New Britain Red Sox
From SoSH
- Red Sox Affiliate: 1983-1994
- League: Eastern League
- Stadium: Beehive Stadium
Contents |
History
In 1983, Owner Joe Buzas moved the then Bristol Red Sox eastward 10 miles, to New Britain. The Red Sox responded with a 4th place finish in the Eastern League... but went on to win the playoffs, winning their 4th Eastern League championship for Joe Buzas. The Sox would bounce down to 6th place in 1985 before going 75-64 in 1985, placing 2nd in the Eastern League and winning their first round playoff series before losing in the finals.
A four year stretch of losing records followed (including a horrific 47-90 in 1988)... but the Sox bounced back over .500 in 1990 and finished in 4th place, netting another playoff appearance. They would again win in the first round before losing again in the League Finals. They would slip badly in 1991 (47-93) and followed that up with 3 more last place finishes.
In 1994, Joe Buzas started to look into options as Beehive Stadium was quickly becoming outdated. One option was to move to Springfield, Massachussetts, a move fully endorsed by the Red Sox organization. However. Buzas decided to stay in New Britain (building a new stadium next to Beehive), and the Sox decided to end their PDC with New Britain, moving to the new stadium in Trenton.
New Britain would go on to sign a PDC with the Minnesota Twins, and changed their names to the Hardware City Rock Cats (reverting back to the use of New Britain in 1998).
Teams and Records
- 1983 72-67 Manager: Rac Slider
- 1984 64-76 Manager: Rac Slider
- 1985 75-64 Manager: Ed Nottle
- 1986 64-73 Manager: Tony Torchia
- 1987 61-79 Manager: Dave Holt
- 1988 47-90-1 Manager: Dave Holt
- 1989 60-76 Manager: Butch Hobson
- 1990 72-67 Manager: Butch Hobson
- 1991 47-93 Manager: Gary Allenson
- 1992 58-82 Manager: Jim Pankovitz
- 1993 52-88 Manager: Jim Pankovitz
- 1994 59-81 Manager: Jim Pankovitz
Awards
League Championship
- 1983 [Defeated Reading 2 games to 1 (in Semis), and Lynn 3 games to 1 (in Finals)]
League Leaders
Wins
- 1985 - Jeff Sellers - 14
Strikeouts
- 1993 - Tim Van Egmond - 163
RBIs
- 1994 - Jose Malave - 92
League MVP
- 1991 Jeff Bagwell
All-Stars
- 1991 - Jeff Bagwell - 3B
- 1992 - Ed Reilly - LHP
- 1994 - Jose Malave - OF
No Hitters
- 1989 - Dan Gabriele
- 1989 - Josias Manzanillo [7 innings]
- 1990 - Kevin Morton [7 innings - Perfect Game]
- 1991 - Brian Conroy
New Britain Red Sox Major Leaguers
Likely Future Hall of Famers Roger Clemens and Jeff Bagwell each played for New Britain.
New Britain Red Sox who made the Majors
