November 2, 2018

On Sunday, October 28, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 to win the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series four games to one. For the Red Sox, it was their fourth MLB title in the last 15 years. For the Dodgers, it was the latest in a long succession of postseason disappointments. It was the second-straight World Series defeat for Los Angeles, and it was the team’s 12th fruitless trip to the postseason since last winning a title in 1988.

Red Sox players jubilantly rush the mound as catcher Christian Vázquez leaps into the arms of pitcher Chris Sale, who recorded the final out of Boston’s World Series-clinching 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 28, 2018, at Dodger Stadium. Credit: © Harry How, Getty Images

Carrying by far MLB’s highest team payroll (around $230 million), the Red Sox set a franchise record with 108 wins during the 2018 regular season. The team won the American League East division and then knocked off the 100-win New York Yankees and the 103-win Houston Astros in the playoffs—no easy accomplishment. The Dodgers, also big spenders with a $200 million payroll (the league average is $139 million), eked out the National League West by defeating the Colorado Rockies in a one-game playoff after the teams finished the season tied with 91 wins. The Dodgers then beat the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs to reach the World Series.

In Boston, the Red Sox capitalized on clutch hitting and just enough pitching to win World Series games one and two. In Los Angeles, game three was a marathon 3-2 extra-inning win for the Dodgers that broke World Series records for most innings (18), longest duration (7 hours, 20 minutes), and most combined pitchers (18) and players (46) used. In an interesting note of contrast, the entire 1939 World Series finished in less time, when it took the Yankees 7 hours, 5 minutes, to sweep the Cincinnati Reds.

In game four of the 2018 World Series, the Dodgers blew a 4-0 lead en route to a crushing 9-6 loss. Game five was merely a formality as the Red Sox jumped ahead early and cruised to a 5-1 series-clinching win. Boston first baseman Steve Pearce, a journeyman player acquired at mid-season, was named World Series Most Valuable Player. Pearce had just four hits, but three of them were timely home runs.

The 2018 World Series was a rematch of the 1916 fall classic, in which the Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. The Robins officially became the Dodgers in 1932 and moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

August 30, 2018

Major League Baseball (MLB) legend Ted Williams was born 100 years ago today, on Aug. 30, 1918. One of the best players in baseball history, Williams played 19 seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1939 through 1960. (Williams, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, missed most of five seasons while serving in the United States Navy and Marine Corps.) A consistent and powerful hitter, Williams hit 521 career home runs, drove in 1,839 runs, and retired with a career .344 batting average. He also drew 2,021 career walks, and his .482 career on-base percentage is the best of all time. Nicknamed the “Splendid Splinter” or “Teddy Ballgame,” Williams won six American League (AL) batting titles, led the league in home runs four times, in runs batted in four times, and in runs scored six times. Williams won the triple crown of batting (leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) in 1942 and 1947. Williams was named to 18 AL All-Star teams, was the AL Most Valuable Player in 1946 and 1949, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. In 1941, Williams batted .406, making him the last player to reach .400 in the major leagues.

Baseball legend Ted Williams was born 100 years ago today on Aug. 30, 1918. Credit: AP/Wide World

Theodore Samuel Williams was born and grew up in San Diego, California. He excelled at baseball in high school, and he signed a professional contract to play for the minor league San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1936. In late 1937, Williams signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. He was promoted to Boston for the 1939 season and quickly became a star.

The United States entered World War II (1939-1945) in December 1941, and many MLB players soon entered military service. After the 1942 season, Williams entered the Navy, where he trained as a fighter pilot and flight instructor. He served until the end of 1945, returning to the Red Sox lineup for the 1946 season. That year, Williams played in his only World Series (a loss to the Saint Louis Cardinals). A few years later, Williams’s baseball career was again paused while he served as a Marine combat pilot in the Korean War (1950-1953). He missed most of the 1952 and 1953 MLB seasons, but he returned in 1954 to bat .345. Williams retired as a player after the 1960 season. From 1969 through 1972, he served as manager of the Washington Senators and the Texas Rangers. The Red Sox retired Williams’s uniform number  9 in 1984. In 1991, Williams was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the president of the United States. Williams died on July 5, 2002.

April 6, 2018

Tomorrow, April 7, is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bobby Doerr (pronounced DOUGH-er), one of the best second basemen in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. A rare power-hitting middle infielder for his era, Doerr hit 223 home runs and drove in 1,247 runs over 14 seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1937 through 1951. An excellent fielder as well, Doerr made nine American League (AL) All-Star teams during his career. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. For several months until his death at age 99 on Nov. 13, 2017, Doerr was the oldest living former MLB player.

Boston Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr pauses before a 1951 game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Credit: © Kidwiler Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images

Robert Pershing Doerr was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 7, 1918. He received his middle name in honor of General John J. Pershing, leader of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in Europe during World War I (1914-1918). While still in high school, Doerr began playing professional baseball with the Hollywood Stars (later the minor league San Diego Padres) of the Pacific Coast League. Doerr signed an MLB contract with Boston in 1936  and debuted with the Red Sox in 1937. He became the team’s starting second baseman the following season.

With Boston, Doerr led the AL in fielding percentage four times. For many years, he held records for most consecutive errorless games at second base (73) and consecutive chances at second base without an error (414). During World War II (1939-1945), Doerr served in the United States Army, missing part of the 1944 MLB season and the entire 1945 season. Doerr returned to the Red Sox in 1946, helping lead the team to the World Series. After several highly productive years, back problems forced Doerr to retire after the 1951 season at age 33.

During his 14 MLB seasons, Doerr’s 2,042 hits included 381 doubles and 89 triples. He also scored 1,094 runs. After his playing career, Doerr served as a scout and coach for the Red Sox and he later coached for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Red Sox retired Doerr’s uniform number 1 in 1988. Outside Boston’s Fenway Park, a statue called The Teammates depicts Red Sox legends Doerr, Dom DiMaggio (brother of Joe), Johnny Pesky, and Ted Williams.

May 6, 2016

One hundred and one years ago—May 6, 1915—a 20-year old pitcher named George Ruth stepped to the plate for the Boston Red Sox. It was the young lefty’s first full season in the big leagues and just his 18^th at bat. Then, as now, pitchers were paid to pitch, and very few were adept hitters. So when that kid pitcher crushed his first home run into the right field bleachers at New York City’s Polo Grounds, people took notice. That young pitcher—who had already earned the nickname “Babe” for his youthful appearance—strode around the bases like he’d done it before. He hadn’t, but he would do it again 713 more times. After that game, New York American sportswriter Damon Runyan commented on the Babe’s rare hitting prowess: “Fanning [striking out] this Ruth is not as easy as the name and the occupation might indicate.”

Babe Ruth was also known as the Bambino or the Sultan of Swat.
Credit: AP Photo

Babe Ruth, of course, went on to become one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He began his career as a starting pitcher, however, and a very good one. He won 18 games his rookie season, and 23 more with an American League-leading 1.75 ERA in 1916. By 1918, however, batting once ever four games wasn’t enough for Ruth, or the Red Sox. He began playing the outfield in-between pitching starts, and soon other teams began fearing his bat more than his arm.

With Ruth, the Red Sox won the World Series in 1915, 1916, and again in 1918. Mistakenly thinking their charmed life was permanent, the Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees after the 1919 season. Ruth flourished with the Yankees, who made him a full-time outfielder, and the Yankees flourished with him. During Ruth’s 15 seasons as a Yankee, the team played in 7 World Series and won 4 of them. The Red Sox went the other direction, failing to win another World Series until 2004.

Ruth led the American league in home runs in 1918, 1919, and 10 more times over the next 12 seasons. His 1927 record of 60 stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. He hit 714 career home runs: 659 with the Yankees, 49 with the Red Sox, and 6 in his final season as a Boston Brave. His career home run total was the most ever until Hank Aaron hit number 715 in 1974. The Babe made the home run the most popular and exciting play in baseball, hence the homer’s many appellations: big fly, dinger, goner, gopher ball, moon shot, round-tripper, tater, and so on…

For the record. Ruth started four games as a pitcher for the Yankees (one each in 1920, 1921, 1930, and 1933), and appeared once in relief. His record in those five games? 5-0. Oh, and the Babe’s first home run 101 years ago? It was against the Yankees.

September 28, 2015

On September 28, 1941, Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams became the last Major League Baseball player to finish a season with a .400 batting average. Hitting .400 (4 hits for every 10 at bats) was once the benchmark of the game’s greatest hitters. Since 1941, however, the evolution of the game—more ballplayers, stronger and more athletic pitchers, longer seasons—has prevented anyone else from repeating the .400 feat. And Williams’ accomplishment was a near-run thing itself…

Ted Williams ranks among the leading modern players in both lifetime batting average and home runs. In 1941, he batted .406, marking the last time any player hit over .400 in a season. AP/Wide World

Williams finished the game on September 27 with a batting average of .39955, which rounds up to .400. He could have sat out the last games (a doubleheader the next day), and walked away as a .400 hitter. But Williams wasn’t satisfied. In his mind, he would have been a .399 hitter. As he put it, “If I’m going to be a .400 hitter, I want more than my toenails on the line.”

So the 23-year-old outfielder insisted on playing both games the next day. And what a day he had. In 8 at-bats, Williams had 6 hits, finishing the season at a robust .406—with much more than his toenails on the line. Since that remarkable finish in 1941, no Major Leaguer has hit .400, although two got very close: George Brett hit .390 in 1980 and Tony Gwynn hit .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

On September 28, 1960, 19 years to the day after his 6 for 8 doubleheader performance, Williams stepped to the plate in the 8^th inning of the final game of the season—the final game of his career, his final big league at bat. And he hit a home run. No toenails on the line there, either.

Other World Book article 

• Ted Williams (1918-2002)-a Special report

October 31, 2013

The Boston Red Sox won their third World Series in 10 years, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in six games, the last game a 6-1 victory at Fenway Park yesterday. It was first time the Red Sox captured a World Series title at home since Babe Ruth was on the team in 1918. The 2013 series was exciting throughout, with two games ending in improbable plays. One was an obstruction play at third base that gave the game to the Cardinals. In the other, a St. Louis runner was picked off first base. Every game but the sixth was close, confirming the general view that the two best teams in baseball were meeting for the championship.

The Boston victory added additional luster to designated hitter David Ortiz as one of the iconic figures in Boston baseball history. “Big Papi” Ortiz was named the series’ Most Valuable Player, the only batter on either team to provide consistent offense throughout the six games. Ortiz shared the spotlight with Koji Uehara, a 38-year old Boston pitcher from Japan with an unhittable curve ball who was the Most Valuable Player in Boston’s American League Championship Series victory over the Detroit Tigers. Uehara struck out the final batter in the sixth game of the series, igniting a wild celebration on the diamond that spread to the streets of Boston throughout the night.