| 38 | Rico Petrocelli | SS |
| 7 | Lenny Green | CF |
| 8 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
| 25 | Tony Conigliaro | RF |
| 6 | Lee Thomas | 1B |
| 12 | Félix Mantilla | 2B |
| 11 | Frank Malzone | 3B |
| 10 | Bob Tillman | C |
| 27 | Bill Monbouquette | P |
| Garciaparra ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Valentin 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vaughn 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Leyritz dh | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Varitek c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buford cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| O'Leary ph | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Lemke 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bragg lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lewis rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hatteberg ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin ph | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rose p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corsi p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Avery p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eckersley p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gordon p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garces p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
|
My daughter wasn’t alive yet, but I love this post.
That's a first-class radio broadcast as well. You can close your eyes and see it happen.
| 1 | Nomar Garciaparra | SS |
| 2 | John Valentin | 3B |
| 3 | Mo Vaughn | 1B |
| 4 | Jim Leyritz | DH |
| 5 | Jason Varitek | C |
| 6 | Damon Buford | CF |
| 7 | Mark Lemke | 2B |
| 8 | Darren Bragg | LF |
| 9 | Darren Lewis | RF |
| Brian Rose | P |
| Boston Red Sox | ab | r | h | rbi |
| Beniquez lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lynn cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yastrzemski 1b | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Conigliaro dh | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Petrocelli 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evans rf | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Montgomery c | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Burleson ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Griffin 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tiant p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 31 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| 1 | Lou Whitaker | 2B |
| 2 | Kirk Gibson | CF |
| 3 | Steve Kemp | LF |
| 4 | Richie Hebner | 3B |
| 5 | Jason Thompson | 1B |
| 6 | Champ Summers | RF |
| 7 | Lance Parrish | C |
| 8 | Rick Peters | DH |
| 9 | Alan Trammell | SS |
| Jack Morris | P |
| 1 | Jerry Remy | 2B |
| 2 | Rick Burleson | SS |
| 3 | Fred Lynn | CF |
| 4 | Jim Rice | LF |
| 5 | Carl Yastrzemski | DH |
| 6 | Tony Pérez | 1B |
| 7 | Carlton Fisk | C |
| 8 | Jack Brohamer | 3B |
| 9 | Dwight Evans | RF |
| Dennis Eckersley | P |
That was my first home opener as well. Cold as hell that day after the snow out the day before. I think that's how my roommate and I ended up getting tickets. That lineup by the way. Wow hitting 1-9.
Damn you.
This was my first game, too! It's just a shame that nothing terribly iconic happened that season.
| 1 | Luis Aparicio | SS |
| 2 | Curt Blefary | LF |
| 3 | Frank Robinson | RF |
| 4 | Brooks Robinson | 3B |
| 5 | Boog Powell | 1B |
| 6 | Davey Johnson | 2B |
| 7 | Paul Blair | CF |
| 8 | Andy Etchebarren | C |
| 9 | Steve Barber | P |
| 1 | George Smith | 2B |
| 2 | George Thomas | CF |
| 3 | Carl Yastrzemski | LF |
| 4 | Tony Conigliaro | RF |
| 5 | George Scott | 3B |
| 6 | Tony Horton | 1B |
| 7 | Rico Petrocelli | SS |
| 8 | Mike Ryan | C |
| 9 | Earl Wilson | P |
Quite a few, as the weather was pretty raw. But I wasn't leaving, as I had flown in from Florida for my first home opener. And when I saw Slocumb warming up, I turned to Cheri and said, "we've still got a chance!"
It is a shared shame. Fenway was less than half-full when I left and I arrived at O’Leary’s around the time Tony Fossas was loading the bases by walking Mike Benjamin, who had pinch hit for Scott Hatteberg, who in turn had pinch hit for Darren Lewis— a series of events that seems as non-sensical today as it did then. Of the four Mariners pitchers that failed to record a single out in that ninth inning, three spent part of their career with the Red Sox, including one that will be on the field this afternoon and another that contributed to the cause of today’s celebration almost as much as anyone that will be on the field this afternoon.
The concept of Pedro giving up 10 runs to that O’s lineup is kind of hard to believe.
It was absolutely insane. He just got pounded. I remember telling my wife, who knew a little about baseball (we met in a fantasy baseball league), how Pedro was probably going to throw a no-hitter tonight, so be sure to save your ticket stub.
This was quite a lineup. Four former MVPs! Six guys who should be DHing! Two criminally underrated Sox! And a guy who would go on to the front office of the Evil Empire. Wow. This lineup brings me back to college.
Yeah, I thought that team was going to be awesome. Before we knew about defensive metrics.
"Who the hell is this Lynn guy and why is hitting so high up in the order?"This was my first game, too! It's just a shame that nothing terribly iconic happened that season.
I can't think of a much worse defensive lineup. Valentin was miscast as shortstop, he was a better third baseman. Naehring should've been at second. Cordero played short in Montreal but for some reason they wanted him at second. Mo's glove was a rumor. Greenwell, O'Leary and Mitchell were all iron gloves, especially Mitchell by that point in his career. Out of all of them, Stanley was the okay-est, but even he wasn't great.
Tim Naehring will always be a "what if" case for me. Guy could play, but didn't stay healthy.
That OF is awful, but you should take a gander at their actual numbers. Naehring was a good 3B, Valentin had just logged an excellent year as a SS in 95 (highest dWAR in the league), and 95/6 for Vaughn were two of his rare peak average-ish 1B seasons.
That game may not have been the worst defensive lineup ever, but that season did not lack for strong contenders. While Canseco and Mitchell never played the outfield at the same time (likely due to the Geneva Convention), they were joined by Reggie Jefferson in the green mines of the field club. When Cordero’s tenure was truncated by his placement on the do no call list, Jeff Frye was just too damn gritty to be confined to a single position. Subsequent keystone contenders included Jeff Manto, Arquimedez Pozo, and Bill Selby, whose middle infield glove was well past its expiration date. I am far from certain that those three people have never been in a kitchen with Enmanuel Valdez’s mother.
