The 1983 Boston Red Sox season was the 83rd season in the franchise's

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. The

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

finished sixth in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, 20

games behind In most North American sports, the phrase games behind or games back (often abbreviated GB) is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. Example In the below standings fr ...

the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, who went on to win the

1983 World Series The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National ...

. It was the Red Sox' first losing season since 1966. On June 6, general partner

Buddy LeRoux Edward Guy "Buddy" LeRoux Jr. (August 17, 1930 – January 7, 2008) was an American businessman, best known for his time as a general partner of the Boston Red Sox from May 1978 through March 1987. Early life A native of Woburn, Massachusett ...

attempted to replace general manager

Haywood Sullivan Haywood Cooper Sullivan (December 15, 1930 – February 12, 2003) was an American college and professional baseball player who was a catcher, manager, general manager and club owner in Major League Baseball. From May 23, 1978, through Novembe ...

with former general manager

Dick O'Connell Richard Henry O'Connell (September 19, 1914 – August 18, 2002) was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. He was executive vice president of the Boston Red Sox from 1961 through 1977 and served as general manager of the ...

, leading to protracted legal proceedings between LeRoux and the team's other two general partners, Sullivan and

Jean Yawkey Jean Remington Yawkey (January 24, 1909 – February 26, 1992) was the wife of Tom Yawkey and owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1976 to her death in 1992. Biography Jean Yawkey was born Jean Hollander in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Freepor ...

. LeRoux ultimately lost in court the following June.

Offseason

* November 1, 1982:

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

was released by the Red Sox. * December 6, 1982:

Carney Lansford Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that wo ...

‚

Garry Hancock Ronald Garry Hancock (January 23, 1954 – October 10, 2015) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics in parts of six seasons spanning 1978–1984, primar ...

‚ and a minor leaguer (Jerry King) were traded by the Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics for

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother o ...

and Jeff Newman. * January 10, 1983:

Josías Manzanillo Josías Manzanillo Adams (born October 16, 1967) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in the major leagues from to . In , Manzanillo suffered a grisly injury while pitching for the Seattle Mariners. Not wearing a protec ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox. * January 11, 1983:

Ellis Burks Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ''St ...

was drafted by the Red Sox in the 1st round of the January portion of the

1983 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Compensation picks Other notable players *Bill Swift, 2nd round, 29th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not ...

. Burks signed on May 17. * January 13, 1983:

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (1 ...

was traded by the Red Sox to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

for a player to be named later. The Mets completed the deal by sending Mike Davis (minors) to the Red Sox on February 15. * March 25, 1983:

Brian Kingman Brian Paul Kingman (born July 27, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1979 to 1983 for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara before signing with the Athletics in ...

was released by the Red Sox.

Regular season

Highlights

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953), nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009, as the 103rd member voted in by the BBWAA. Rice p ...

led the American League in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (39) and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

(344), and tied for the lead in RBIs (126) while hitting for a .305

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. *

Wade Boggs Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Yankees (1993-1997), and the Tamp ...

led American League hitters with a .361 average and a .444 on-base percentage, finishing second in hits (210) and doubles (44). *

may not have had enough hits to keep his average up (.218), but finished second in the league with 36 home runs and seventh with 107 RBI. * Carl Yastrzemski retired after 23 seasons, all with the Red Sox, one of the longest careers with one franchise in MLB history.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 6, 1983: In the

, the Red Sox drafted

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

in the 1st round (19th pick) and John Mitchell in the 7th round.

Opening Day lineup

Source:

Roster

Statistical leaders

Source:

Batting

Source:

Pitching

Source:

Awards and honors

;Awards *

–

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

(3B) * Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF) *

–

(OF) ;Accomplishments *

, American League Leader Home Runs (39) *

, American League Leader RBIs (126)

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, starting LF * Bob Stanley, reserve P * Carl Yastrzemski, reserve DH

Farm system

The

New Britain Red Sox New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

replaced the Bristol Red Sox as a Double-A affiliate. LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: New Britain
Source:

References

External links

1983 Boston Red Sox team
at ''Baseball-Reference''
1983 Boston Red Sox season
at baseball-almanac.com {{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...