1979 Boston Red Sox season

Offseason

On December 7, 1978, pitcher Bill Lee was traded to the Montreal Expos for infielder Stan Papi.

Regular season

The Red Sox only played 160 games, as a home game scheduled against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 12, and an away game scheduled against the Chicago White Sox on August 29, were rained out and not rescheduled.

Highlights

Fred Lynn had a league-leading .333 batting average and had 39 home runs and 122 RBIs, while Jim Rice batted .325 with 39 homers and 130 RBIs. On the pitching staff, Dennis Eckersley was 17–10, down from 20–8 the prior season, and Mike Torrez was 16–13, matching his record of the previous year.

The season also featured Carl Yastrzemski's 3,000th hit and his 400th home run. His 400th home run came off of Mike Morgan of the Athletics on July 24. Yaz became the seventh AL player and 18th MLB player to collect 400 home runs. He joined the 3,000 hit club with a single off of Jim Beattie of the Yankees on September 12. Yaz was the 15th player to collect 3,000 major league hits, and the first AL player to have both 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.

New acquisition Bob Watson hit for the cycle on September 15 to lead a 10–2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. This event distinguished Watson as the first player to hit for the cycle as a member of both of an American League and a National League team. As a member of the Houston Astros on June 24, 1977, he had hit his first cycle with 5 runs batted in (RBI) in a 6–5 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• June 13, 1979: Pete Ladd, a player to be named later, and cash were traded by the Red Sox to the Houston Astros for Bob Watson. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Bobby Sprowl to the Astros on June 19.
• August 17, 1979: The Red Sox traded a player to be named later and cash to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Sizemore. The Red Sox completed the deal by sending Mike O'Berry to the Cubs on October 23.

Opening Day lineup

Source:

Roster

Player stats

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

;Awards

• Rick Burleson – Gold Glove Award (SS)
• Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF)
• Fred Lynn – Gold Glove Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (August)

;All-Star Game

• Rick Burleson, reserve SS
• Fred Lynn, starting CF
• Jim Rice, starting RF
• Bob Stanley, reserve P
• Carl Yastrzemski, starting 1B

;Offensive achievements

• Hitting for the cycle: Bob Watson, September 15, 1979

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Winter Haven Source:

References

References

1. Stout, Glenn. (2005). "Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise". [[Houghton Mifflin]].
2. "The 1979 Boston Red Sox".
3. "Events of Monday, April 30, 1979".
4. "Events of Thursday, May 31, 1979".
5. "Events of Saturday, June 30, 1979".
6. "Events of Tuesday, July 31, 1979".
7. "Events of Friday, August 31, 1979".
8. "Events of Sunday, September 30, 1979".
9. (August 13, 1979). "Red Sox look for clear skies". [[North Adams Transcript]].
10. (August 30, 1979). "Veeck Attacks New Postponement". [[Hartford Courant]].
11. (July 25, 1979). "Another milestone for Yaz: 400th home run of career". [[Tucson Citizen]].
12. (July 24, 1979). "Boston Red Sox 7, Oakland Athletics 3".
13. "The 3,000 Hit Club: Carl Yastrzemski".
14. (September 12, 1979). "Boston Red Sox 9, New York Yankees 2".
15. (September 15, 1979). "Boston Red Sox 10, Baltimore Orioles 2". Retrosheet.
16. "MLB hitting for the cycle records". Baseball Almanac.
17. Schwarzberg, Seth. (June 24, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 24". SB Nation.
18. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/watsobo01.shtml Bob Watson page at Baseball Reference]
19. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sizemte01.shtml Ted Sizemore page at Baseball Reference]
20. (April 5, 1979). "Boston Red Sox 7, Cleveland Indians 1".
21. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
22. (1979). "Boston Red Sox Media Guide".