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Dwight Evans

Born: November 3, 1951; Santa Monica, CA  Height: 6'2"  Weight: 180  
Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Position: Right field, First base, 1972-90; Hitting coach, 2002   #24

Dwight Evans


Dwight Evans was arguably the best right fielder ever to play for the Red Sox. He patrolled the Fenway grass for parts of 19 seasons, winning 8 Gold Gloves and working his way onto the Red Sox career leaderboards in a number of offensive categories. "Dewey" became my favorite player in 1986, the year I got officially hooked on the Sox, and he is now a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame.


Career Notes

•   Dwight Evans hit .300 with 17 HR and 95 RBI for AAA Louisville in 1972, earning him the International League MVP. He was called up to Boston at the end of the season.

•   Dewey hit .292 in the 1975 World Series against Cincinnati. In Game 6, it was his spectacular catch in the deepest part of right field that robbed Joe Morgan of an 11th-inning homer, started a double play, and set up Carlton Fisk's dramatic game-winner in the 12th.

•   Evans won his first Gold Glove in 1976. His fielding percentage was .994, the 7th highest all-time among Red Sox outfielders. His strong arm and excellent defense would win Dewey a total of 8 Gold Gloves over the course of his career, including five straight seasons from 1981 to 1985.

•   In 1978, Evans was named to the All-Star team. He played in two other mid-summer classics, in 1981 and 1987.

•   In 1981, Dewey emerged as a power hitter. In that strike-shortened season, he led the league with 22 home runs, 85 walks, 215 total bases, and a .937 OPS. The following season he played in all 162 games, and led the league with a .402 OBP.

•   He played all 162 games in 1984, too, and led the AL with 121 runs scored and a .920 OPS, while hitting .295 with 32 home runs. On June 28, 1984, he hit for the cycle in a game against Seattle.

•   Dewey led the Sox with 9 RBI in the 1986 World Series against the Mets, including homers in Game 2 and Game 7.

•   Evans hit 251 homers from 1981 to 1990, more than any other AL player during that decade.

•   Dewey finished his Red Sox career among the all-time team leaders in several categories. He is 2nd in games and at-bats; 3rd in runs, doubles, walks, and extra-base hits; and 4th in home runs, RBI, hits, and total bases. He played his last season with Baltimore.

•   In 2000, Dwight Evans was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.

•   Dewey served as Red Sox hitting coach for the 2002 season.


Career Stats


Year  Team  AVG    G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI   BB    K  OBP  SLG
_______________________________________________________________________

1972  BOS  .263   18   57    2   15   3  1   1    6    7   13 .344 .404
1973  BOS  .223  119  282   46   63  13  1  10   32   40   52 .320 .383
1974  BOS  .281  133  463   60  130  19  8  10   70   38   77 .335 .421
1975  BOS  .274  128  412   61  113  24  6  13   56   47   60 .353 .456
1976  BOS  .242  146  501   61  121  34  5  17   62   57   92 .324 .431
1977  BOS  .287   73  230   39   66   9  2  14   36   28   58 .363 .526
1978  BOS  .247  147  497   75  123  24  2  24   63   65  119 .336 .449
1979  BOS  .274  152  489   69  134  24  1  21   58   69   76 .364 .456
1980  BOS  .266  148  463   72  123  37  5  18   60   64   98 .358 .484
1981  BOS  .296  108  412   84  122  19  4  22   71   85   85 .415 .522
1982  BOS  .292  162  609  122  178  37  7  32   98  112  125 .402 .534
1983  BOS  .238  126  470   74  112  19  4  22   58   70   97 .338 .436
1984  BOS  .295  162  630  121  186  37  8  32  104   96  115 .388 .532
1985  BOS  .263  159  617  110  162  29  1  29   78  114  105 .378 .454
1986  BOS  .259  152  529   86  137  33  2  26   97   97  117 .376 .476
1987  BOS  .305  154  541  109  165  37  2  34  123  106   98 .417 .569
1988  BOS  .293  149  559   96  164  31  7  21  111   76   99 .375 .487
1989  BOS  .285  146  520   82  148  27  3  20  100   99   84 .397 .463
1990  BOS  .249  123  445   66  111  18  3  13   63   67   73 .349 .391
1991  BAL  .270  101  270   35   73   9  1   6   38   54   54 .393 .378
_______________________________________________________________________

TOTALS     .272 2606 8996 1470 2446 483 73 385 1384 1391 1679 .370 .470


Evans Honored the Right Way
Team makes spot in its Hall for him

By Larry Whiteside, Boston Globe Staff, 2/17/2000

His peers will tell you that Dwight Evans was the best there will ever be when it comes to roaming Fenway Park's spacious right field.

That's why it comes as no surprise that he would be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame at the enshrinement dinner May 18 at the Sheraton Boston. Evans, who played in 2,505 games for Boston from 1972-1990 before playing one season with Baltimore, will be honored with pitchers Bill Monbouquette and Bob Stanley.

Dwight Evans ''I enjoyed my time with the Red Sox,'' Evans said from his California home last night. ''I spent three years in the minors and 18 years with the big club. That's a long time. I had some fun. We were all together on some great teams.''

Evans had 2,373 hits for the Sox, including 379 home runs. He played in two World Series (1975 and '86), hitting .300 in 14 games with 14 RBIs.

''No, we didn't win and it will always stick out in my memory that we couldn't win a World Series,'' he said. ''We were close in 1986 and yet so far away. But I can stand back and look at that year and say it was great for me and what a great event it was for all the people who loved baseball.''

The '75 Series was a first for Evans, then 23. He never thought that it would take 11 years before he'd play in another one. ''I thought we had a team that would go the next five years and win three championships,'' he said. ''We really did have the talent to do it and I don't know why it never happened. We had wonderful teams, great players, and great chemistry.

''People ask me about the most exciting time of my career. It had to be the World Series and the 25 guys who played together in good times and bad times to get there. You fought. You hugged. You were like brothers.''

From 1981-90, Evans hit 251 homers, the most of any American League player. In the strike-shortened '81 season, Evans tied for the league lead with 22.

But it was his fielding at Fenway that made him a hero to the Fenway Faithful. Evans, who won eight Gold Gloves, would pick fly balls out of a blazing sky with relative ease. In '76, Evans made only two errors and had a .994 fielding percentage, fifth best all-time. Six times Evans threw out 10 or more runners in a season; he had 15 assists three times.

This story ran in the Boston Globe on 2/17/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.



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