The 2009 Boston Red Sox season was the 109th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95–67, eight games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 2009 World Series. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card but were swept by the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.
Roster 2009 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (first base) (pitching) (third base) (hitting) (bench) (bullpen)
Regular season
The team introduced blue alternate jerseys, worn on some road games in place of their traditional gray tops.
The Red Sox opened the season with a postponement due to rain. However, on April 7, the season began at Fenway with the first pitch being thrown by Edward Kennedy, who later died in August.Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox – Recap – April 07, 2009 – ESPN The Red Sox got off to a slow start, going 2–6 in the first eight games. However, the Sox won 11 straight games beginning on April 15. The win streak was Boston's longest since 2006 when they had a 12-game win streak.Bay's 3-run HR helps Red Sox beat Indians, win 11th straight A highlight of the streak was Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26 to cap off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.Red Sox run off with three-game sweep of Yankees to win 10th straight They finished April with a record of 14–8 and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead. Also, Jerry Remy, NESN color commentator, had surgery to remove a small area of cancer on his lung. While recovering he also got pneumonia. He also was suffering from fatigue and depression. These are the people who filled in for him: Dennis Eckersley, Dave Roberts, Buck Martinez, Tony Massarotti, Rance Mulliniks, Rex Hudler, Ron Coomer, Ken Rosenthal, Kevin Kennedy, Dwight Evans, Sean Casey, Jim Kaat, Gordon Edes, Bob Montgomery, Frank Viola, Sean McAdam, Brian Daubach, and Rick Dempsey.
The team flattened out in May, going 15–14 in the month and falling to third in the division behind the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Through the first two months of the season, slugger David Ortiz struggled, batting .185 with one home run. Additionally, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list after just two starts with an injury that manager Terry Francona attributed to his participation in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Off the field, announcer Jerry Remy, of NESN television, was replaced by Dennis Eckersley beginning on May 6 as Remy began undergoing cancer treatment. Despite these struggles, the Red Sox set an American League record, tying the Major League record, on May 7 by scoring 12 runs without recording an out during the 6th inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians.Bay's three-run homer part of offensive outburst by BoSox
The Red Sox took the division lead, and improved to the second-best record in MLB, during June. Through the first half of the month, the Sox played four division leaders, the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, winning three of the four series and sweeping both the Tigers and Yankees. By sweeping the Yankees, the Sox improved to 8–0 against the team, the best record against them since sweeping the 14-game season series against them in 1912.Drew keys Red Sox's decisive rally in eighth At the All-Star break, the Red Sox had the second best record in Major League Baseball and held a three-game lead in the division.
The Red Sox faltered after the All-Star break, losing five of six on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and batting .192 and scoring 13 runs. In response to the poor offensive performance and to make room for Jed Lowrie's return from injury, Julio Lugo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash and two minor-league players were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adam LaRoche on July 22, and on July 25, Mark Kotsay was designated for assignment.Boston Red Sox Transactions The Red Sox made a move at the trade deadline, July 31, to acquire catcher Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.Red Sox deal three for Victor Martinez They also traded Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman. After winning the first eight games of the season against their rival Yankees in the first half of the season, the Red Sox lost nine of the next ten to finish the season 9–9 against them.
One of the stranger victories for the Sox came on August 14 against the Texas Rangers.Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers – Play By Play – August 14, 2009 – ESPN Going into the top of the 9th inning, the home Rangers were leading 4–2. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in David Ortiz to pull within one run and Jason Varitek was left on second base with no outs. Pitcher Clay Buchholz came in to pinch run for Varitek with no outs. Dustin Pedroia doubled, but the inexperienced, and potentially tying run, Buchholz, was thrown out at the plate as he hesitated between second and third before attempting to score. All was shortly forgotten when the team scored five more runs to win 8–4. On August 21, Jacoby Ellsbury tied the record for the Red Sox single season record for stolen bases (54), in a game against the New York Yankees, a record previously held by Tommy Harper. Ellsbury then broke the record with his 55th steal on August 25, against the Chicago White Sox.
Opening Day lineup
46 Jacoby Ellsbury CF15 Dustin Pedroia 2B34 David Ortiz DH20 Kevin Youkilis 1B7 J. D. Drew RF44 Jason Bay LF25 Mike Lowell 3B12 Jed Lowrie SS33 Jason Varitek C19 Josh Beckett P
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
+Red Sox vs. National League East TeamATLFLANYMPHIWSHBoston4–22–11–22–12–1
Notable transactions November 19, 2008: Ramón Ramírez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Royals in exchange for Coco Crisp.Ramon Ramirez Statistics - Baseball Reference.com December 28, 2008: Brad Penny signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Brad Penny Statistics - Baseball Reference.com January 5, 2009: Nick Green signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Nick Green Statistics - Baseball Reference.com January 8, 2009: Rocco Baldelli signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Rocco Baldelli Statistics - Baseball Reference.com January 9, 2009: Mark Kotsay signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Mark Kotsay Statistics - Baseball Reference.com January 10, 2009: Takashi Saito signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Takashi Saito Statistics - Baseball Reference.com January 12, 2009: John Smoltz signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.John Smoltz Statistics - Baseball Reference.com July 8, 2009: Jonathan Van Every was released by the Red Sox.Jonathan Van Every Statistics - Baseball Reference.com July 22, 2009: Adam LaRoche was acquired by the Red Sox from the Pirates in exchange for Argenis Díaz and Hunter Strickland.Adam LaRoche Statistics - Baseball Reference.com In a separate trade, Chris Duncan was acquired by the Red Sox from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Julio Lugo.Chris Duncan Statistics - Baseball Reference.com July 28, 2009: Brian Anderson was acquired by the Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Mark Kotsay.Brian Anderson Statistics - Baseball Reference.com July 31, 2009: Casey Kotchman was acquired by the Red Sox from the Braves in exchange for Adam LaRoche.Casey Kotchman Statistics - Baseball Reference.com In a separate trade, Víctor Martínez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Indians in exchange for Nick Hagadone, Justin Masterson, and Bryan Price.Victor Martinez Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 5, 2009: Paul Byrd signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.Paul Byrd Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 7, 2009: Chris Woodward was selected off waivers by the Red Sox from the Mariners.Chris Woodward Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 14, 2009: Álex González was acquired by the Red Sox from the Reds in exchange for Kristopher Negrón.Álex González Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 17, 2009: John Smoltz was released by the Red Sox. August 21, 2009: Chris Duncan was released by the Red Sox.Chris Duncan Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 25, 2009: Billy Wagner was acquired by the Red Sox from the Mets in exchange players to be named later.Billy Wagner Statistics - Baseball Reference.com August 27, 2009: Brad Penny was released by the Red Sox. August 29, 2009: Joey Gathright was purchased by the Red Sox from the Orioles.Joey Gathright Statistics - Baseball Reference.com
Detailed record
Team Home Away Total Pct. Gms Left AL East Baltimore Orioles 8–1 8–1 16–2 0.889 – New York Yankees 7–2 2–7 9–9 0.500 – Tampa Bay Rays 6–3 3–6 9–9 0.500 – Toronto Blue Jays 6–3 5–4 11–7 0.611 – 26–9 18–18 44–27 0.620 – AL Central Chicago White Sox 3–1 1–3 4–4 0.500 – Cleveland Indians 5–1 2–1 7–2 0.750 – Detroit Tigers 3–1 3–0 6–1 0.857 – Kansas City Royals 3–1 2–2 5–3 0.625 – Minnesota Twins 2–0 2–2 4–2 0.667 – 16–4 10–8 26–12 0.684 – AL West Los Angeles Angels 2–1 2–4 4–5 0.444 – Oakland Athletics 4–3 1–2 5–5 0.500 – Seattle Mariners 1–2 1–2 2–4 0.333 – Texas Rangers 1–2 1–5 2–7 0.222 – 8–8 5–13 13–21 0.382 – National League Atlanta Braves 2–1 2–1 4–2 0.667 – Florida Marlins 2–1 N/A 2–1 0.667 – New York Mets 1–2 N/A 1–2 0.333 – Philadelphia Phillies N/A 2–1 2–1 0.667 - Washington Nationals N/A 2–1 2–1 0.667 - 5–4 6–3 11–7 0.611 –
MonthGamesWonLostPct. April 22 14 8 0.636 May 29 15 14 0.517 June 26 18 8 0.692 July 25 13 12 0.520 August 28 16 12 0.571 September 28 15 13 0.536 October 4 4 0 1.000 162 95 67 0.586
Game log Legend Red Sox win Red Sox loss Game postponed
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="bbbbbb" | || April 6 || Rays || colspan=6 |Postponed |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || April 7 || Rays || 5–3 || Beckett (1–0) || Shields (0–1) || Papelbon (1) || 37,057 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 2 || April 8 || Rays || 7–2 || Kazmir (1–0) || Lester (0–1) || Balfour (1) || 37,552 || 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || April 9 || Rays || 4–3 || Garza (1–0) || Matsuzaka (0–1) || Percival (1) || 37,784 || 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 10 || @ Angels || 6–3 || Weaver (1–0) || Wakefield (0–1) || Shields (1) || 41,385 || 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 5 || April 11 || @ Angels || 5–4 || Penny (1–0) || Saunders (1–1) || Papelbon (2) || 40,163 || 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 12 || @ Angels || 5–4 || Moseley (1–0) || Beckett (1–1) || Fuentes (2) || 38,076 || 2–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 7 || April 13 || @ Athletics || 8–2 || Braden (1–1) || Lester (0–2) || || 21,331 || 2–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || April 14 || @ Athletics || 6–5 (12) || Gallagher (1–0) || López (0–1) || || 22,132 || 2–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 9 || April 15 || @ Athletics || 8–2 || Wakefield (1–1) || Anderson (0–2) || || 35,067 || 3–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 10 || April 17 || Orioles || 10–8 || Ramírez (1–0) || Báez (0–1) || Papelbon (3) || 38,266 || 4–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || April 18 || Orioles || 6–4 || Beckett (2–1) || Eaton (0–2) || Papelbon (4) || 37,559 || 5–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 12 || April 19 || Orioles || 2–1 || Lester (1–2) || Uehara (2–1) || Saito (1) || 37,869 || 6–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 13 || April 20 || Orioles || 12–1 || Masterson (1–0) || Hendrickson (1–2) || || 37,865 || 7–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbbbbb" | || April 21 || Twins || colspan=6 |Postponed |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 14 || April 22 || Twins || 10–1 (8) || Wakefield (2–1) || Baker (0–2) || || || 8–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 15 || April 22 || Twins || 7–3 || Penny (2–0) || Liriano (0–4) || || 37,494 || 9–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb"