Page 173 - 1975 BoSox

166 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
Carlton Fisk, and Hobson, in a 19-8 loss to the Brewers. On June 12, 1980, Hobson had the only multi-homer game of his career, swatting a pair in a 13-2 win over the Angels in Anaheim.
On December 10, 1980, Hobson was traded with Rick Burleson to the California Angels for third baseman and future 1981 batting champion Carney Lansford, out elder Rick Miller, and pitcher Mark Clear. He was limited to 85 games with the Angels in the strike- shortened 1981 season as a result of elbow injuries and a separated shoulder, hitting .235 with 4 homers and 36 RBIs. On March 24, 1982, Hobson was traded to the Yankees for pitcher Bill Castro. He hit only .172 in 30 games with New York, his nal major-league stop as a player. In eight years as a player in the majors, Hobson had a career average of .248 with 98 home runs and 397 RBIs. He drove in four runs in a game seven times in his career with Boston and once with the Angels. Among Red Sox third basemen defensively, entering the 2005 season, Hobson was seventh in career games played for the Red Sox, eighth in putouts (473), seventh in assists (1,042), and eighth in double plays (85).
e way Hobson threw his body around on the eld for the good of the team contributed to a shortened major-league career. It also helped make him a fan favorite. In a 2002 interview, Hobson explained his popularity: “Boston Red Sox fans are supportive. ... Whether a guy goes 0-for-20, as long as you are out there and giving 110 percent every day, that’s all they care about. ey’re rooting for that blue-collar guy that runs through walls. ey want that guy who will dive into the stands for a ball because they know, in the long run, it’s going to be what helps them come out on top. As long as you can continue that when you play [in Boston], you’re going to be very well accepted.”2
After playing one partial and three full seasons in Columbus, the Yankees’ Triple-A farm club and ending his playing career, Hobson returned in a man- ager’s role. In 1987 and 1988 he managed the New York Mets’ team in Columbia in the Class-A South Atlantic League. He joined the Red Sox system in 1989, manag-
ing New Britain of the Double-A Eastern League. His 1990 squad advanced to the nal round of the Eastern League playo s. Around this time, Hobson also served a stint as manager of the Winter Haven Super Sox in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball League. In his fth season as a minor-league manager, in 1991, Hobson guided the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox to a 79-64 record and a rst-place nish in the International League East Division. His PawSox lost in the Governor’s Cup Championship, getting swept, 3-0 by his last minor-league team as a player, the Columbus Clippers. Hobson was honored by Baseball America as its Minor League Manager of the Year and by the International League as its Manager of the Year. He was viewed by Red Sox management as a rising star as a manager.
On October 8, 1991, the Red Sox red manager Joe Morgan and named Hobson as his replacement.“We couldn’t risk losing such a talent in our organization,” said general manager Lou Gorman.3 e Red Sox hoped they would be getting a managerial version of the tough player Hobson had been. But Hobson’s toughness as a player was not evident in his perfor- mance as a manager as perceived by the media. (Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy often referred to manager Hobson as “Daddy Butch.”) is did not bode well during a three-year period in which the Red Sox seriously underachieved.
Hobson lost his rst two games as manager in 1992 in New York. e season opener on April 7 was lost by a 4-3 score with Roger Clemens on the mound for the Red Sox. His rst win was a 19-inning 7-5 decision over the Indians at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on April 11. e Red Sox, at 73-89, were seventh and last in the American League East, their worst nish since 1966 — and their rst last-place nish since 1932. After Roger Clemens (18-11), Frank Viola (13-12) was the only pitcher with a won-lost percentage over .500. O ensively, the team hit .246, 13th out of the 14 American League teams. Jack Clark, after hitting 28 homers in 1991, hit only ve in 1992 and hit .210 in the nal season of his career. Wade Boggs hit a career- low .259 and left for the Yankees after the season.