Clemens, Boggs, 1986 AL Champion Red Sox To Be Honored At Fenway Park
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox will honor one of the great teams in franchise history later this month.
Prior to Boston's May 25th tilt against the Colorado Rockies, the 1986 American League championship team will he honored with a special on-field ceremony.
The 1986 team came within one strike of winning the World Series, claiming the AL pennant in dramatic fashion over the Anaheim Angels. They won 95 games in the regular season, with Roger Clemens leading the way on the mound with a 24-4 record, en route to his first Cy Young and only MVP award. Third baseman Wade Boggs made the offense go with a .357 batting average (good for the AL batting crown) while Jim Rice drove in 110 runs and Don Baylor led the team with 31 homers.
The postseason was an adventure for Sox fans, with Dave Henderon hitting a dramatic ninth-inning home run in Game 5 against the Angels to save Boston's season. Down 3-1 in the series, Henderson's blast gave the Sox a 6-5 lead at the time, and they'd go on to win 7-6 in 11 innings on a Henderson sacrifice fly. Boston won the next two games of the series at Fenway Park by a combined score of 18-5 and the Red Sox were off to the fall classic, where they fell to the Mets in seven games. The Sox were just one strike away from a championship, but blew a 5-3 lead in the 10th inning of Game 6 on Bill Buckner's infamous error at first base.
All have been forgiven with Buckner though, who has been honored at Fenway numerous times since the Red Sox snapped their 86-year World Series drought in 2004. He will be among the players honored at Fenway later this month.
The following members of the 1986 team are expected to participate in the celebration (subject to change): Marty Barrett, Wade Boggs, Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, Mike Brown, Bill Buckner, Roger Clemens, Steve Crawford, Pat Dodson, Dwight Evans, Bill Fischer, Rich Gedman, Mike Greenwell, Walt Hriniak, Rene Lachemann, Tim Lollar, Steve Lyons, Joe Morgan, Jim Rice, Ed Romero, Joe Sambito, Jeff Sellers, Dave Stapleton, Mike Stenhouse, Sammy Stewart, Marc Sullivan, La Schelle Tarver, Mike Trujillo, and Rob Woodward.
There will also be a special tribute to Henderson, who died of a massive heart attack last December at age 57. Henderson's widow, Nancy, is scheduled to be in attendance.
The Red Sox are also retiring Wade Boggs' No. 26 the following night on May 26.
