1966 Boston Red Sox season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Boston Red Sox 1966 American League Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts 72–90 (.444) 9th Tom Yawkey Tom Yawkey Dick O'Connell Billy Herman (64–82) Pete Runnels (8–8) WHDH-TV, Ch. 5 WHDH-AM 850(Ken Coleman, Ned Martin, Mel Parnell) bos BOS The 1966 Boston Red Sox season was the 66th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished ninth in the American League (AL) with a record of 72 wins and 90 losses, 26 games behind the AL and World Series champion Baltimore Orioles. After this season, the Red Sox would not lose 90 games again until 2012. The Red Sox drew 811,172 fans to Fenway Park, eighth in the ten-team Junior Circuit and 16th among the 20 MLB franchises."1966 Major League Attendance and Team Age." Baseball Reference The team's home schedule ended September 18 so that Fenway Park could be converted for use by the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, whose first home game was September 25. The Red Sox' full 162-game season also concluded early, on Tuesday, September 27, five days before the other 19 MLB clubs."1966 Boston Red Sox Regular Season Game Log." Retrosheet The 1966 season saw the debut of two rookies, first baseman George Scott, 22, who had captured the Triple Crown of the Double-A Eastern League in 1965, and third baseman Joe Foy, 23, who the previous year had won The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award as a member of the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs. Both won regular jobs and Scott was selected to the 1966 AL All-Star squad. Fellow rookies Mike Andrews, 23, and Reggie Smith, 21, got their first taste of MLB action as September call-ups from Toronto. The Red Sox were also active in the trade market, acquiring players such as John Wyatt, Lee Stange and José Tartabull who, with Scott, Foy, Smith and Andrews, will play key roles on their 1967 team."Transactions for 1966 Boston Red Sox." Retrosheet After a terrible three months (27–47, .365) from April through June, the club was able to win 45 of its final 88 games (.511)."1966 Boston Red Sox: Home & Away Records by Month." Retrosheet Eventual Hall of Fame second baseman Billy Herman did not survive a second full season as the Red Sox' manager. He was fired September 8 with his 64–82 team in ninth place. Coach Pete Runnels filled in as interim manager for Boston's final 16 games, winning half of them. Then, on September 28, the day after their season ended, the Red Sox promoted Dick Williams, 37, from two-time Governors Cup champion Toronto and signed him to a one-year contract as their skipper for 1967. Offseason October 4, 1965: The Red Sox trade eight-year veteran starting pitcher, former 20-game winner (1963) and 4x AL All-Star Bill Monbouquette, 29, to the Detroit Tigers for catcher Jackie Moore (player to be named later), 26, second baseman George Smith, 28, and centerfielder George Thomas, 27."Transactions for 1965 Boston Red Sox." Retrosheet October 15, 1965: The Red Sox purchase the contract of right-handed pitcher José Santiago, 25, from the Kansas City Athletics. November 29, 1965: In the Rule 5 draft, the Red Sox select relief pitcher Ken Sanders, 24, from the Athletics; they lose veteran outfielder Gary Geiger, 28, to the Atlanta Braves, and pitcher Bob Heffner, 27, to the Cleveland Indians. Infielder Jimy Williams is drafted from the Red Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 first-year draft.Jimy Williams page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1965: The Red Sox begin to remake their infield when they unconditionally release eight-time All-Star and 2x Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Frank Malzone, 35, and trade former starting shortstop Eddie Bressoud, 33, to the New York Mets for reserve outfielder Joe Christopher, 29. December 15, 1965: The Red Sox trade starting first baseman Lee Thomas, 29, to the Atlanta Braves, along with relief pitchers Arnold Earley, 32, and Jay Ritchie (PTBNL), 29, for pitchers Dan Osinski, 32, and Bob Sadowski, 27. Regular season Season standings Boston Red Sox Record vs. opponents BOS Opening Day lineup 14 George Smith 2B24 George Thomas CF  8 Carl Yastrzemski     LF25 Tony Conigliaro RF  5 George Scott 3B11 Tony Horton 1B  6 Rico Petrocelli SS22 Mike Ryan C 26 Earl Wilson P Notable transactions April 3, 1966: The Red Sox trade former All-Star second baseman Félix Mantilla, 31, to the Houston Astros for utility infielder Eddie Kasko, 34. April 6, 1966: The Red Sox trade catcher Russ Nixon, 31, and second baseman Chuck Schilling, 28, to the Minnesota Twins for left-hander Dick Stigman, 30, and a minor-league player to be named later, first baseman José Calero. June 2, 1966: The Red Sox trade "The Monster," two-time AL All-Star relief pitcher Dick Radatz, 29, to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Don McMahon, 36, and Lee Stange, 29. June 7, 1966: The Red Sox select left-hander Ken Brett, 17, from El Segundo High School, as their first pick (fourth overall) in the 1966 Major League Baseball draft. June 13, 1966: The Red Sox trade pitchers Guido Grilli, 27, and Ken Sanders, 24, and outfielder Jim Gosger, 23, to the Kansas City Athletics for pitchers Rollie Sheldon, 29, and John Wyatt, 31, and outfielder José Tartabull, 27. June 14, 1966: The Red Sox trade starting pitcher Earl Wilson, 31, and reserve outfielder Joe Christopher, 30, to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Don Demeter, 30, and pitcher Julio Navarro, 32 (PTBNL). August 15, 1966: The Red Sox acquire two pitchers: Hank Fischer, 26, from the Cincinnati Reds for two players to be named later (pitchers Rollie Sheldon and Dick Stigman), and Bill Short, 28, from the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations.August 16, 1966 Red Sox Get Hank Fischer, Bill Short 21 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette https://books.google.com/books?id=sMZaAAAAIBAJ&dq=Hank+Fischer&pg=PA11&article_id=7391,2239664 June 10, 2023 The Red Sox also announce that they have sold pitcher Bob Sadowski to the Toronto Maple Leafs. On October 17, they will sell Short's contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Roster 1966 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers 28 Dennis Bennett 27 Bucky Brandon 38 Hank Fischer 37 Guido Grilli 16 Jim Lonborg 36 Pete Magrini 44 Don McMahon 23 Dave Morehead 19 Dan Osinski 17 Dick Radatz 18 Garry Roggenburk 21 Bob Sadowski 29 Ken Sanders 30 José Santiago 40 Rollie Sheldon 15 Bill Short 37 Lee Stange 18 Jerry Stephenson 42 Dick Stigman 26 Earl Wilson 26 John Wyatt Catchers 22 Mike Ryan 10 Bob Tillman Infielders 39 Mike Andrews  1 Joe Foy 11 Tony Horton  3 Dalton Jones  2 Eddie Kasko  6 Rico Petrocelli  5 George Scott 14 George Smith Outfielders 20 Joe Christopher 25 Tony Conigliaro  4 Don Demeter  4 Jim Gosger  7 Lenny Green 41 Reggie Smith 12 José Tartabull 24 George Thomas  8 Carl Yastrzemski Managers 35 Billy Herman 32 Pete Runnels Coaches 31 Billy Gardner (Third base) 33 Sal Maglie (Pitching) 34 Len Okrie (Bullpen) 32 Pete Runnels (First base) Player stats = Indicates team leader Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Mike Ryan Mike Ryan (catcher) 116 369 79 .214 2 32 1B George Scott George Scott (first baseman) 162 601 147 .245 27 90 2B George Smith George Smith (second baseman) 128 403 86 .213 8 37 3B Joe Foy 151 554 145 .262 15 63 SS Rico Petrocelli 139 522 124 .238 18 59 LF Carl Yastrzemski 160 594 165 .278 16 80 CF Don Demeter 73 226 66 .292 9 29 RF Tony Conigliaro 150 558 148 .265 28 93 Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Dalton Jones 115 252 59 .234 4 23 Bob Tillman 78 204 47 .230 3 24 Jose Tartabull 68 195 54 .277 0 11 George Thomas George Thomas (baseball) 61 173 41 .237 5 20 Eddie Kasko 58 136 29 .213 1 12 Lenny Green 85 133 32 .241 1 12 Jim Gosger 40 126 32 .254 5 17 Reggie Smith 6 26 4 .154 0 0 Tony Horton Tony Horton (baseball) 6 22 3 .136 0 2 Mike Andrews 5 18 3 .167 0 0 Joe Christopher 12 13 1 .077 0 0 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Jose Santiago José Santiago (1960s pitcher) 35 172.0 12 13 3.66 119 Lee Stange 28 153.1 7 9 3.35 77 Earl Wilson Earl Wilson (baseball) 15 100.2 5 5 3.84 67 Dennis Bennett Dennis Bennett (baseball) 16 75.0 3 3 3.24 77 Jerry Stephenson 15 66.1 2 5 5.83 50 Hank Fischer 6 31.0 2 3 2.90 26 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Jim Lonborg 45 181.2 10 10 3.86 131 Bucky Brandon 40 157.2 8 8 3.31 101 Dick Stigman 34 81.0 2 1 5.44 65 Rollie Sheldon 23 79.2 1 6 4.97 38 Bob Sadowski Bob Sadowski (pitcher) 11 33.1 1 1 5.40 11 Dave Morehead 12 28.0 1 2 5.46 20 Pete Magrini 3 7.1 0 1 9.82 3 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Don McMahon 49 8 7 9 2.65 57 Dan Osinski 44 4 3 2 3.61 44 John Wyatt John Wyatt (baseball) 42 3 4 9 3.14 63 Ken Sanders baseball 24 3 6 2 3.80 33 Dick Radatz 16 0 2 4 4.74 19 Bill Short 8 0 0 0 4.32 2 Guido Grilli 6 0 1 0 7.71 4 Garry Roggenburk 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Toronto Maple Leafs International League Dick Williams AA Pittsfield Red Sox Eastern League Eddie Popowski A Winston-Salem Red Sox Carolina League Bill Slack A Waterloo Hawks Midwest League Dave Philley A Oneonta Red Sox New York–Penn League Matt Sczesny Rookie Covington Red Sox Appalachian League Rac Slider LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Toronto Source:Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007https://archive.org/details/bostonredsoxyear1966bost/page/34/mode/2up Boston Red Sox Yearbook 1966 34 March 14, 2021 Wayback Machine References 30em External links 1966 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1966 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com Category:Boston Red Sox seasons Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox Category:1960s in Boston