2007 Boston Red Sox season

The 2007 Boston Red Sox season was the 107th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Managed by Terry Francona, the Red Sox finished first in the American League East with a record of 96–66. In the postseason, the Red Sox first swept the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS. In the ALCS, the Red Sox defeated the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians in seven games, despite falling behind 3–1 in the series. Advancing to the World Series, the Red Sox swept the National League champion Colorado Rockies, to capture their second championship in four years.

Off-season

On November 14, 2006, Major League Baseball announced that the Red Sox had competed for the rights to negotiate a contract with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Boston won with a bid of US$51.1 million and had 30 days to complete a deal. On December 13, 2006, the day before the deadline, Matsuzaka signed a six-year contract worth $52 million.
It was initially announced that closer Jonathan Papelbon would become a starter in 2007, partially to protect his arm from the injury that sidelined him. Pitchers Hideki Okajima, J. C. Romero and Joel Piñeiro were signed as free agents. Brendan Donnelly was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade for pitcher Phil Seibel.
However, there was no clear candidate for the closer role. Papelbon wanted to re-fill that spot, and team officials believed he had rehabilitated himself so well in the offseason that his health of this shoulder was no longer a concern, and allowed him to return to the bullpen.
The Red Sox lost free agent Álex González to the Cincinnati Reds and Mark Loretta to the Houston Astros. Trot Nixon, also a free agent, signed with the Cleveland Indians, creating the need for a right fielder. The Red Sox pursued J. D. Drew, who had recently opted out of the remainder of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to become a free agent. However, the Red Sox medical staff had concerns about Drew's previously injured shoulder. On January 25, 2007, the Red Sox and Drew agreed to a five-year deal worth $70 million.
Outfielder Gabe Kapler, age 31, announced his retirement to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a coach. The Red Sox named him manager of their single-A affiliate, the Greenville Drive.
At the end of spring training of 2007, the Red Sox traded minor league veteran catcher Alberto Castillo for Baltimore Orioles outfielder .

Regular season

Opening Day lineup

Honoring a Boston legend

Bright green jerseys, with "Red Sox" in white letters outlined in red across the front, were worn on April 20 to honor former Boston Celtics coach, general manager, and president Red Auerbach, who had died during the previous off-season. The jerseys also had players' names on the back, believed to be a first for Red Sox home uniforms.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

November 30, 2006: Hideki Okajima signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
December 6, 2006: Julio Lugo signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
December 14, 2006: Daisuke Matsuzaka was purchased by the Red Sox from Seibu Lions.
December 15, 2006: J. C. Romero signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
January 4, 2007: Joel Piñeiro signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
February 14, 2007: J. D. Drew signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
June 18, 2007: J. C. Romero was released by the Red Sox.
July 31, 2007: Éric Gagné was acquired by the Red Sox from the Rangers in exchange for Engel Beltré, Kason Gabbard and David Murphy. In a separate trade, minor leaguer Sean Danielson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Cardinals in exchange for Joel Piñeiro.
August 6, 2007: Bobby Kielty signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
August 21, 2007: Minor leaguer Chris Carter was acquired by the Red Sox from the Nationals. Four days earlier, the Red Sox traded outfielder Wily Mo Peña to the Nationals.
August 23, 2007: Royce Clayton signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.
Game log

Postseason

ALDS">2007 American League Division Series">ALDS vs. [Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]

'''Boston wins series 3–0'''
ALCS">2007 American League Championship Series">ALCS vs. [Cleveland Indians]
'''Boston wins series 4–3'''
World Series">2007 World Series">World Series vs. [Colorado Rockies]
Boston wins series 4–0
The Red Sox set an MLB post-season record by outscoring their collective opponents 99–46.
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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Jason Varitek	131	435	111	.255	17	68
1B	Kevin Youkilis	145	528	152	.288	16	83
2B	Dustin Pedroia	139	520	165	.317	8	50
SS	Julio Lugo	147	570	135	.237	8	73
3B	Mike Lowell	154	589	191	.324	21	120
LF	Manny Ramírez	133	483	143	.296	20	88
CF	Coco Crisp	145	526	141	.268	6	60
RF	J. D. Drew	140	466	126	.270	11	64
DH	David Ortiz	149	549	182	.332	35	117

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Alex Cora	83	207	51	.246	3	18
Eric Hinske	84	186	38	.204	6	21
Willy Mo Peña	73	156	34	.218	5	17
Jacoby Ellsbury	33	116	41	.353	3	18
Doug Mirabelli	48	114	23	.202	5	16
Bobby Kielty	33	87	19	.218	1	12
Kevin Cash	12	27	3	.111	0	4
Brandon Moss	15	25	7	.280	0	1
Jeff Bailey	3	9	1	.111	1	1
Royce Clayton	8	6	0	.000	0	0
David Murphy	3	2	1	.500	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Daisuke Matsuzaka	32	204.2	15	12	4.40	201
Josh Beckett	30	200.2	20	7	3.27	194
Tim Wakefield	31	189.0	16	12	4.76	110
Curt Schilling	24	151.0	9	8	3.87	101
Julián Tavárez*	23	137.0	6	11	5.22	68
Jon Lester*	11	61.0	4	0	4.72	66
Kason Gabbard	7	41.0	4	0	3.73	29

Spot-starting pitchers