1989 Boston Red Sox season
The 1989 Boston Red Sox season was the 89th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 83–79, six games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.
Offseason
- November 20, 1988: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
- December 8, 1988: Spike Owen was traded with Dan Gakeler to the Montreal Expos for John Dopson and Luis Rivera.
- February 6, 1989: Danny Heep signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
Regular season
Highlights
Wade Boggs had 205 hits and 107 walks, becoming the first player in MLB history to have at least 200 hits and 100 walks in four consecutive seasons. He also became the first player in the modern era to have at least 200 hits in seven consecutive seasons.Notable transactions
- August 5, 1989: Ed Romero was released by the Red Sox.
- August 7, 1989: Greg A. Harris was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Other Transactions
- September 25: Pitcher Bob Stanley announces his retirement; the Red Sox inform Jim Rice that he will not be invited back to the team next year.
Opening Day lineup
Source:The Red Sox lost their Opening Day game, 5–4 in 11 innings, to the Baltimore Orioles at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by President George H. W. Bush.
Alumni game
The team held an old-timers game on May 6, before a scheduled home game against the Texas Rangers. Festivities included an appearance by Carl Yastrzemski, shortly after his election to the Hall of Fame. Red Sox alumni lost to a team of former MLB players from other clubs, by a 9–0 score in three innings of play.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 | 156 | 621 | 113 | 205 | 51 | 7 | 3 | 54 | 2 | 107 | .330 | .449 |
| Mike Greenwell | 145 | 578 | 87 | 178 | 36 | 0 | 14 | 95 | 13 | 56 | .308 | .443 |
| Nick Esasky | 154 | 564 | 79 | 156 | 26 | 5 | 30 | 108 | 1 | 66 | .277 | .500 |
| Jody Reed | 146 | 524 | 76 | 151 | 42 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 4 | 73 | .288 | .393 |
| Dwight Evans | 146 | 520 | 82 | 148 | 27 | 3 | 20 | 100 | 3 | 99 | .285 | .463 |
| Ellis Burks | 97 | 399 | 73 | 121 | 19 | 6 | 12 | 61 | 21 | 36 | .303 | .471 |
| Marty Barrett | 86 | 336 | 31 | 86 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 32 | .256 | .318 |
| Luis Rivera | 93 | 323 | 35 | 83 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 20 | .257 | .362 |
| Danny Heep | 113 | 320 | 36 | 96 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 29 | .300 | .400 |
| Rick Cerone | 102 | 296 | 28 | 72 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 48 | 0 | 34 | .243 | .345 |
| Kevin Romine | 92 | 274 | 30 | 75 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 21 | .274 | .332 |
| Rich Gedman | 93 | 260 | 24 | 55 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 23 | .212 | .292 |
| Jim Rice | 56 | 209 | 22 | 49 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 13 | .234 | .344 |
| Randy Kutcher | 77 | 160 | 28 | 36 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 3 | 11 | .225 | .363 |
| Ed Romero | 46 | 113 | 14 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .212 | .248 |
| Carlos Quintana | 34 | 77 | 6 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .208 | .273 |
| Sam Horn | 33 | 54 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | .148 | .185 |
| John Marzano | 7 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .444 | .778 |
| Jeff Stone | 18 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .200 | .200 |
| Dana Williams | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .400 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5666 | 774 | 1571 | 326 | 30 | 108 | 716 | 56 | 643 | .277 | .403 |
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 | 17 | 11 | 3.13 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 253.1 | 215 | 101 | 88 | 93 | 230 |
| Mike Boddicker | 15 | 11 | 4.00 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 211.2 | 217 | 101 | 94 | 71 | 145 |
| John Dopson | 12 | 8 | 3.99 | 29 | 28 | 0 | 169.1 | 166 | 84 | 75 | 69 | 95 |
| Mike Smithson | 7 | 14 | 4.95 | 40 | 19 | 2 | 143.2 | 170 | 84 | 79 | 35 | 61 |
| Dennis Lamp | 4 | 2 | 2.32 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 112.1 | 96 | 37 | 29 | 27 | 61 |
| Rob Murphy | 5 | 7 | 2.74 | 74 | 0 | 9 | 105.0 | 97 | 38 | 32 | 41 | 107 |
| Wes Gardner | 3 | 7 | 5.97 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 86.0 | 97 | 64 | 57 | 47 | 81 |
| Bob Stanley | 5 | 2 | 4.88 | 43 | 0 | 4 | 79.1 | 102 | 54 | 43 | 26 | 32 |
| Lee Smith | 6 | 1 | 3.57 | 64 | 0 | 25 | 70.2 | 53 | 30 | 28 | 33 | 96 |
| Joe Price | 2 | 5 | 4.35 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 70.1 | 71 | 35 | 34 | 30 | 52 |
| Oil Can Boyd | 3 | 2 | 4.42 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 59.0 | 57 | 31 | 29 | 19 | 26 |
| Eric Hetzel | 2 | 3 | 6.26 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 50.1 | 61 | 39 | 35 | 28 | 33 |
| Greg A. Harris | 2 | 2 | 2.57 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 | 21 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 25 |
| Tom Bolton | 0 | 4 | 8.31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17.1 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 9 |
| Mike Rochford | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 83 | 79 | 4.01 | 162 | 162 | 42 | 1460.1 | 1448 | 735 | 650 | 548 | 1054 |
Source:
Statistical leaders
| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Youngest player | Carlos Quintana | 23 |
| Oldest player | Dwight Evans | 37 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Wade Boggs | 8.4 |
Source:
Batting
Source:Pitching
Source:Awards and honors
;Awards;Accomplishments
- Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Runs
- Wade Boggs, American League Leader, Doubles
- Wade Boggs, third base, starter
- Mike Greenwell, outfield, reserve
Farm system
The Gulf Coast League Red Sox replaced the Arizona League Red Sox/Mariners as the domestic Rookie League affiliate.The Red Sox shared a DSL team with the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.
Source: