The 1984 Boston Red Sox season was the 84th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished fourth in the American League East Division with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses, 18 games behind the Detroit Tigers, who went on to win the 1984 World Series.
Off the field, two court decisions in June 1984 ended general partner Buddy LeRoux' year-old attempt to wrest control of the Red Sox from fellow general partners Jean R. Yawkey and Haywood Sullivan. Upon losing his attempted take-over, LeRoux is stripped of his title of executive vice president (administration), Sullivan is promoted from general manager to chief executive and chief operating officer, and Lou Gorman, who joined the Red Sox in February, succeeds Sullivan as general manager. By early 1987, Yawkey will acquire both LeRoux' limited partnership and general partnership shares, giving her majority control of the club, and LeRoux will depart the organization completely.
Offseason December 3, 1983: John Tudor was traded by the Red Sox to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mike Easler.Mike Easler - Baseball Reference.com
Regular season +Record by monthMonth Record Cumulative AL East Ref. Won Lost Won Lost Position GB April 9 13 9 13 6th 10 May 12 13 21 26 5th June 15 14 36 40 4th 19 July 18 9 54 49 4th August 17 14 71 63 5th September 15 13 86 76 4th 18
Highlights
In a ceremony at Fenway Park on May 29, the Red Sox honored Joe Cronin and Ted Williams with the franchise's first retired numbers, 4 and 9, respectively. Tony Armas led American League hitters with 43 home runs, 123 RBIs, 77 extra-base hits and 339 total bases. Despite winning the home run and RBI titles, Armas finished 7th in the 1984 AL MVP voting; Ted Williams had been the most recent player to lead the league in home runs and RBIs without winning MVP honors. Dwight Evans ranked in the top ten of 11 different offensive categories, leading the league in OPS (.920), games (162), runs (121) and extra-base hits (77, tied with Armas), while ending second in total bases (335); third in slugging percentage (.532) and walks (96); fourth in doubles (37); sixth in on-base percentage(.388); seventh in hits (186) and home runs (32), and eighth in RBIs (104).Dwight Evans - Baseball-Reference.com Wade Boggs led the league in singles (162) and times on base (292), while ending second in hits (203) and on-base percentage (.407), and third in batting average (.325) and runs (109).Wade Boggs - Baseball-Reference.com Jim Rice finished second in the league with 122 RBIs, seventh in total bases (307), and ninth in hits (184).Jim Rice - Baseball-Reference.com He also set a major league record, which still stands, for the most times grounding into a double play during a season, 36.
JoeCroninSS: 1935–45M: 1935–47GM: 1947–59Retired 1984TedWilliamsOF: 1939–60 Retired 1984
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 25, 1984: Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley were traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Buckner.Bill Buckner - Baseball Reference.com June 4, 1984: John Marzano was selected by Boston in the first round (14th pick) of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft.John Marzano - Baseball Reference.com
Opening Day lineup 2 Jerry Remy 2B24 Dwight Evans RF26 Wade Boggs 3B 14 Jim Rice LF 7 Mike Easler DH20 Tony Armas CF10 Rich Gedman C11 Dave Stapleton 1B18 Glenn Hoffman SS47 Bruce Hurst P Source:
The Red Sox were defeated on Opening Day by the California Angels, 2–1, with both Angel runs scoring with two outs in the ninth on an error by Boston shortstop Jackie Gutiérrez.
Roster 1984 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (First base) (Bullpen) (Hitting) (Pitching) (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 PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBISBBBAVGSLGJim Rice1596579818425728122444.280.467Tony Armas15763910717129543123132.268.531Dwight Evans16263012118637832104396.295.532Wade Boggs158625109203314655389.325.416Mike Easler156601871883152791158.313.516Marty Barrett13947556144233345542.303.383Rich Gedman133449541212642472029.269.506Jackie Gutiérrez151449551181232291215.263.316Bill Buckner114439511222121167224.278.410Reid Nichols74124142851114212.226.306Rick Miller95123173251012117.260.317Jerry Remy30104826110847.250.279Gary Allenson3583919202809.229.325Glenn Hoffman6474814400405.189.243Ed Jurak47666163117012.242.364Jeff Newman2463514201305.222.302Dave Stapleton133949200103.231.282Marc Sullivan2613000101.500.500Chico Walker3200000100.000.000Team totals162564881015982594518176738500.283.441 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 PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPHRERBBSOBruce Hurst12123.9233330218.02321069588136Bob Ojeda12123.9933320216.22111069696137Oil Can Boyd12124.3729260197.22071099653134Al Nipper1163.8929240182.218386795284Roger Clemens944.3221200133.1146676429126Bob Stanley9103.5457022106.211357422352Mike Brown186.851511067.010463511932Mark Clear834.03470867.04738307076Dennis Eckersley445.0199064.27138361333John Henry Johnson123.53303163.26426252757Steve Crawford503.34350162.06931232121Rich Gale235.56134043.25727271828Charlie Mitchell002.76100016.1147567Jim Dorsey0010.132002.263324Team totals86764.18162162321442.01524764669517927 Source:
Game log Regular season
|-style=background:#fbb | 9 || April 13 || 2:05p.m. EST || Tigers || 9–13 || Bair (1–0) || Hurst (1–2) || – || 3:11 || 35,179 || 3–6 || L4 |-style=background:#bbb | — || April 15 || || Tigers || colspan=8 | Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 6) |-style=background:#bbb | — || April 16 || || Tigers || colspan=8 | Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 7)
|-style=background:#fbb | 23 || May 1 || 7:35p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 2–11 || Wilcox (3–0) || Hurst (3–3) || – || 2:31 || 17,495 || 9–14 || L2 |-style=background:#cfc | 24 || May 2 || 7:35p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 5–4 || Brown (1–2) || Berenguer (1–1) || Stanley (4) || 2:33 || 23,085 || 10–14 || W1 |-style=background:#cfc | 25 || May 3 || 1:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 1–0 || Ojeda (2–2) || Morris (5–1) || – || 2:18 || 22,617 || 11–14 || W2
|-style=background:#bbbfff |colspan="12"|55th All-Star Game in San Francisco, CA |-style=background:#fbb | 98 || July 27 || 5:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 1–9 || Petry (14–4) || Hurst (10–6) || – || 2:30 || N/A || 51–47 || L1 |-style=background:#cfc | 99 || July 27 || 8:35p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 4–0 || Ojeda (9–7) || Abbott (3–3) || – || 2:22 || 49,607 || 52–47 || W1 |-style=background:#cfc | 100 || July 28 || 7:35p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 3–2 || Stanley (7–6) || Morris (13–7) || Clear (3) || 2:58 || 49,372 || 53–47 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 101 || July 29 || 1:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || 0–3 || Wilcox (11–6) || Boyd (5–8) || Hernández (21) || 2:09 || 42,013 || 53–48 || L1
|-style=background:#fbb | 108 || August 6 || 5:35p.m. EDT || Tigers || 7–9 || López (8–0) || Ojeda (9–9) || Hernández (23) || 3:17 || N/A || 56–52 || L1 |-style=background:#cfc | 109 || August 6 || 9:27p.m. EDT || Tigers || 10–2 || Clemens (6–4) || Willis (0–2) || – || 2:55 || 31,055 || 57–52 || W1 |-style=background:#cfc | 110 || August 7 || 5:35p.m. EDT || Tigers || 12–7 || Hurst (11–6) || Morris (14–8) || Clear (5) || || N/A || 58–52 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb | 111 || August 7 || 8:59p.m. EDT || Tigers || 5–7 || López (9–0) || Gale (1–3) || Hernández (24) || 3:33 || 32,120 || 58–53 || L1 |-style=background:#cfc | 112 || August 8 || 7:35p.m. EDT || Tigers || 8–0 || Boyd (7–8) || Abbott (3–4) || – || 2:28 || 32,563 || 59–53 || W1
|- style="text-align:center;" | Legend: = Win = Loss = PostponementBold = Red Sox team member
Statistical leaders
Category Player Statistic Youngest player Roger Clemens 21 Oldest player Rick Miller 36 Wins Above Replacement Wade Boggs 6.3 Source:
Batting Abbr. Category Player Statistic G Games played Dwight Evans 162 PA Plate appearances Dwight Evans 738 AB At bats Jim Rice 657 R Runs scored Dwight Evans 121 H Hits Wade Boggs 203 2B Doubles Dwight Evans 37 3B Triples Dwight Evans 8 HR Home runs Tony Armas 43 RBI Runs batted in Tony Armas 123 SB Stolen bases Jackie Gutiérrez 12 CS Caught stealing Jackie Gutiérrez 5 BB Base on balls Dwight Evans 96 SO Strikeouts Tony Armas 156 BA Batting average Wade Boggs .325 OBP On-base percentage Wade Boggs .407 SLG Slugging percentage Dwight Evans .532 OPS On-base plus slugging Dwight Evans .920 OPS+ Adjusted OPS Dwight Evans 147 TB Total bases Tony Armas 339 GIDP Grounded into double play Jim Rice 36 HBP Hit by pitch Bill Buckner 5 SH Sacrifice hits Jackie Gutiérrez 12SF Sacrifice flies Tony Armas 7 Dwight Evans IBB Intentional base on balls Tony Armas 9 Source:
Pitching Abbr. Category Player StatisticW Wins Oil Can Boyd 12 Bruce Hurst Bob OjedaL Losses Oil Can Boyd 12 Bruce Hurst Bob Ojeda W-L % Winning percentage Mark Clear .727 (8–3) ERA Earned run average Al Nipper 3.89 G Games pitched Bob Stanley 57 GS Games started Bruce Hurst 33 GF Games finished Bob Stanley 47 CG Complete games Oil Can Boyd 10 SHO Shutouts Bob Ojeda 5 SV Saves Bob Stanley 22 IP Innings pitched Bruce Hurst 218 SO Strikeouts Bob Ojeda 137 WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched Al Nipper 1.286 Source:
Awards and honors Tony Armas – Silver Slugger Award (OF), AL Player of the Month (June) Roger Clemens – AL Pitcher of the Month (August) Dwight Evans – Gold Glove Award (OF) Jim Rice – Silver Slugger Award (OF)
All-Star Game Tony Armas, reserve OF Jim Rice, reserve OF
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Pawtucket
Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
External links 1984 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1984 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com