| 1 | Bernie Carbo | LF |
| 2 | Rick Burleson | SS |
| 3 | Carl Yastrzemski | 1B |
| 4 | Fred Lynn | CF |
| 5 | Jim Rice | DH |
| 6 | Dwight Evans | RF |
| 7 | Rico Petrocelli | 3B |
| 8 | Doug Griffin | 2B |
| 9 | Tim Blackwell | C |
| Rick Wise | P |
| 1 | César Tovar | LF |
| 2 | Lenny Randle | 2B |
| 3 | Willie Davis | CF |
| 4 | Jeff Burroughs | RF |
| 5 | Mike Hargrove | 1B |
| 6 | Jim Spencer | DH |
| 7 | Toby Harrah | SS |
| 8 | Roy Howell | 3B |
| 9 | Bill Fahey | C |
| Steve Hargan | P |
| 1 | Brian Roberts | 2B |
| 2 | Melvin Mora | 3B |
| 3 | Miguel Tejada | SS |
| 4 | Rafael Palmeiro | 1B |
| 5 | Javy López | C |
| 6 | B.J. Surhoff | RF |
| 7 | Luis Matos | CF |
| 8 | Larry Bigbie | LF |
| 9 | Jerry Hairston | DH |
| Rodrigo López | P |
| 1 | Johnny Damon | CF |
| 2 | Mark Bellhorn | 2B |
| 3 | David Ortiz | DH |
| 4 | Manny Ramirez | LF |
| 5 | Jason Varitek | C |
| 6 | Kevin Millar | RF |
| 7 | Kevin Youkilis | 3B |
| 8 | Dave McCarty | 1B |
| 9 | Pokey Reese | SS |
| Derek Lowe | P |
That raises an interesting question: What would that day's batting order look like with the way teams do it today, as opposed to the "traditional" way employed in 75?
Same here. '75 was when I first really started to follow the Sox. Burleson had an OBP of .331 at the time, so my guess was that his job was to get on base and let either Lynn, Yaz, or Rice knock him in. Didn't happen this game but that was a tough 4-5-6 to get through in '75. Evans was more glove than bat but was a better hitter than either Griffin or Blackwell (batted 8th and 9th). Fisk started the season on the DL, so Blackwell was a placeholder. Griffin wasn't the same player after getting beaned by Nolan Ryan and lost his starting job when the Sox acquired Denny Doyle..
Lynn
WRT Burleson batting second, that was the traditional way to construct the top of an order back then. The second hitter was a "scrappy" hitter who could move the runner along, hit to right, bunt, etc. Like a Burleson. Today, it's more often than not your best all around hitter, your Cory Seager, Kyle Tucker, Ohtani, Soto or Judge, etc. Back then, the best all around hitters for power and average batted 3rd or 4th.
Petrocelli was near the end of his career then, but he was a career 108 OPS+ hitter.
I had a poster of Burleson on my wall. There is zero chance I would have dropped him out of the top of the order.
Yeah. That was one of the sad parts of '76 for me with him getting DFA'd. The thing with that roster, Yaz and Rico were the holdovers from '67 and looked ancient in comparison to the rest of the starting line-up, but at least Yaz could still rake.
1967 was a great year that re-woke all of NE to the Red Sox. Would have been greater if Bob Gibson had been pitching for some other team (unless he took that team to the top also). Petrocelli was a favorite of mine. Went to a game in the early 70s with some coworkers which he ended with a walkoff hit off the monster.
He’s going to have to be, because I doubt we do much against their pitching.
Part of the problem is that it often seems that there are two out before the runners get on base.
True, but I have little faith in Boston’s ability to do much against this team. Hope I’m wrong.
