Famed 1975 Red Sox outfielders Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans.
wasn’t sure we would have enough pitching. Yes better, but taking
the Reds to a seven-game World Series? That thought never even
occurred to me!”
Even the loquacious Bill Lee hedged his predictions. “I felt pretty
good about our team,’’ he would say later. “But I wanted to see just
how good Jim Rice and Fred Lynn really were before I gave my final
predictions.”
GOLD IN THE OUTFIELD
There was a lot of concern about pitching depth for the 1975
Red Sox, including both the starters and the bullpen. There was
additional concern about the depth in the infield. But there was a
surplus of talent in the outfield, where rookies Rice and Lynn were
about to alter the face of the ballclub.
Center fielder Rick Miller, for example, had been with the team for
four seasons and at the end of the ‘74 season was penciled in as
the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter in ‘75.
“I worked extensively with Johnny Pesky on hitting the ball on the
ground to use my speed, and the skills a good leadoff hitter needs,’’
Miller said. “I was really looking forward to training camp and the
regular season to follow.”
Miller would have been a starter for most major league teams, and
the same was true for Carbo. “I had started in the outfield for the
Reds and the Cardinals and I wanted to play every day,” Bernie said.
And then there was outfielder Juan Beniquez. He had played in over
100 games for Boston in 1974, and showed a lot of potential at the
plate. He was a strong candidate to play every day.
But in the outfield mix came two of the most ballyhooed rookies in
Red Sox history: Rice and Lynn, dubbed the Gold Dust Twins. Lynn
had turned 23 just before spring training; Rice turned 22 on March 8.
Rice was a first-round selection in the 1971 MLB Amateur Draft and
had hit for average and shown power at each minor-league stop
over four seasons. He wasn’t known for his defense in the outfield
but worked tirelessly with Red Sox special instructor Sam Mele in
spring training and made himself a credible defender.
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