryan | 33 | 107 | 17 | .159 | 3 | 9 |
| Gary Geiger | 24 | 45 | 9 | .200 | 1 | 2 |
| Jerry Moses | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 1 | 1 |
| Bill Schlesinger | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Earl Wilson | 36 | 230.0 | 13 | 14 | 3.98 | 164 |
| Bill Monbouquette | 35 | 228.2 | 10 | 18 | 3.70 | 110 |
| Dave Morehead | 34 | 192.2 | 10 | 18 | 4.06 | 163 |
| Jim Lonborg | 32 | 185.1 | 9 | 17 | 4.47 | 113 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Dennis Bennett | 34 | 141.2 | 5 | 7 | 4.38 | 85 |
| Jerry Stephenson | 15 | 52.0 | 1 | 5 | 6.23 | 49 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Dick Radatz | 63 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 3.91 | 121 |
| Arnold Earley | 57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.63 | 47 |
| Jay Ritchie | 44 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3.17 | 55 |
| Bob Duliba | 39 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3.78 | 27 |
| Bob Heffner | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.16 | 42 |
| Jack Lamabe | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8.17 | 17 |

## Awards and honors

* Carl Yastrzemski, Gold Glove Award (OF)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Toronto Maple Leafs | International League | Dick Williams |
| AA | Pittsfield Red Sox | Eastern League | Eddie Popowski |
| A | Winston-Salem Red Sox | Carolina League | Bill Slack |
| A | Waterloo Hawks | Midwest League | Larry Lee Thomas |
| A | Wellsville Red Sox | New York–Penn League | Matt Sczesny |
| Rookie | Harlan Red Sox | Appalachian League | Rac Slider |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Toronto, Pittsfield
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