The 1975

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...

was a semifinal matchup in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

's 1975 postseason between the

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and the three-time defending World Series champion

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

for the right to advance to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. The Red Sox swept the series in three games to win their first AL pennant in eight years, which ended Oakland's pursuit of a fourth consecutive World Series title.

Background

During the regular season, the Red Sox posted a record to win their first

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 (baseball), National League (NL). T ...

division title, while the "

Swingin' A's The Swingin' A's was the nickname for the Oakland Athletics (A's), primarily used in reference to the Oakland teams that dominated the American League from 1971 to 1975. The A’s won three consecutive World Series championships in 1972, 1973 a ...

" went to take the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

for the fifth consecutive season. The Red Sox had experienced players such as

Carl Yastrzemski Carl Michael Yastrzemski Sr. ( ; born August 22, 1939), nicknamed "Yaz", is an American former professional baseball player who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He started his career primarily as a ...

Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "the Commander", is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox. In 197 ...

, and Dwight Evans, and two sensational rookies –

Fred Lynn Fredric Michael Lynn (born February 3, 1952) is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), mostly with the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels. He was the first player to wi ...

and

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left fielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Rice played his entire 16-year MLB career for the Boston Red Sox. In 2009, Rice was ...

. Lynn took most of the headlines by playing a flawless

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the cen ...

, hitting .331 with 21

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 105

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, and was the first major league player to win the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. Despite suffering a broken wrist in late September, Rice finished with a .309 average, 22 homers, and 102 RBIs.

Summary

Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox

Game summaries

Game 1

Boston starter

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (November 23, 1940 – October 8, 2024), nicknamed "El Tiante", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston R ...

allowed just one run on three hits to defeat the Athletics, 7–1, in the ALCS opener. Tiant struck out eight and walked three in a complete game effort, retiring the side in order in four innings.

Juan Beníquez Juan José Beníquez Torres (born May 13, 1950) is a Puerto Rican former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas ...

went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored,

ended 1-for-4 with two RBIs, and

went 1-for-4 with two runs scored for the Red Sox. Oakland starter

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (November 3, 1945 – April 15, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, ...

was saddled with the loss by yielding five hits and four runs (two unearned) with four strikeouts and a walk in innings of work.

Game 2

hit a two-run home run to lead the Red Sox past the Athletics, 6–3, in Game 2. Boston starter

Reggie Cleveland Reginald Leslie Cleveland (born May 23, 1948) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Cleveland appeared in 428 games in Major League Baseball over 13 seasons (1969–81) for four teams. Born in Swift Current, ...

was solid through five innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

Rico Petrocelli Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli (born June 27, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a shortstop and third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, w ...

also homered,

went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and

went 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Red Sox. Athletics starter

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (; July 28, 1949 – May 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986, most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty ...

lasted three innings and gave up just three runs on six hits. The win went to

Roger Moret Rogelio "Roger" Moret Torres (September 16, 1949December 7, 2020) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1970 to 1976 and in 1978 for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and the T ...

, who tossed one scoreless inning of relief, and

Dick Drago Richard Anthony Drago (June 25, 1945 – November 2, 2023) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals (1969–1973), Boston Red Sox (1974–1975, 1978–1980), California Angels (1976–1977), B ...

worked the final three innings to close out the contest.

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985. His effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseball an ...

took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits over four innings.

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cal ...

hit a two-run homer and

Sal Bando Salvatore Leonard Bando (February 13, 1944 – January 20, 2023) was an American professional baseball player and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from to , most prominently as the captain of the Oakland A ...

went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a run for the Athletics.

Game 3

After three consecutive championships, the Athletics' dynasty came to an end, as the Red Sox took the third game, 5-3, to sweep the series, their first series win since 1918. Boston starter

Rick Wise Richard Charles Wise (born September 13, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Re ...

allowed three runs (two unearned) on six hits in innings of work. Both

Denny Doyle Robert Dennis Doyle (January 17, 1944 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , h ...

and

collected two hits with one run and an RBI, and

Rick Burleson Richard Paul Burleson (born April 29, 1951), nicknamed "Rooster", is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop. Burleson, who played for three American League teams over 13 seasons, was an intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox team ...

went 2-for-4 with one run scored to pace the Red Sox. On just two days' rest,

started for Oakland and was tagged for four runs on seven hits in just innings to take his second loss in the series.

earned the save for pitching innings of shutout ball for Boston while

made two great defensive plays in left field and collected two hits.

went 2-for-4 with two RBIs while

went 2-for-4 with one RBI for the Athletics. This game, and Game 3 of the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Natio ...

, were the first LCS games ever played at night; both were regionally televised by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Composite box

1975 ALCS (3–0):

over

Oakland A's Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

Series Statistics

Boston Red Sox

Batting

''Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage''

Pitching

''Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average''

Oakland Athletics

Batting

''Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage''

Pitching

''Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average''

References

External links

1975 ALCS at Baseball-Reference1975 ALCS Official Scorebook Magazine
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