The 1971 Boston Red Sox season was the 71st season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses, 18 games behind the Baltimore Orioles, who went on to win the AL championship.

Offseason December 3, 1970: Carmen Fanzone was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Phil Gagliano.Phil Gagliano page at Baseball Reference December 31, 1970: Chuck Hartenstein was purchased from the Red Sox by the Chicago White Sox.Chuck Hartenstein page at Baseball-Reference January 13, 1971: John Tamargo was drafted by the Red Sox in the 3rd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase), but did not sign.John Tamargo page at Baseball Reference March 31, 1971: Tony Muser and Vicente Romo were traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox for Duane Josephson and Danny Murphy.Tony Muser page at Baseball Reference

Regular season +Record by monthMonth Record Cumulative AL East Ref. Won Lost Won Lost Position GB April 12 7 12 7 1st + May 17 11 29 18 1st + June 14 13 43 31 2nd July 16 14 59 45 2nd August 11 19 70 64 3rd September 15 13 85 77 3rd 18

Highlights In the second year of Eddie Kasko's management, the Red Sox finished 16 games behind the eventual American League champions Baltimore Orioles. The Sox did not have a .300 hitter in 1971, with Reggie Smith's .283 batting average being the best among their regulars. Tony Conigliaro, his health still a question, had been traded the previous October to the California Angels for reliever Ken Tatum and rookie infielder Doug Griffin. Conigliaro played in 74 games for the Angels in 1971 but then had to give up baseball, his sight having deteriorated greatly. Tatum was 2–4 with the Red Sox, and Griffin batted .244, while becoming the regular second baseman.

Highlights of an otherwise forgettable season included the late arrival of a big catcher from Bellows Falls, Vermont, Carlton Fisk, who got into 14 games for the 1971 Sox and hit two home runs. Making a bigger splash was a utility fielder who had been acquired in 1970 from the New York Yankees but came into his own in 1971. John Kennedy hit .272, with five homers and 22 RBIs, and was nicknamed "Super Sub".

Another bright spot for the Sox in '71 was Jim Lonborg's winning 10 games (and losing 7). But Sonny Siebert, a pitcher acquired in a deal with the Cleveland Indians in 1969, was the top hurler for Boston, winning 16 games. A feisty left-hander, Sparky Lyle was 6–4, with 16 saves and a 2.75 ERA.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 7, 1971: Tom Satriano was released by the Red Sox.Tom Satriano page at Baseball-Reference May 17, 1971: Luis Tiant was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.Luis Tiant page at Baseball Reference

Opening Day lineup 11 Luis Aparicio SS  7 Reggie Smith CF  8 Carl Yastrzemski     LF  6 Rico Petrocelli 3B  5 George Scott 1B24 Duane Josephson C40 Billy Conigliaro CF  2 Doug Griffin 2B21 Ray Culp P Source:

Roster 1971 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (Bullpen) (Pitching) (First base) (Third base)

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 PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLGReggie Smith1596188517533230961163.283.489Rico Petrocelli158553821392442889291.251.461George Scott146537721411642478041.263.441Carl Yastrzemski1485087512921215708106.254.392Luis Aparicio12549156114230445635.232.303Doug Griffin125483511182323271131.244.319Billy Conigliaro10135142922611133325.262.436Duane Josephson9130638751411039222.245.395John Kennedy742724175125522114.276.412Joe Lahoud1072563955931432240.215.438Bob Montgomery672051949112224116.239.341Phil Gagliano4768112250013011.324.397Mike Fiore51629112016012.177.258Juan Beníquez1657817200433.298.333Carlton Fisk1448715212601.313.521Cecil Cooper1442913410315.310.452Ben Oglivie1438210300400.263.342Rick Miller1533911501708.333.576Don Pavletich142757101305.259.407George Thomas91301000101.077.077Buddy Hunter8922100002.222.333Pitcher totals1624242989901048020.210.302Team totals162540169113602462816165051552.252.397 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 PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPHRERBBSORay Culp14163.6035350242.12361089767151Sonny Siebert16102.9132320235.1220847660131Gary Peters14114.3734321214.024111110470100Jim Lonborg1074.1327260167.2167867767100Bill Lee922.744732102.010235314674Luis Tiant174.852110072.17342393259Roger Moret432.92137071.05024234047Bobby Bolin534.26520669.27434332451Ken Brett035.34292159.05738353557Ken Tatum244.19361953.25027252521Sparky Lyle642.755001652.14116162337Mike Nagy136.63127038.0462928209John Curtis223.1253026.03099619Cal Koonce015.57131021.0221613119Mike Garman113.8633018.2158896Team totals85773.80162162351443.01424667610535871 Source:

Statistical leaders

Category Player Statistic Youngest player Juan BeníquezCecil CooperMike GarmanRoger Moret 21 Oldest player Luis Aparicio 37 Wins Above Replacement Sonny Siebert 6.6 Source:

Batting Abbr. Category Player Statistic G Games played Reggie Smith 159 PA Plate appearances Reggie Smith 692 AB At bats Reggie Smith 618 R Runs scored Reggie Smith 85 H Hits Reggie Smith 175 2B Doubles Reggie Smith 33 3B Triples John Kennedy 5 HR Home runs Reggie Smith 30 RBI Runs batted in Reggie Smith 96SB Stolen bases Doug Griffin 11 Reggie Smith CS Caught stealing Carl Yastrzemski 7 BB Base on balls Carl Yastrzemski 106 SO Strikeouts Rico Petrocelli 108 BA Batting average Reggie Smith .283 OBP On-base percentage Carl Yastrzemski .381 SLG Slugging percentage Reggie Smith .489 OPS On-base plus slugging Reggie Smith .840 OPS+ Adjusted OPS Reggie Smith 129 TB Total bases Reggie Smith 302 GIDP Grounded into double play George Scott 23HBP Hit by pitch George Scott 5 Reggie Smith SH Sacrifice hits Ray Culp 17 SF Sacrifice flies Rico Petrocelli 9 IBB Intentional base on balls Carl Yastrzemski 12 Source:

Pitching Abbr. Category Player Statistic W Wins Sonny Siebert 16 L Losses Ray Culp 16 W-L % Winning percentage Bill Lee .818 (9–2) ERA Earned run average Sonny Siebert 2.91 G Games pitched Bob Bolin 52 GS Games started Ray Culp 35 GF Games finished Sparky Lyle 36CG Complete games Ray Culp 12 Sonny Siebert SHO Shutouts Sonny Siebert 4 SV Saves Sparky Lyle 16 IP Innings pitched Ray Culp SO Strikeouts Ray Culp 151 WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched Sonny Siebert 1.190 Source:

Awards and honors George Scott, Gold Glove Award (1B) Carl Yastrzemski, Gold Glove Award (OF)

Farm system

Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links 1971 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1971 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com