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BOB STANLEY, 1977-1989
Bob Stanley was from Portland, Maine. On the
strength of his senior year’s performance at Kearny High School, he was offered
a contract by the Dodgers in the summer of 1973. Bob turned down their offer and
six months later, in January of 1974, he was the first-round pick of the Red
Sox.
He was sent to Elmira in the New York-Penn
League and his record was hardly earth-shattering. The next season saw him with
Winter Haven in the Florida State League where he had a 2.93 ERA.
The next stop was in Bristol, Connecticut,
pitching in the Double-A Eastern League in 1976. There he was 15-9 in 27 games
–all as a starter – and had a fine 2.66 ERA.
After that, he went directly up to Boston.
His work during the spring training of 1977 was so outstanding that Sox manager
Don Zimmer decided to carry a ten-man pitching staff back to Fenway Park instead
of his planned nine and he was number ten.
In his first year with the Red Sox, he was a
starter as well as a long reliever and sometimes a short reliever. And he did it
all well. It was in 1978 that the "Steamer" really came into his own. Appearing
in 52 games, all but three in relief, he posted a sterling 15-2 mark and was
second in the league, only by Ron Guidry’s remarkable 25-3. He was tops in
relief appearance wins, had ten saves and just five home runs allowed.
The next year, in 1979, Bob's relief
appearances dropped to ten, but his starts numbered a career-high 30. He was
selected for the American League All-Star team and hurled two innings of
scoreless ball.
He had identical 10-8 records the next two
seasons, and in 1982 Bob enjoyed another great season. He set an American League
record for most innings pitched by a relief pitcher with 168, notched a 12-7
record, and recorded 14 saves.
In 1983 his 33 saves, which was a Red Sox
single-season record, ranked him behind only Dan Quisenberry of Kansas City, and
he was once more named to the American League All-Star squad. He did, though,
post his first major-league losing season and would not see a winning season
again for five years. Fenway Park fans started to get on him along that way.
In 1986 Bob struggled a bit in the ALCS
against the Angels, but in six innings of the World Series, while closing four
of the games against the Mets, he didn’t allow a run. However, with the
championship all but clinched and the Sox in the lead, it was his wild pitch in
Game #6, that allowed Kevin Mitchell to score from third base in the bottom of
the tenth with two outs, with the run that tied the score.
The following year, his bottom really fell
out. As a starting pitcher he was 4-15, with a dismal 5.01 ERA. To his credit,
though, the “Steamer” hung in there. He resumed relief work exclusively in 1988
and helped the Sox reach the postseason, although he faltered against Oakland in
the one inning he pitched, giving up one run. He never had a decision in
postseason play, but an overall 2.77 ERA.
In September of 1989, after a number of
run-ins with manager Joe Morgan, the "Steamer" packed it in, and was officially
released by the team in late December.
Bob Stanley held the Red Sox record with 132
saves, until Jonathan Papelbon passed him in 2009. He compiled a 115-97
career-record with a 3.64 ERA, including 21 complete games. He might better be
remembered as the man who pitched in more Red Sox games than any other player in
the club’s history.
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Bob Stanley (pic)
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