[Moriarty9]

1995: World Series Champions
Red Sox win first title since 1918

In my first season as GM of the Boston Red Sox, the team exceeded everybody's expectations and won 101 games in the regular season en route to its first World Series championship since 1918.

The team's 101-61 record was the best in the American League (only the Houston Astros, with 102 wins, had a better record in all of baseball). The hated New York Yankees finished 11 games back with a 90-72 record, falling just 1 game short in the race for the Wild Card.

The team drew more than 3.5 million fans (highest total in AL) to Fenway Park with a $52.6 million payroll (7th highest in AL).

KEY OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTORS
Mo Vaughn, 1B (All Star, MVP)
In 158 games, Vaughn hit .329 with 47 HR, 144 RBI and 153 runs scored. The All Star led the league in homers and RBI, was third in hits and OPS, fifth in OBP and sixth in batting average. At the season's end, Vaughn was honored with the MVP award.

Reggie Jefferson, DH (Batting Champion)
Appearing in 140 games, Jefferson hit 26 HR, 114 RBI and scored 100 runs while hitting a league-leading .356 average.

Jose Valentin, 2B (All Star, Gold Glove)
Acquired during a late April trade, Valentin hit .283 with 15 HR, 67 RBI and 104 runs in 127 games.

John Valentin, SS (Gold Glove)
Valentin sparkled on defense, winning the Gold Glove award, but was no slouch at the plate as he hit .316 with 23 HR, 83 RBI and scored 135 runs while stealing 20 bases.

Tim Naehring, 3B
Despite Mo Vaughn's tendency to unclog the bases, Naehring took advantage of every RBI opportunity he got and hit .307 with 20 HR, 122 RBI and scored 101 runs in 153 games. His fine work at the plate and in the field resulted in a two-year, $9.3 million contract extension.

OFFENSIVE DISAPPOINTMENTS
Mike Macfarlane, C (traded to Brewers)
Although he was never an offensive star, Macfarlane struggled mightily to open up the season. Appearing in just 15 games with Boston, Macfarlane hit .125 with three RBI, striking out 11 times in 48 at bats before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jose Canseco, DH (traded to Brewers)
Considering his track record, Boston may have acted a little quickly in trading the slugger to Milwaukee because of a very slow start to the season. Canseco hit just .212 with one homer and nine RBI in 17 games, striking out 23 times in 66 at bats with Boston.

KEY PITCHING CONTRIBUTORS
Roger Clemens (Staff Ace)
The Rocket went 17-9 with a 4.07 ERA and 219 strikeouts as the staff ace.

Zane Smith (Southpaw Starter)
Smith was a pleasant surprise for the Red Sox, going 15-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 30 games. He was unbeaten in the postseason, posting a 3-0 record with a 4.15 ERA in four starts.

Vaughn Eshelman (Swing Man)
The lefty worked primarily out of the Boston bullpen (30 relief appearances), but did make six starts for the Red Sox. Eshelman performed well in both roles, going 7-4 with 2 saves and a 2.60 ERA in 83 innings pitched.

Ken Ryan (Closer)
Boston's closer went 4-5 with 37 saves, posting a 4.08 ERA in 62 relief appearances for the Red Sox.

NOTEABLE TRANSACTIONS
Canseco dealt to Brewers in seven-player swap
To Boston Red Sox: B.J. Surhoff, Pat Listach, Bob Scanlan, Jose Valentin
To Milwaukee Brewers: Jose Canseco, Mike Macfarlane, Juan Bell
Canseco (.212, 1 HR, 9 RBI in 17 games) and Macfarlane () struggled at the plate in their short time with Boston. Canseco rebounded after the trade, hitting .276 with 41 HR and 134 RBI in 135 games, including his 300th home run and 1,000th RBI. He led the league in strikeouts with 184 and, after filing for free agency in November, signed a two-year deal with the Florida Marlins. Canseco would go on to play with five teams through the remaining eight years of his career before retiring with 498 career home runs.
Valentin was a key contributor for the Red Sox after the trade but would be traded away early in the 1996 season.
Surhoff took over behind the plate for Macfarlane in Boston before his defensive shortcomings (his arm in particular) resulted in a move to the outfield. He hit .288 with 6 HR and 27 RBI in 51 games with the Red Sox before his season ended with a dislocated shoulder on June 28. He became a free agent at season's end and signed with the Marlins.

Steinbach heads to Boston in six-player deal
To Boston Red Sox: Terry Steinbach, Mark Acre, Jim Corsi
To Oakland Athletics: Bill Haselman, Stan Belinda, Terry Shumpert
With their catcher's defense becoming a problem, the Red Sox traded for Steinbach to provide a solid backstop while also improving their lineup. Steinbach hit .281 with 21 HR and 86 RBI in 136 games between Boston and Oakland, including .279 with 13 HR and 62 RBI in 92 games with the Red Sox. He performed very well in the playoffs, hitting .302 with four homers and 17 RBI in 16 games. Acre made just four appearances with Boston in 1995 and spent the rest of his career in the Red Sox organization. His career was highlighted by his 1996 season in which he saved 23 games and posted a 2.66 ERA in 51 games with Boston. Corsi went 3-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 33 games with the Red Sox and was traded in the off-season.
The most successful of the players sent to Oakland proved to be Shumpert, who hit six homers and 32 RBI in 360 at bats with the A's. He retired in 2003 with a .235 average and 106 home runs.

THE PLAYOFFS
Division Series: Brewers v. Red Sox
The AL East Champion Red Sox (101-61) defeated the AL Wild Card winning Milwaukee Brewers (91-71) in four games.

Division Series: Indians v. Rangers
The AL Central Champion Indians (97-65) swept the AL West Champion Texas Rangers (90-72) in three games.

Division Series: Astros v. Braves
The NL Central Champion Houston Astros (102-60) swept the NL East Champion Atlanta Braves (97-65) in three games.

Division Series: Cardinals v. Padres
The NL West Champion San Diego Padres (97-65) were taken to the limit by the NL Wild Card winning St. Louis Cardinals (87-75), advancing to the NLCS after playing all five games of the division series.

ALCS: Indians v. Red Sox
The best two teams in the AL squared off for the pennant, playing six games in the best-of-seven ALCS. Boston took the series 4-2.

NLCS: Astros v. Padres
Baseball's best record fell in the seventh game of the NLCS as the Astros were defeated by the Padres.

World Series: Padres v. Red Sox
The Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918 by defeating the NL's San Diego Padres in six games.

AWARDS
Vaughn, Larkin claim MVP honors
Mo Vaughn of the Red Sox (.329, 47 HR, 144 RBI) won the AL MVP. Vaughn led the AL in runs scored (153), total bases (384), home runs (47) and RBI (144).
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was named NL MVP with a .318 average, 15 HR and 79 RBI, beating out Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell for the award. Larkin's 64 stolen bases led the NL.

Tewksbury, Sanders win Cy Young Awards
Texas Rangers pitcher Bob Tewksbury was given the AL Cy Young Award with an 18-10 record and 3.23 ERA. Tewksbury led the AL in innings pitched (242 2/3) and was second in the league in ERA (3.23), wins (18)
San Diego Padres pitcher Scott Sanders took home the NL Cy Young Award after an 18-5 season in which he posted a league best 2.42 ERA.

Higginson, Nomo baseball's top rookies
Detroit Tigers outfielder Bobby Higginson's .314 average, 25 HR and 108 RBI was good enough to win the AL's Rookie of the Year award. Higginson was tied with several others for the league lead in sacrifice flies with nine.
Japanese import Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the NL's best rookie this year. Nomo went 16-14 with a 4.38 ERA and 230 strikeouts for LA. He led the NL in strikeouts per 9 innings (10.0) and was second in strikeouts with 230.