Dwight Evans

From SoSH

Dwight Michael "Dewey" Evans was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 1969 Amateur Draft. Born on November 3, 1951 in Santa Monica, CA, he made his Red Sox debut on September 16, 1972 and played his final game on October 6, 1991.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Moments in the Sun 5 Trivia 6 Quotes 7 Transactions 8 External Links

Overall Career

After winning International League MVP honors at Louisville in 1972 (.300, 17 HR, 95 RBI), Evans was called up to finish the season with the Red Sox. He joined the Red Sox for good in 1973, but his defense was more advanced than his offense, as he hit just .223. Evans was joined by rookie sensations Jim Rice and Fred Lynn in 1975, making up one of the best young outfields that baseball has ever seen. He would master the cavernous Fenway Park right field, and use his arm, as good as there was in baseball in his prime, to stop many a baserunner in his tracks. His eight career Gold Glove Awards rank him fifth all-time among outfielders, behind Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr..

Evans continued to struggle to break out at the plate, and was known as the "Man of a Thousand Stances" for his frequent changes to his batting stance. Concerned that these frequent changes may have led to an incident where he was hit in the head (he would suffer from vertigo as a result), Evans enlisted the help of Red Sox hitting coach Walt Hriniak. They would work together to develop the unique, but effective, stance Evans would use to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with offensively.

The strike-shortened 1981 season would be Evans' breakout year at the plate. In the 110 game seasonb, he hit .296, tied for the home run lead (22), and paced the league in total bases (215), walks (85), times on base (208) and OPS (937). He played in two World Series (1975 & 1986) in 1986, leading the team with nine RBI, while hitting .308 and belting two home runs.

In 1987, his 16th major league season, Evans made his third All Star team, setting career highs in batting average (.305), home runs (34) and RBI (123).

Only Carl Yastrzemski (3308) played more games for the Boston Red Sox than Evans (2505), but after 19 years with the team, Evans spent his final season with the Orioles.

In his 20-year career, Evans batted .272, with 385 home runs, 1384 RBI, 1470 runs, 2446 hits, 483 doubles, 73 triples, and 78 stolen bases in 2606 games. He was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000. He is currently a Player Development Consultant for the Red Sox Minor League Operations.

Awards

• 1972 International League MVP - Louisville Colonels
• 8-time American League Gold Glove Winner (1976, 1978, 1979 & 1981-1985)
• 2-time American League Silver Slugger Award Winner (1981 & 1987)
• 3-time American League All-Star (1978, 1981 & 1987)
• 1981 AL MVP (Voting Rank: #3)
• 1982 AL MVP (Voting Rank: #7)
• 1984 AL MVP (Voting Rank: #11)
• 1987 AL MVP (Voting Rank: #4)
• 1988 AL MVP (Voting Rank: #9)

Achievements

• AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1982)
• 2-time AL OPS Leader (1981 & 1984)
• AL Runs Scored Leader (1984)
• AL Total Bases Leader (1981)
• AL Home Run Leader (1981)
• 3-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1981, 1985 & 1987)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1978, 1979 & 1981-1989)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1982, 1984 & 1987)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 4 (1984, 1987, 1988 & 1989)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 4 (1982, 1984, 1985 & 1987)

Moments in the Sun

• His thrilling catch in game 6 of the 1975 Series set the stage for Carlton Fisk's heroics.

Trivia

• His best Hall of Fame vote was 49 (approximately 10%)
• Played in 3 All-Star games during his career (1978, 1981, 1987)
• Led league in OPS twice -- 1981 (.937) and 1984 (.920)
• On June 28, 1984, Evans hit a game-winning home run in the 11th inning to hit for the cycle
• Had four opening day home runs in his career

Quotes

• "Not many people talk to you when you’re hitting .195"

Transactions

• June 5, 1969: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 1969 Amateur Draft.
• October 24, 1990: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
• December 6, 1990: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
• November 4, 1991: Granted Free Agency.
• December 7, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
• March 15, 1992: Released by the Baltimore Orioles.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis