# 1990 Boston Red Sox season

The 1990 Boston Red Sox season was the 90th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 88–74. It was the third AL East division championship in five years for the Red Sox. However, the team was defeated in a four-game sweep by the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, as had been the case in 1988.

## Offseason

* November 13, 1989: The Red Sox waive Jim Rice.
* December 6, 1989: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
* December 6, 1989: Jeff Reardon was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
* December 19, 1989: Rick Cerone was released by the Red Sox.
* December 20, 1989: Sam Horn was released by the Red Sox.

### February

* February 5, 1990: Pitcher Eric Hetzel agrees to a one-year contract with the Red Sox; pitcher Joe Johnson and infielder Jim Pankovits agree to contracts with the Pawtucket Red Sox.
* February 6, 1990: First Base Coach Al Bumbry agrees to a one-year deal with the Red Sox.
* February 9, 1990: Pitcher Rob Murphy agreed to a two-year $1.75 million contract with the Red Sox.
* February 14, 1990: Bill Buckner agrees to a Triple-A Contract with the Red Sox.
* February 15, 1990: Greg A. Harris was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.

## Regular season

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 | 1+1⁄2 | |
| May | 12 | 14 | 23 | 22 | 3rd | 1 | |
| June | 20 | 9 | 43 | 31 | 1st | +3+1⁄2 | |
| July | 12 | 17 | 55 | 48 | 1st (tie) | — | |
| August | 19 | 9 | 74 | 57 | 1st | +6+1⁄2 | |
| September | 12 | 16 | 86 | 73 | 1st | +1 | |
| October | 2 | 1 | 88 | 74 | 1st | +2 | |

### Highlights

The Red Sox set a major league record, which still stands, for the most times grounding into a double play during a season, 174.
On June 6, the Red Sox got a measure of retribution for Bucky Dent's home run in the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game. While in Boston for a four-game series, the New York Yankees fired Dent as their manager. The Red Sox had just defeated the Yankees in the first two games of the series, giving the Yankees an 18–31 record, 8+1⁄2 games behind the first-place Red Sox. The firing made Fenway Park arguably the scene of Dent's best moment as a player and worst moment as manager. Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe criticized Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for firing Dent—his 18th managerial change in as many years—in Boston, and rhetorically asked if he couldn't have waited to fire Dent elsewhere. Shaughnessy noted, "if Dent had been fired in Seattle or Milwaukee, this would have been just another event in an endless line of George's jettisons. But it happened in Boston and the nightly news had its hook." Author Bill Pennington called the firing of Dent "merciless." However, Yankees television analyst Tony Kubek blasted at Steinbrenner for the firing in a harsh, angry way. At the beginning of the broadcast of the game on MSG Network, he said to Yankees television play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats, "George Steinbrenner...mishandled this. You don't take a Bucky Dent (at) the site of one of the greatest home runs in Yankee history and fire him and make it a media circus for the Boston Red Sox." He then stared defiantly on camera and said to Steinbrenner, "You don't do it by telephone, either, George. You do it face to face, eyeball to eyeball...If you really are a winner, you should not have handled this like a loser." He then said, angrily, "George, you're a bully and a coward." He then said that "What all this does, it just wrecks George Steinbrenner's credibility with his players, with the front office and in baseball more than it already is–if that's possible. It was just mishandled." The firing of Dent shook New York to its core and the Yankees flagship radio station then, WABC, which also criticized the firing, ran editorials demanding that Steinbrenner sell the team.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 51‍–‍30 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 2 | 44‍–‍37 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 9 | 39‍–‍42 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 85 | .475 | 11 | 41‍–‍40 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 76 | 85 | .472 | 11½ | 40‍–‍40 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 14 | 39‍–‍42 | 35‍–‍46 |
| New York Yankees | 67 | 95 | .414 | 21 | 37‍–‍44 | 30‍–‍51 |

### Record vs. opponents

1990 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–3 |
| California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
| Cleveland | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Detroit | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 3–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–9 | 10–3 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 |
| New York | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 0–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–8 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 12–0 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 4–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |

### Notable transactions

* May 4, 1990: Lee Smith was traded by the Red Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Brunansky.
* June 4, 1990: Les Norman was selected by the Red Sox in the 26th round of the 1990 MLB draft, but did not sign.
* June 5, 1990: Bill Buckner was released by the Red Sox.
* June 8, 1990: Rich Gedman was sent to the Houston Astros as part of a conditional deal.
* August 23, 1990: Cecilio Guante signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
* August 30, 1990: The Red Sox traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen.

### Opening Day lineup

| 26 | Wade Boggs | 3B |
| 17 | Marty Barrett | 2B |
| 39 | Mike Greenwell | LF |
| 12 | Ellis Burks | CF |
| 24 | Dwight Evans | DH |
| 13 | Billy Jo Robidoux | 1B |
| 6 | Tony Peña | C |
| 3 | Jody Reed | SS |
| 16 | Kevin Romine | RF |
| 21 | Roger Clemens | P |
Source:

### Red Sox debuts

| Player | Position | Date | Game |
| Tony Peña | Catcher | 4/9/1990 | Vs. Detroit Tigers |
| Billy Jo Robidoux | First Base | 4/9/1990 | Vs. Detroit Tigers |
| Jeff Reardon | Pitcher | 4/17/1990 | @ Chicago White Sox |
| Dana Kiecker | Pitcher | 4/12/1990 | @ Detroit Tigers |
| Daryl Irvine | Pitcher | 4/28/1990 | Vs. Oakland Athletics |
| Jerry Reed | Pitcher | 5/4/1990 | @ Oakland Athletics |
| Tom Brunansky | Right Field | 5/6/1990 | @ Oakland Athletics |
| Jeff Gray | Pitcher | 6/10/1990 | Vs. Cleveland Indians |
| Tim Naehring | Second Base | 7/15/1990 | Vs. Kansas City Royals |
| Joe Hesketh | Pitcher | 8/3/1990 | Vs. Detroit Tigers |
| Rick Lancellotti | Pinch Hitter | 8/10/1990 | @ Seattle Mariners |
| Mike Marshall | Designated Hitter | 8/20/1990 | Vs. Baltimore Orioles |
| Phil Plantier | Pinch Hitter | 8/21/1990 | Vs. Baltimore Orioles |
| Larry Andersen | Pitcher | 9/2/1990 | Vs. New York Yankees |
| Scott Cooper | Pinch Hitter | 9/5/1990 | @ Oakland Athletics |
| Jim Pankovits | Second Base | 9/17/1990 | @ Chicago White Sox |

### Alumni game

The team held an old-timers game on May 19, before a scheduled home game against the Minnesota Twins. Red Sox alumni pitchers Bill Lee, Bill Monbouquette, and Dick Radatz allowed just one hit (to former Detroit Tiger Willie Horton) in the four-inning game, as Boston won by a 2–0 score over a team of MLB alumni from other clubs.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
| Wade Boggs | 155 | 619 | 89 | 187 | 44 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 0 | 87 | .302 | .418 |
| Mike Greenwell | 159 | 610 | 71 | 181 | 30 | 6 | 14 | 73 | 8 | 65 | .297 | .434 |
| Jody Reed | 155 | 598 | 70 | 173 | 45 | 0 | 5 | 51 | 4 | 75 | .289 | .390 |
| Ellis Burks | 152 | 588 | 89 | 174 | 33 | 8 | 21 | 89 | 9 | 48 | .296 | .486 |
| Carlos Quintana | 149 | 512 | 56 | 147 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 67 | 1 | 52 | .287 | .383 |
| Tony Peña | 143 | 491 | 62 | 129 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 56 | 8 | 43 | .263 | .348 |
| Tom Brunansky | 129 | 461 | 61 | 123 | 24 | 5 | 15 | 71 | 5 | 54 | .267 | .438 |
| Dwight Evans | 123 | 445 | 66 | 111 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 63 | 3 | 67 | .249 | .391 |
| Luis Rivera | 118 | 346 | 38 | 78 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 4 | 25 | .225 | .344 |
| Marty Barrett | 62 | 159 | 15 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 15 | .226 | .252 |
| Kevin Romine | 70 | 136 | 21 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 12 | .272 | .368 |
| Mike Marshall | 30 | 112 | 10 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | .286 | .464 |
| Tim Naehring | 24 | 85 | 10 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 8 | .271 | .412 |
| John Marzano | 32 | 83 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | .241 | .289 |
| Randy Kutcher | 63 | 74 | 18 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 13 | .230 | .351 |
| Danny Heep | 41 | 69 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | .174 | .217 |
| Billy Jo Robidoux | 27 | 44 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | .182 | .341 |
| Bill Buckner | 22 | 43 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .186 | .256 |
| Phil Plantier | 14 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | .133 | .200 |
| Rich Gedman | 10 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .200 | .200 |
| Rick Lancellotti | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Jeff Stone | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 |
| Scott Cooper | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Jim Pankovits | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- | .--- |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5516 | 699 | 1502 | 298 | 31 | 106 | 660 | 53 | 598 | .272 | .395 |
Source:

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Roger Clemens | 21 | 6 | 1.93 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 228.1 | 193 | 59 | 49 | 54 | 209 |
| Mike Boddicker | 17 | 8 | 3.36 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 228.0 | 225 | 92 | 85 | 69 | 143 |
| Greg A. Harris | 13 | 9 | 4.00 | 34 | 30 | 0 | 184.1 | 186 | 90 | 82 | 77 | 117 |
| Dana Kiecker | 8 | 9 | 3.97 | 32 | 25 | 0 | 152.0 | 145 | 74 | 67 | 54 | 93 |
| Tom Bolton | 10 | 5 | 3.38 | 21 | 16 | 0 | 119.2 | 111 | 46 | 45 | 47 | 65 |
| Dennis Lamp | 3 | 5 | 4.68 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 105.2 | 114 | 61 | 55 | 30 | 49 |
| Wes Gardner | 3 | 7 | 4.89 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 77.1 | 77 | 43 | 42 | 35 | 58 |
| Rob Murphy | 0 | 6 | 6.32 | 68 | 0 | 7 | 57.0 | 85 | 46 | 40 | 32 | 54 |
| Jeff Reardon | 5 | 3 | 3.16 | 47 | 0 | 21 | 51.1 | 39 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 33 |
| Jeff Gray | 2 | 4 | 4.44 | 41 | 0 | 9 | 50.2 | 53 | 27 | 25 | 15 | 50 |
| Jerry Reed | 2 | 1 | 4.80 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 45.0 | 55 | 27 | 24 | 16 | 17 |
| Eric Hetzel | 1 | 4 | 5.91 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 35.0 | 39 | 28 | 23 | 21 | 20 |
| Joe Hesketh | 0 | 4 | 3.51 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 25.2 | 37 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 26 |
| Larry Andersen | 0 | 0 | 1.23 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 22.0 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| John Dopson | 0 | 0 | 2.04 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17.2 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| Daryl Irvine | 1 | 1 | 4.67 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 17.1 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Lee Smith | 2 | 1 | 1.88 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 14.1 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| John Leister | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.2 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Mike Rochford | 0 | 1 | 18.00 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Danny Heep | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 88 | 74 | 3.72 | 162 | 162 | 44 | 1442.0 | 1439 | 664 | 596 | 519 | 997 |
Source:

## Statistical leaders

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Youngest player | Phil Plantier | 21 |
| Oldest player | Bill Buckner | 40 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Roger Clemens | 10.4 |
Source:

### Batting

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| G | Games played | Mike Greenwell | 159 |
| PA | Plate appearances | Wade Boggs | 713 |
| AB | At bats | Wade Boggs | 619 |
| R | Runs scored | Wade Boggs | 89 |
| R | Runs scored | Ellis Burks | 89 |
| H | Hits | Wade Boggs | 187 |
| 2B | Doubles | Jody Reed | 45 |
| 3B | Triples | Ellis Burks | 8 |
| HR | Home runs | Ellis Burks | 21 |
| RBI | Runs batted in | Ellis Burks | 89 |
| SB | Stolen bases | Ellis Burks | 9 |
| CS | Caught stealing | Ellis Burks | 11 |
| BB | Base on balls | Wade Boggs | 87 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Tom Brunansky | 105 |
| BA | Batting average | Wade Boggs | .302 |
| OBP | On-base percentage | Wade Boggs | .386 |
| SLG | Slugging percentage | Ellis Burks | .486 |
| OPS | On-base plus slugging | Ellis Burks | .835 |
| OPS+ | Adjusted OPS | Ellis Burks | 128 |
| TB | Total bases | Ellis Burks | 286 |
| GIDP | Grounded into double play | Tony Peña | 23 |
| HBP | Hit by pitch | 3 tied | 4 |
| SH | Sacrifice hits | Luis Rivera | 12 |
| SF | Sacrifice flies | Tom Brunansky | 8 |
| IBB | Intentional base on balls | Wade Boggs | 19 |
Source:

### Pitching

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| W | Wins | Roger Clemens | 21 |
| L | Losses | Greg A. Harris | 9 |
| L | Losses | Dana Kiecker | 9 |
| W-L % | Winning percentage | Roger Clemens | .778 (21–6) |
| ERA | Earned run average | Roger Clemens | 1.93 |
| G | Games pitched | Rob Murphy | 68 |
| GS | Games started | Mike Boddicker | 34 |
| GF | Games finished | Jeff Reardon | 37 |
| CG | Complete games | Roger Clemens | 7 |
| SHO | Shutouts | Roger Clemens | 4 |
| SV | Saves | Jeff Reardon | 21 |
| IP | Innings pitched | Roger Clemens | 228+1⁄3 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Roger Clemens | 209 |
| WHIP | Walks plus hits per inning pitched | Rogers Clemens | 1.082 |
Source:

## ALCS
### Game 1

October 6, 1990, at Fenway Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| W: Dave Stewart (1-0) L: Larry Andersen (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – Wade Boggs (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 7, 1990, at Fenway Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Bob Welch (1-0) L: Greg Harris (0-1) S: Dennis Eckersley (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: None |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 9, 1990, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Mike Moore (1-0) L: Mike Boddicker (0-1) S: Dennis Eckersley (2) |||||||||||||
| HR: None |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 10, 1990, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Oakland | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Dave Stewart (2-0) L: Roger Clemens (0-1) S: Rick Honeycutt (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: None |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors
### Awards

* Mike Boddicker – Gold Glove Award (P)
* Ellis Burks – Silver Slugger Award (OF), Gold Glove Award (OF)
* Roger Clemens – AL Pitcher of the Month (August)

### Accomplishments

* Roger Clemens, American League Leader, Shutouts (4)
All-Star Game
* Wade Boggs, third base, starter
* Ellis Burks, outfield, reserve
* Roger Clemens, pitcher, reserve

## Farm system

The Lynchburg Red Sox and Winter Haven Red Sox changed classification from Class A to Class A-Advanced.
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Ed Nottle and Johnny Pesky |
| AA | New Britain Red Sox | Eastern League | Butch Hobson |
| A-Advanced | Lynchburg Red Sox | Carolina League | Gary Allenson |
| A-Advanced | Winter Haven Red Sox | Florida State League | Dave Holt |
| A-Short Season | Elmira Pioneers | New York–Penn League | Mike Verdi |
| Rookie | GCL Red Sox | Gulf Coast League | Felix Maldonado |
| Rookie | DSL cooperative | Dominican Summer League | |
The Red Sox shared a DSL team with the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres.
Source: