Morgan Magic was born in the weeks following the all-star break. Not only did the Sox' fortunes change overnight, but they made believers out of everyone who had written them off.
Seldom in the annals of baseball history had a team responded to a managerial change in this manner. The same group which had foundered under John McNamara exploded for 12 consecutive victories, sweeping the Royals, Twins and White Sox before enthusiastic Fenway crowds.
Boston was already 4-0 under Joe Morgan when they took on World Champion Minnesota. DH Larry Parrish, signed over the all-star break, became an instant Fenway hero. Parrish first drove home the winning run in a 6-5 victory, as Boston twice rallied from deficits and survived a shaky Lee Smith save. The next evening he went 3-for-3 including a homer, as suddenly-tough Mike Smithson hurled 6 1/3 no-hit innings in a 5-0 win. Smithson shut out the Twins on 2 hits for 7 1/3 frames before giving way to Bob Stanley. The Bosox then completed the sweep with a 9-7 victory in 10 innings on a three-run walkoff homer by Todd Benzinger. The Sox survived a rare poor outing by Roger Clemens and another poor relief job from Smith, who could not protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth and surrendered two more in the top of the tenth. Not to worry, though, with these guys. Against relievers Juan Berenguer and Keith Atherton, Boston managed a pair of walks in the bottom half and a Jody Reed double for one run. Minnesota then pitched to Benzinger (.249, 4 homers), who had entered in the seventh as a defensive replacement, with first base open. It cost them dearly.
But Morgan did more than pilot the team to their seventh consecutive victory and 12th straight at Fenway. He stood up to one of the team's longtime stars. Furious at the manager for sending Spike Owen to pinch hit for him in the eighth, DH Jim Rice got into a shouting match and brief scuffle with Morgan in the runway. Jim Ed then dressed and left for the clubhouse, though the game was not over. According to Joe, the move was meant to allow Owen, a good bunter, the opportunity to advance Ellis Burks to second. Rice took exception, and the manager refused to back down, saying "I'm the skipper here now, and I'm the one who makes the decisions."Rice was later slapped with a three-game suspension for his actions.
Some authors later wrote that Morgan had unnecessarily embarrassed Rice, a future Hall of Famer. But at the time, the DH was roundly criticized as "a clubhouse cancer". Dan Shaughnessy urged the Sox to get rid of him. The iconic Will McDonough wrote "He can no longer contribute to the team as a player. He has never contributed as a leader." Earlier that day, the team had removed the "interim" from Morgan's name. In the space of one week, he had changed the entire image of the Red Sox. Even 25 years later, it still seems like magic.
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