# 1986 Boston Red Sox season

The 1986 Boston Red Sox season was the 86th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 95–66. After defeating the California Angels in the ALCS, the Red Sox lost the World Series to the New York Mets in seven games.

## Offseason

* November 13, 1985: Bob Ojeda, Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer (minors) were traded to the New York Mets for Calvin Schiraldi, Wes Gardner, John Christensen, and La Schelle Tarver.
* December 11, 1985: Mark Clear was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ed Romero.
* January 14, 1986: Alan Mills was selected in the first round (13th overall) of the amateur draft, but did not sign.
* January 14, 1986: Curt Schilling was selected in the second round of the amateur draft, and signed on May 30.
* March 28, 1986: Mike Easler was traded to the New York Yankees for Don Baylor.

## Spring Training

The Red Sox held spring training at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida, for the 21st season.
| Boston Win | Boston Loss | Tie Game |
1986 Boston Red Sox Spring Training Log :
March
#DateOpponentScoreRecordSource
1March 7@ Tigers0─30─1
2March 8@ Tigers4─60─2
3March 9@ Tigers2─110─3
4March 10@ Los Angeles7─61─3
5March 11@ Orioles5─12─3
6March 12Vs. Tigers2─33─3
7March 13@ Tigers8─93─4
8March 16@ Astros8─54─4
9March 17@ Cardinals3─64─5
10March 18Vs. Blue Jays5─24─6
11March 19@ Mets4─74─7
12March 20Vs. Tigers10─94─8
12March 21Vs. Twins8─14─9
13March 22@ Twins0─44─10
14March 23@ Royals3─15─10
15March 24Vs. Astros4─35─11
16March 25@ Pirates5─65─12
17March 26@ White Sox27─106─12
18March 27Vs. Pirates5─26─13
19March 28Vs. Mets5─67─13
20March 29Vs. Tigers5─98─13
21March 30Vs. Blue Jays2─79─13
22March 31Vs. Expos6─89─13 :
April
#DateOpponentScoreRecordSource
23April 1Vs. Phillies3─09─14
24April 2@ Tigers3─99─15
25April 3@ Pirates3─49─16
26April 4@ Astros9─010─16
27April 5Vs. Tigers0─611─16 :

## Regular season
### April

The Red Sox ended the series at Chicago with a 12─2 victory.

### July

In the second game of the series (July 1), the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 9─7, with Tom Seaver making his debut with the Red Sox.
Record by month :
| Month | Record | Record | Cumulative | Cumulative | AL East | AL East | Ref. |
| Month | Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Position | GB | Ref. |
| April | 11 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 2nd (tie) | 2+1⁄2 | |
| May | 21 | 7 | 32 | 15 | 1st | +2+1⁄2 | |
| June | 17 | 10 | 49 | 25 | 1st | +8 | |
| July | 10 | 16 | 59 | 41 | 1st | +4 | |
| August | 17 | 13 | 76 | 54 | 1st | +3+1⁄2 | |
| September | 18 | 8 | 94 | 62 | 1st | +8+1⁄2 | |
| October | 1 | 4 | 95 | 66 | 1st | +5+1⁄2 | |
The Red Sox played only 161 games, as a road game scheduled against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 24 was rained out, and was not rescheduled as it had no bearing on the divisional race.

### Highlights

* On April 29 at Fenway Park, 23-year-old Roger Clemens struck out 20 Seattle Mariners to set a major league record for a nine-inning game.
* Clemens finished the regular season with 24 wins, the most by a Red Sox pitcher since Mel Parnell won 25 games in 1949.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 66 | .590 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 44‍–‍36 |
| New York Yankees | 90 | 72 | .556 | 5½ | 41‍–‍39 | 49‍–‍33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8½ | 49‍–‍32 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 9½ | 42‍–‍39 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Cleveland Indians | 84 | 78 | .519 | 11½ | 45‍–‍35 | 39‍–‍43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 77 | 84 | .478 | 18 | 41‍–‍39 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 73 | 89 | .451 | 22½ | 37‍–‍42 | 36‍–‍47 |
This was the first season since 1904 that the Yankees franchise (then known as the Highlanders) finished second in the standings to the Red Sox franchise (then known as the Americans).

### Record vs. opponents

1986 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| California | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 6–6 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 3–10–1 |
| Detroit | 12–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 10–3 | 3–10 | 8–4 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–3–1 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 2, 1986: The Red Sox selected Scott Cooper in the third round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.
* June 29, 1986: Steve Lyons was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox for Tom Seaver.
* August 17, 1986: The Seattle Mariners traded Spike Owen and Dave Henderson to the Red Sox for Rey Quiñones and players to be named later (Mike Brown, Mike Trujillo, and John Christensen).

### Opening day lineup

| 24 | Dwight Evans | RF |
| 26 | Wade Boggs | 3B |
| 6 | Bill Buckner | 1B |
| 14 | Jim Rice | LF |
| 25 | Don Baylor | DH |
| 10 | Rich Gedman | C |
| 20 | Tony Armas | CF |
| 17 | Marty Barrett | 2B |
| 18 | Glenn Hoffman | SS |
| 47 | Bruce Hurst | P |
Source:

### Alumni game

On May 17, the Red Sox held an old-timers game at Fenway, before a scheduled game with the Texas Rangers. The game—themed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the pennant-winning 1946 Red Sox—welcomed back 19 alumni of the team and was also the first to invite non-Red Sox alumni. Besides Ted Williams, Luis Tiant, and Rico Petrocelli, the day featured appearances by all three DiMaggio brothers: Joe, Vince, and Dom. The umpiring crew included Hall of Fame inductee Jocko Conlan.

### Illegal Firing of Tommy Harper

General Manager Haywood Sullivan, a supporter of the all-white and anti-Black Elks Club of Winter Haven, Florida (where the team then held spring training), would welcome the organization into the Red Sox' Chain of Lakes Park clubhouse to invite the white players and white front-office personnel only to the Elks' segregated facilities. Former outfielder and coach Tommy Harper spoke against this practice in 1985 and the Red Sox retaliated and fired Harper. On July 1, 1986, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vindicated Harper and cited the Red Sox for illegal actions.

### Red Sox Debuts

| Name | Position | Date | Game | Source |
| Wes Gardner | Pitcher | 4/13/1986 | @ White Sox | |
| Tom Seaver | Pitcher | 7/1/1986 | Vs. Blue Jays |

## Game log

1986 Regular Season Game Log (95-66) (Home: 51-30; Road: 44-36) :
April (11-8) (Home: 7-4; Road: 4-4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
1April 7@ Tigers
2April 9@ Tigers
3April 10@ Tigers
4April 11@ White Sox
5April 12@ White Sox
6April 13@ White Sox
7April 14Royals
8April 16Royals
9April 17Royals
10April 18White Sox
11April 19White Sox
12April 20White Sox
13April 21Tigers
14April 22Tigers
15April 23Tigers
16April 25@ Royals
17April 26@ Royals
–April 27@ RoyalsPostponed (rain) Makeup date: August 12
18April 29Mariners
19April 30Mariners :
May (21-7) (Home: 9-3; Road: 12-4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
20May 1Mariners
21May 2Athletics
22May 3Athletics
23May 4Athletics
24May 5Angels
25May 6Angels
26May 7@ Mariners
27May 8@ Mariners
28May 9@ Athletics
29May 10@ Athletics
30May 11@ Athletics
31May 12@ Angels
32May 13@ Angels
33May 14@ Angels
34May 16Rangers
35May 17Rangers
36May 18Rangers
37May 19Twins
38May 20Twins
39May 21Twins
40May 23@ Rangers
41May 24@ Rangers
42May 25@ Rangers
43May 26@ Indians
44May 27@ Indians
45May 28@ Indians
46May 30@ Twins
47May 31@ Twins :
June (17-10) (Home: 7-6; Road: 10-4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
48June 1@ Twins
49June 2Indians
50June 3Indians
51June 4Indians
52June 5@ Brewers
53June 6@ Brewers
54June 7@ Brewers
55June 8@ Brewers
56June 9@ Blue Jays
57June 10@ Blue Jays
58June 11@ Blue Jays
–June 12BrewersPostponed (rain) Makeup date: September 16
59June 13Brewers
60June 14Brewers
61June 15Brewers
62June 16@ Yankees
63June 17@ Yankees
64June 18@ Yankees
65June 20Orioles
66June 21Orioles
67June 22Orioles
68June 23Yankees
69June 24Yankees
70June 25Yankees
71June 27@ Orioles
72June 28@ Orioles
73June 29@ Orioles
74June 30Blue Jays :
July (10-16) (Home: 7-6; Road: 3-10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
75July 1Blue Jays
76July 2Blue Jays
77July 3Blue Jays
78July 4Mariners
79July 5Mariners
80July 6Mariners
81July 7Athletics
82July 8Athletics
83July 9Athletics
84July 10Angels
85July 11Angels
86July 12Angels
87July 13Angels
88July 17@ Mariners
89July 18@ Mariners
90July 19@ Mariners
91July 20@ Mariners
92July 21@ Athletics
93July 22@ Athletics
94July 23@ Athletics
95July 25@ Angels
96July 26@ Angels
97July 27@ Angels
98July 28@ White Sox
99July 29@ White Sox
100July 30@ White Sox :
August (17-13) (Home: 7-5; Road: 10-8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
101August 1Royals
102August 2Royals
103August 3Royals
104August 4White Sox
105August 5White Sox
106August 6White Sox
107August 8@ Tigers
108August 9@ Tigers
109August 10@ Tigers
110August 11@ Tigers
111August 12@ Royals
112August 12@ Royals
113August 13@ Royals
114August 14@ Royals
115August 15Tigers
116August 16Tigers
117August 17Tigers
118August 18@ Twins
119August 19@ Twins
120August 20@ Twins
121August 21@ Indians
122August 22@ Indians
123August 23@ Indians
124August 24@ Indians
125August 25@ Rangers
126August 26@ Rangers
127August 27@ Rangers
128August 29Indians
129August 30Indians
130August 31Indians :
September (18-8) (Home: 13-2; Road: 5-6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
131September 1Rangers
132September 2Rangers
133September 3Rangers
134September 5Twins
135September 6Twins
136September 7Twins
137September 8@ Orioles
138September 9@ Orioles
139September 10@ Orioles
140September 11@ Orioles
141September 12@ Yankees
142September 13@ Yankees
143September 14@ Yankees
144September 16Brewers
145September 16Brewers
146September 17Brewers
147September 18Brewers
148September 19@ Blue Jays
149September 20@ Blue Jays
150September 21@ Blue Jays
151September 23@ Brewers
–September 24@ BrewersCancelled (rain)
152September 26Blue Jays
153September 27Blue Jays
154September 28Blue Jays
155September 29Orioles
156September 30Orioles :
October (1-4) (Home: 1-4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumRecordReportRankGB
157October 1Orioles
158October 2Yankees
–October 3YankeesPostponed (rain) Makeup date: October 4
159October 4Yankees
160October 4Yankees
161October 5Yankees :

## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; R = Runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On base percentage; SLG = Slugging percentage
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg. | OBP | SLG |
| C | Rich Gedman | 135 | 462 | 119 | 29 | 0 | 16 | 49 | 65 | .258 | .315 | .424 |
| 1B | Bill Buckner | 153 | 629 | 168 | 39 | 2 | 18 | 73 | 102 | .267 | .311 | .421 |
| 2B | Marty Barrett | 158 | 625 | 179 | 39 | 4 | 4 | 94 | 60 | .286 | .353 | .381 |
| 3B | Wade Boggs | 149 | 580 | 207 | 47 | 2 | 8 | 107 | 71 | .357 | .453 | .486 |
| SS | Rey Quiñones | 62 | 190 | 45 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 15 | .237 | .315 | .342 |
| LF | Jim Rice | 157 | 618 | 200 | 39 | 2 | 20 | 98 | 110 | .324 | .384 | .490 |
| CF | Tony Armas | 121 | 425 | 112 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 58 | .264 | .305 | .409 |
| RF | Dwight Evans | 152 | 529 | 137 | 33 | 2 | 26 | 86 | 97 | .259 | .376 | .476 |
| DH | Don Baylor | 160 | 585 | 139 | 23 | 1 | 31 | 93 | 94 | .238 | .344 | .439 |

#### 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 |
| Ed Romero | 100 | 233 | 49 | .210 | 2 | 23 |
| Spike Owen | 42 | 126 | 23 | .183 | 1 | 10 |
| Steve Lyons | 59 | 124 | 31 | .250 | 1 | 14 |
| Marc Sullivan | 41 | 119 | 23 | .193 | 1 | 14 |
| Dave Henderson | 36 | 51 | 10 | .196 | 1 | 3 |
| Dave Stapleton | 39 | 39 | 5 | .128 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike Greenwell | 31 | 35 | 11 | .314 | 0 | 4 |
| Kevin Romine | 35 | 35 | 9 | .257 | 0 | 2 |
| La Schelle Tarver | 13 | 25 | 3 | .120 | 0 | 1 |
| Glenn Hoffman | 12 | 23 | 5 | .217 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Stenhouse | 21 | 21 | 2 | .095 | 0 | 1 |
| Pat Dodson | 9 | 12 | 5 | .417 | 1 | 3 |
| Dave Sax | 4 | 11 | 5 | .455 | 1 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Roger Clemens | 33 | 254.0 | 24 | 4 | 2.48 | 238 |
| Oil Can Boyd | 30 | 214.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.78 | 129 |
| Bruce Hurst | 25 | 174.1 | 13 | 8 | 2.99 | 167 |
| Al Nipper | 26 | 159.0 | 10 | 12 | 5.38 | 79 |
| Tom Seaver | 16 | 104.1 | 5 | 7 | 3.80 | 72 |
| Jeff Sellers | 14 | 82.0 | 3 | 7 | 4.94 | 51 |

#### 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 | Reference |
| Mike Brown | 15 | 57.1 | 4 | 4 | 5.34 | 32 | |
| Rob Woodward | 9 | 35.2 | 2 | 3 | 5.30 | 14 | |

#### 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 |
| Bob Stanley | 66 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 4.37 | 54 |
| Joe Sambito | 53 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4.84 | 30 |
| Steve Crawford | 40 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3.92 | 32 |
| Tim Lollar | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.91 | 28 |
| Sammy Stewart | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4.38 | 47 |
| Calvin Schiraldi | 25 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 1.41 | 55 |
| Mike Trujillo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.53 | 4 |
| Wes Gardner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |

## Postseason
### ALCS

| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | California – 8, Boston – 1 | October 7 | Fenway Park | 32,993 |
| 2 | California – 2, Boston – 9 | October 8 | Fenway Park | 32,786 |
| 3 | Boston – 3, California – 5 | October 10 | Anaheim Stadium | 64,206 |
| 4 | Boston – 3, California – 4 (11 innings) | October 11 | Anaheim Stadium | 64,223 |
| 5 | Boston – 7, California – 6 (11 innings) | October 12 | Anaheim Stadium | 64,223 |
| 6 | California – 4, Boston – 10 | October 14 | Fenway Park | 32,998 |
| 7 | California – 1, Boston – 8 | October 15 | Fenway Park | 33,001 |

### World Series

NL New York Mets (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3) :
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
| 1 | Red Sox – 1, Mets – 0 | October 18 | Shea Stadium (New York City) | 57,908 | 3:18 |
| 2 | Red Sox – 9, Mets – 3 | October 19 | Shea Stadium (New York City) | 57,911 | 2:44 |
| 3 | Mets – 7, Red Sox – 1 | October 21 | Fenway Park (Boston) | 33,595 | 3:09 |
| 4 | Mets – 6, Red Sox – 2 | October 22 | Fenway Park (Boston) | 33,920 | 3:22 |
| 5 | Mets – 2, Red Sox – 4 | October 23 | Fenway Park (Boston) | 34,010 | 2:55 |
| 6 | Red Sox – 5, Mets – 6 (10 inn.) | October 25 | Shea Stadium (New York City) | 57,908 | 3:18 |
| 7 | Red Sox – 5, Mets – 8 | October 27 | Shea Stadium (New York City) | 57,911 | 2:44 |

### Game log

1986 Postseason Game Log :
1986 American League Championship Series vs. California – Boston wins series 4–3
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumReportGame TimeNational TVNational Radio
1October 7Angels
2October 8Angels
3October 10@ Angels
4October 11@ Angels
5October 12@ Angels
6October 14Angels
7October 15Angels :
1986 World Series vs. New York (NL) – New York (NL) wins series 4–3
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceStadiumReportGame TimeNational TVNational Radio
1October 18@ Mets
2October 19@ Mets
3October 21Mets
4October 22Mets
5October 23Mets
6October 25@ Mets
7October 27@ Mets :

## Awards and Honors
### Awards

Marty Barrett, ALCS MVP
Don Baylor, Silver Slugger Award (DH)
Wade Boggs, Silver Slugger Award (3B), AL Player of the Month (May)
Roger Clemens:
* American League Cy Young Award.
* American League Most Valuable Player.
* AL Pitcher of the Month (April, June).
Bruce Hurst, AL Pitcher of the Month (September)

### Accomplishments

Wade Boggs:
* Major League Baseball Batting Average Leader (.357).
* American League Walks Leader (105).
* Major League Baseball On-base percentage Leader (.453).
Roger Clemens:
* American League ERA Leader (2.48).
* American League Wins Leader (24).

### All-Star Game

| Name | Starter or Reserve | Position |
| Wade Boggs | Starter | 3B |
| Roger Clemens | Starter | P |
| Rich Gedman | Reserve | C |
| Jim Rice | Reserve | LF |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Ed Nottle |
| AA | New Britain Red Sox | Eastern League | Tony Torchia |
| A | Winter Haven Red Sox | Florida State League | Dave Holt |
| A | Greensboro Hornets | South Atlantic League | Doug Camilli |
| A-Short Season | Elmira Pioneers | New York–Penn League | Bill Limoncelli |
Source: