Dwight Evans (baseball)
Dwight Evans | ||
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Dwight Michael "Dewey" Evans (born November 3, 1951) is an American former professional
Early years
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Evans was born in
Playing career
Evans was drafted in the fifth round of the
Evans acquired the nickname "Dewey" while playing for Winston-Salem in 1971. It was coined by manager Don Lock who had already called Don Newhauser "Newie" and another teammate "Louie".[1] In 1972, with Louisville, Evans was named MVP of the International League.[2]
Boston Red Sox
Evans made his major league debut with the Red Sox on September 16, 1972, during a Red Sox 10–0 win over the
Evans was the Red Sox regular right fielder starting in 1973, a role he would have until 1987. In 1973 he batted .223 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs, and in 1974 he batted .281 with 10 home runs and 70 RBIs. In 1975, the Red Sox won the AL East and then swept the Oakland Athletics in the 1975 ALCS. Evans batted 1-for-10 against Oakland, being held to a double in the first game. In the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Evans batted 7-for-24 (.292) with a home run and five RBIs. In the historic sixth game, with the score tied 6–6 in the 11th inning, Evans made a spectacular catch of a drive hit by Reds second baseman Joe Morgan; Evans then threw to first base to complete an inning-ending double play.[4][5] Carlton Fisk hit his famous walk-off home run in the 12th inning to win the game for the Red Sox, 7–6, forcing a seventh game, which was won the next day by the Reds.
From 1976 through 1980, Evans batted an overall .260 with 94 home runs and 279 RBIs; he was limited to 73 games in 1977 by a knee injury; in each of the other years he appeared in at least 146 games. He was named an All-Star in 1978; he would be an All-Star twice more during his career. In 1981, despite the strike-shortened season, Evans had his best all-around year. He paced the league in total bases (215), OPS (.937), walks (85), times on base (208), and tied Eddie Murray, Tony Armas and Bobby Grich for the home run title with 22. He also ranked second in runs scored (84) and on-base percentage (.415), and third in slugging percentage (.522). He added a .296 batting average with 71 RBIs, was an All-Star for the second time, and received his first Silver Slugger Award.
On Opening Day of 1982, the Red Sox were visiting the Milwaukee Brewers, and Evans watched Sixto Lezcano's famous walk off grand slam in the bottom of the Ninth sail over his head. Brewers announcer Bob Uecker called the homerun as follows: "Here's a drive to deep right-center, way back goes Evans. It's got a chance to gooooo, GOOOONE !!!!!".[6]
From 1982 through 1985, Evans batted an overall .274 with 115 home runs and 338 RBIs; in both 1982 and 1984 he played in every Red Sox game. On June 28, 1984, he
In 1987, at age 35, Evans recorded career highs in batting average (.305), home runs (34) and RBIs (123). He was named an All-Star for the third time of his career, won his second Silver Slugger Award, and finished fourth in MVP voting.[10] Defensively, he started 77 games at first base, 71 games in right field, and four games as designated hitter (DH). In 1988, he batted .293 with 21 home runs and 111 RBIs, while starting 78 games in right field, 61 games at first base, and 6 games as DH. In 1989, he started 76 games in right field and 69 games at DH, while batting .285 with 20 home runs and 100 RBIs. In his final season with Boston, 1990, he started 121 games, all as DH, and batted .249 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. After the season ended, Evans was released by the Red Sox.
In his 19 years with Boston, Evans batted .272 with 379 home runs and 1,346 RBIs in a total of 2,505 games played. Only Carl Yastrzemski played more games for the Red Sox (3,308). Evans won eight Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and three All-Star honors.
Baltimore Orioles
Evans signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles on December 6, 1990.[11] He batted .270 with six homers and 38 RBIs in 101 games in his only season with the Orioles. Based on his uncertain medical status, Evans was released by the Orioles in spring training on March 15, 1992.[12]
Career stats
In his 20-year career, Evans batted .272, with 385 home runs, 1384 RBIs, 1470 runs, 2446 hits, 483 doubles, 73 triples, and 78 stolen bases in 2606 regular season games. He compiled a .986 fielding percentage. In postseason batting, Evans batted .239 with four home runs and 19 RBIs, in 32 games played. In three All-Star Game appearances, Evans batted an overall 3-for-5, and had two walks and one run scored.
Evans earned a reputation as an outfielder with one of the strongest arms in the American League. For his career, he had 157 outfield assists, including 15 in 1975, 1976 & 1979 and 14 in 1978.
Post-playing career
Evans spent two seasons as an MLB
In 2000, Evans was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.[15]
Hall of Fame consideration
Evans was dropped from the
Personal life
Evans and his wife, Susan, have three children; Timothy, Kirstin, and Justin.[21] Their youngest child, Justin, died in April 2019 at age 42 of complications from neurofibromatosis.[21] Their son Timothy died ten months later from complications of the same disease.[22] Evans and his wife have been long-time supporters of the non-profit organization Neurofibromatosis Northeast.[23] Both Justin and his brother, Timothy, were diagnosed with the disease in the 1980s.[24]
Evans' grandson, Ryan Berardino, was drafted by the Red Sox in the 34th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft out of Bentley University. Berardino's other grandfather is former player and coach Dick Berardino.
In 2011, Evans appeared in the
Achievements
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- Four home runs on Opening Days in his career, including one on the very first pitch of the game (April 7, 1986), which was also the first MLB game of the season, thus giving Evans the record for earliest home run hit in a season (tied by Ian Happ on March 29, 2018).[27]
- Only player with 10+ home runs from every spot in the batting order[28]
- Records (ranked within top 100)
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Rankings updated April 26, 2019
See also
- Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
References
- ^ Trask, Gary. "Going deep with Dewey", North Shore Golf (magazine), July 2006. Archived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "International MVP". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. AP. October 21, 1972. Retrieved December 3, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 10, Cleveland Indians 0". Retrosheet. September 16, 1972.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 7, Cincinnati Reds 6". Retrosheet. October 21, 1975.
- ^ "1975 WS Gm6: Evans makes spectacular catch in right field". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved December 3, 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ "1982 Opening Day". MLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 9, Seattle Mariners 6". Retrosheet. June 28, 1984.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers 6, Boston Red Sox 5". Retrosheet. April 7, 1986.
- ^ "Dwight Evans: It still hurts". YouTube.
- ^ "1987 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ Schmuck, Peter (December 7, 1990). "Evans signs 1-year deal with Orioles; Incentives could bring contract to $1.3 million". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Schmuck, Peter (March 15, 1992). "Orioles waive Evans goodbye; Roster crowd, injury woes make veteran expendable". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ "Dwight Evans". Retrosheet. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox – Front Office Directory". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ "Red Sox Hall of Fame". MLB.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ James, Bill (February 9, 2012). "An Open Letter to the Hall of Fame About Dwight Evans". Grantland.
- Sporting News. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ a b "2020 Modern Baseball Era Ballot". Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Cooperstown, NY. November 4, 2019.
- ^ "Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons Elected to Hall Of Fame". baseballhall.org. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ Roche, Conor (January 13, 2021). "The Athletic ranks Dwight Evans as one of the top 10 players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame". Boston.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Marquard, Bryan (April 26, 2019). "Inspirational while facing adversity, Justin Evans dies at 42". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Marquard, Bryan (February 24, 2020). "Timothy Evans, whose life with neurofibromatosis raised awareness and research funding, dies at 47". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ "24th Annual Golf Tournament at the International with Dwight and Susan Evans". Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ Red Sox Charities – SoSH | Boston Red Sox | Red Sox Rumors | Spring Training | Pawtucket Red Sox Archived 2007-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. Sonsofsamhorn.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-26.
- ^ Roaming about with 'Hall Pass'. Boston.com (2011-02-19). Retrieved on 2011-12-26.
- ^ "Dwight Evans of The Red Sox". sicovers.com. September 26, 1988. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Ian Happ hits a home run on the 1st pitch of season, Cubs hold 5-4 lead". Chicago Tribune. March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ "The rare history of players batting Nos. 1-9". mlb.com. December 4, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Games Played". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Extra Base Hits". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Times On Base". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Created". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for At Bats". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Scored". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Doubles". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Runs Batted In". Baseball-Reference.com.
Further reading
- Browne, Ian (November 6, 2019). "Evans for HOF? Here are the pros and cons". MLB.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- Crehan, Herb (2005). Red Sox Heroes of Yesteryear. Rounder Books. ISBN 157940118X.
- Nowlin, Bill (November 3, 2016). "Dwight Evans". SABR.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Dwight Evans at IMDb