Sunday, April 05, 2009
Great Red Sox Opening Day Stats
Frank Carpano (Stats courtesy the Boston Red Sox)
If you’re a baseball fan in general or a Red Sox fan in particular, you’re gonna love some of the facts and figures the Red Sox PR department emailed me regarding Opening Day. Enjoy!
OPENING DAY: The Sox begin the 2009 regular season on Monday, the first time the club has opened at home since a 12-11 loss to Toronto on April 1, 2002.
► It is the 2nd time Boston has started at home since 1996 and the 39th overall. The Red Sox are 21-17 all-time when playing the first game of the regular season in Boston, including an 18-17 record at Fenway Park. Overall, the club is 52-55-1 on Opening Day (excluding the 2nd game of doubleheaders in 1903, 1948, 1982).
► Monday marks the 2nd time the Red Sox have played the Rays on Opening Day, the first since March 31, 2003, a 6-4 walk-off loss at Tropicana Field. Boston also played Tampa Bay in the 2001 home opener, an 11-4 victory on April 6.
► Boston last hosted the defending American League Champions at Fenway Park in an Opening Day game on April 18, 1950 when they fell to the New York Yankees, 15-10.
BECKETT TAKES THE HILL: Josh Beckett starts on Opening Day for the 4th time in his career…Each of his previous 3 starts came as a member of the Florida Marlins from 2003-05…Beckett is 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA (3 ER/15.2 IP) and 16 strikeouts in those contests, the last coming on April 5, 2005 vs. Atlanta.
► He is the 60th different pitcher to start the first game of the season for Boston, the 50th righthander…Since Pedro Martinez’s 7-year run as Red Sox Opening Day starter from 1998-2004 ended, 3 other hurlers have taken the hill for Boston in the opener: David Wells (2005), Curt Schilling (2006-07) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (2008).
► Pedro Martinez was the last Red Sox pitcher to start an Opening Day game at Fenway Park, receiving a no-decision against the Blue Jays on April 1, 2002…Beckett will attempt to become the first Red Sox pitcher to start and win on Opening Day at Fenway Park since Aaron Sele beat Minnesota, 9-0, on April 26, 1995.
OPENING DAY LEADERS: Among players on Boston’s current roster, Jason Varitek ranks first with 9 Opening Day starts, all at catcher…That is the most ever by a Red Sox backstop, and tied with Mike Greenwell, Frank Malzone and George Scott for 10th all-time…Wade Boggs and Dom DiMaggio are next on the list with 10 starts each.
► David Ortiz has made 5 Opening Day starts as the designated hitter, the most ever by a Red Sox player at that position…Other notables on the active roster include Mike Lowell with 3 at 3rd base and Kevin Youkilis with 3 at first base.
Most Red Sox Starts by Position: Most Red Sox Opening Day Starts
RHP Roger Clemens, 8 22 Carl Yastrzemski
LHP Mel Parnell, 4 17 Dwight Evans
C Jason Varitek, 9 14 Jim Rice
1B Mo Vaughn, 7 13 Bobby Doerr
2B Bobby Doerr, 13 Ted Williams
3B Wade Boggs, 10 12 Rico Petrocelli
SS Everett Scott, 8 11 Harry Hooper
LF Carl Yastrzemski, 15 10 Wade Boggs
CF Dom DiMaggio, 9 Dom DiMaggio
RF Dwight Evans, 13 9 Mike Greenwell
DH David Ortiz, 5 Frank Malzone
George Scott Jason Varitek
PREGAME CEREMONIES: Three-time Grammy Award winner Seal will sing the U.S. National Anthem prior to the start of the Opening Day game of the 2009 Boston Red Sox season…The internationally-renowned artist, who has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, is in Boston as part of his current North American tour…His newest album, SOUL, is his latest chart-topping record and has sold more than two million copies worldwide over the last six months.
► Maestro Keith Lockhart and members of the Boston Pops will perform “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the Opening Day 7th inning stretch…Both pieces are featured on the Boston Pops Orchestra’s new recording, The Red Sox Album, which will be released on April 6…The CD was produced in conjunction with the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball, and includes new arrangements of Fenway’s traditional fan anthem “Sweet Caroline” and the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shippin’ Up to Boston”.
ROTATION SET: Starting pitching match-ups for this year’s opening series against the Rays are: RHP Josh Beckett vs. RHP James Shields on Monday, April 6 (2:05 p.m.); LHP Jon Lester vs. LHP Scott Kazmir on Wednesday, April 8 (7:10 p.m.); and RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. RHP Matt Garza on Thursday, April 9 (1:35 p.m.).
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Red Sox yesterday made six roster moves, optioning RHP Clay Buchholz to Triple-A Pawtucket and placing the following five players on the disabled list: RHP Miguel Gonzalez was played on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 27 with right elbow surgery…OF Mark Kotsay was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 27 with back surgery…SS Julio Lugo was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 27 with right knee surgery…RHP John Smoltz was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 27 with right shoulder surgery…OF Jonathan Van Every was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 27 with a right ankle sprain.
SPRING TRAINING WRAP-UP: With a 9-3 win yesterday against the Mets at Citi Field in New York, the Red Sox finished their spring schedule at 20-14, 5th place in the Grapefruit League, 4.0 games behind the New York Yankees (24-10)…Boston posted 20 spring training victories, the club’s most since going 20-8 in 1998…It was the club’s 3rd 20-win spring since 1973, done also in 1991 (22-11).
► On March 28, Red Sox clinched the 7th Mayor’s Cup title in club history and 3rd in as many years with a 9-4 win over the Twins at City of Palms Park…The club’s other Mayor’s Cup wins came in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2008…The 3-year winning streak is Boston’s longest Mayor’s Cup reign since winning 3 straight from 1997-99…The Twins hold a 10-7 advantage in the yearly series since it started in 1993 with a 53-44-1 edge in those games overall.
LEADERBOARD: Several Red Sox players finished among Grapefruit League leaders including: Chris Carter – TB (T2nd, 50), HR (T3rd, 6), H (T4th, 27), SLG (6th, .658), AVG (T9th, .355); Jed Lowrie – 2B (T4th, 8), SLG (7th, .657), RBI (T7th, 16), TB (T8th, 44); Jason Varitek – HR (T5th, 5), RBI (T7th, 16).
Red Sox Spring Batting Leaders Red Sox Spring Pitching Leaders
Average .355, Chris Carter Wins 2, 6 players
Hits 27, Chris Carter Saves 2, Hunter Jones
Runs 16, Nick Green Games 12, 4 players
Home Runs 6, Chris Carter Innings 27.2, Josh Beckett
RBI 16, Lowrie, Varitek ERA 2.52, Clay Buchholz
Doubles 8, Jed Lowrie Strikeouts 20, Jon Lester
Stolen Bases 2, Ellsbury, Kalish
PACKING ‘EM IN: Boston finished its home spring training schedule on March 31 vs. Tampa Bay before a crowd of 7,862…The Red Sox have sold out 88 straight Grapefruit League (non-exhibition) games at City of Palms Park since March 16, 2003.
► In 18 total home games (including 3 vs. non-major league teams) a total of 134,570 fans passed through the turnstiles at City of Palms Park in 2009…It is the highest spring total in the history of the ballpark, surpassing the mark set in 2007 of 131,590, a difference of 2,980…It is the 6th straight season that Boston has sold out every Grapefruit League home game.
► The March 23 game between the Red Sox and Tigers attracted a paid crowd of 8,278, the largest in the 17-year history of City of Palms Park…The previous mark of 8,249 was set on March 5, 2007 vs. the Dodgers.
DEFENSIVE INNINGS (“A” Games): Ambres – 117.2 (OF); Anderson – 43 (1B); Apodaca – 1 (C); Bailey – 83.1 (59.1 OF, 24 1B); Baldelli – 48 (OF); Bard – 19 (C); Bay – 94 (OF); Bell – 4 (OF); Borowiak – 5 (3B); Brown – 63.1 (C); Carter – 147 (92 1B, 55 OF); Chavez – 102 (79 3B, 15 2B, 8 SS); Corsaletti – 5 (OF); Daeges – 51 (OF); Danielson – 1 (OF); Dening – 4 (OF); Dent – 5 (SS); Diaz – 54 (SS); Drew – 80 (OF); Ellsbury – 109 (OF); Engel – 3 (OF); Exposito – 13 (C); Federowicz – 1 (C); Fernandez – 3 (OF); Garcia – 4 (SS); Green – 153 (85 2B, 33 3B, 22 SS; 13 OF); Jimenez – 7 (3B); Kalish – 19 (OF); Khoury – 14 (7 3B, 7 2B); Kottaras – 56.2 (C); Lin – 10 (OF); Lowell – 72 (3B); Lowrie – 129 (102 SS, 23 3B); Lugo – 30 (SS); Mailman – 7 (OF); Maldonado – 10 (C); Marks – 3 (OF); McAnulty – 78 (43 OF, 35 1B); Nava – 4 (OF); Navarro – 6 (SS); Negron – 7 (4 2B, 2 SS, 1 3B); Ochoa – 104 (66 2B, 36 SS, 2 3B); Pedroia – 73 (2B); Place – 5 (OF); Reddick – 68 (OF); Reza – 3 (2B); Rizzo – 7 (1B); Segovia – 1 (SS); Sheely – 1 (OF); Suarez – 8 (3B); Tejeda – 2 (SS); Van Every – 53 (OF); Varitek – 103 (C); Velazquez – 130 (74 3B, 37 2B, 19 SS); Wagner – 32 (C); Wilkerson – 77 (41 1B, 36 OF); Youkilis – 58 (1B)
2009 SPRING TRAINING RESULTS/SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT SITE RESULT RECORD WINNER LOSER ATTENDANCE
Wed., February 25 Boston College (SS) City of Palms W7-1 (7) —- TAZAWA Prohovich 5,707
Wed., February 25 Minnesota Twins (SS) Hammond Stadium L2-5 0-1 Perkins (1-0) WAKEFIELD (0-1) 7,849
Thur., February 26 Pittsburgh Pirates City of Palms L2-3 0-2 Yates (1-0) LENTZ (0-1) 7,286
Fri., February 27 Tampa Bay Rays Port Charlotte L4-12 0-3 Niemann (1-0) BOWDEN (0-1) 6,629
Sat., February 28 Northeastern (SS) City of Palms W14-0 —- JOHNSON Lloyd 5,202
Sat., February 28 Cincinnati Reds (SS) City of Palms W16-5 1-3 BUCHHOLZ (1-0) Masset (0-1) 7,395
Sun., March 1 Minnesota Twins Hammond Stadium W2-1 2-3 PAPELBON (1-0) Guerrier (0-1) 7,868
Mon., March 2 Baltimore Orioles Fort Lauderdale L3-5 2-4 Waters (1-0) MILLS (0-1) 6,285
Tues., March 3 Cincinnati Reds City of Palms L8-9 2-5 Owings (1-0) RAMIREZ (0-1) 7,621
Wed., March 4 Off Day
Thur., March 5 Team Puerto Rico City of Palms L5-9 —- Matos ZINK 5,772
Fri., March 6 Florida Marlins City of Palms W5-3 3-5 OKAJIMA (1-0) Tankersley (0-1) 7,527
Sat., March 7 Tampa Bay Rays Port Charlotte L7-15 3-6 Shields (1-0) WAKEFIELD (0-2) 7,147
Sun., March 8 Tampa Bay Rays City of Palms W8-2 4-6 MASTERSON (1-0) Davis (1-1) 7,920
Mon., March 9 Pittsburgh Pirates Bradenton W15-14 (10) 5-6 LITTLETON (1-0) Mateo (0-1) 6,040
Tues., March 10 Baltimore Orioles City of Palms L1-5 5-7 Liz (1-0) JOHNSON (0-1) 8,232
Wed., March 11 Off Day
Thurs., March 12 St. Louis Cardinals Jupiter L2-4 5-8 Kinney (1-0) MCBETH (0-1) 8.306
Fri., March 13 New York Yankees City of Palms W8-4 6-8 WAKEFIELD (1-2) Wang (0-1) 7,755
Sat., March 14 Baltimore Orioles Fort Lauderdale L8-9 6-9 McCrory (1-0) GREEN (0-1) 8,269
Sun., March 15 Baltimore Orioles City of Palms L6-2 6-10 Waters (2-0) RAMIREZ (0-2) 7,915
Mon., March 16 Toronto Blue Jays Dunedin W6-4 7-10 D. BARD (1-0) Halladay (0-1) 5,697
Tues., March 17 Minnesota Twins City of Palms W9-5 8-10 BECKETT (1-0) Baker (0-2) 8,064
Wed., March 18 Off Day
Thurs., March 19 Cincinnati Reds Sarasota W9-1 9-10 LESTER (1-0) Arroyo (0-2) 7,530
Fri., March 20 Pittsburgh Pirates City of Palms W11-4 10-10 BUCHHOLZ (2-0) Karstens (0-1) 8,090
Sat., March 21 Florida Marlins Jupiter W4-3 11-10 CABRERA (1-0) Tucker (0-1) 8,131
Sun., March 22 Philadelphia Phillies City of Palms W3-0 12-10 BECKETT (2-0) Myers (1-1) 7,894
Mon., March 23 Detroit Tigers City of Palms W7-6 13-10 SAITO (1-0) Rodney (0-2) 8,278
Tues., March 24 New York Yankees Tampa L1-7 13-11 Ramirez (2-0) DELCARMEN (0-1) 11,113
Wed., March 25 Cincinnati Reds Sarasota W2-1 14-11 OKAJIMA (2-0) Bray (0-2) 7,498
Thurs., March 26 Off Day
Fri., March 27 St. Louis Cardinals City of Palms W11-8 (10) 15-11 MAXWELL (1-0) Gonzalez (0-1) 8,078
Sat., March 28 Minnesota Twins City of Palms W9-4 16-11 PENNY (1-0) Liriano (1-2) 7,914
Sun., March 29 Philadelphia Phillies Clearwater W3-1 17-11 LESTER (2-0) Blanton (1-1) 9,918
Mon., March 30 Atlanta Braves Lake Buena Vista L4-3 17-12 Cruz (1-0) COX (0-1) 10,824
Tues., March 31 Tampa Bay Rays City of Palms W8-7 18-12 MASTERSON (2-0) Balfour (0-1) 7,862
Wed., April 1 Pittsburgh Pirates Bradenton W4-3 19-12 PAPELBON (2-0) Haigwood (0-1) 5,004
Thurs., April 2 Minnesota Twins Hammond Stadium L3-7 19-13 Ayala (1-0) DOUBRONT (0-1) 8,095
Fri., April 3 New York Mets Citi Field, NY L3-4 19-14 Parnell (3-0) DELCARMEN (0-2) 37,652
Sat., April 4 New York Mets Citi Field, NY W9-3 20-14 MATSUZAKA (1-0) Perez (2-1) 38,695
