One of the casualties of the Sox May slide was rookie starter Steve Ellsworth. The righthander was sent to Pawtucket on the 20th with a 1-5 record despite some good performances.
Now 53 and in the insurance business in California, Ellsworth has good memories of his time in Boston, despite his short stay. "Almost everyone on the team had come through the system and had things in common," he recalls. "We had all played ball in the same places-it was less intimidating than you'd think." Steve, who at 6'8" was one of the tallest men in the majors, had first signed with the Sox in 1981. He pitched his first major league game at age 27 after a long trip through the minors. Ellsworth had been a big story in spring training since his father Dick had pitched for the Sox in 1968 and 69.
Asked whether being the son of a major leaguer helped him, Steve wasn't sure: "Probably being around the ballpark since age 11 on made it kind of a way of life,' he remembers. His return to to the minors was disappointing but not a total shock. "I had two or three good games, "he says, "and it would have been nice to have more luck." He adds that teammate Dwight Evans told him in spring training "it's really hard to get here, but it's even harder to stay." Ellsworth also states that the team, including stars like Evans, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice "had some quality people…it was an honor to have played with them." Steve's career faded a year later when a shoulder problem required surgery.
A trip to the West Coast did little to alleviate the Townies' slump. They were embarrassed in a pair of games by the sixth-place Mariners, losing 14-3 and 14-1 on successive nights. Oil Can Boyd and Mike Smithson, Ellsworth's replacement in the rotation, were the main recipients of Seattle's pounding. Afterward, Boyd's ERA had jumped to 5.58, Smithson' was at 9.75, and reliever John Tratutwein stood at 11.70.
Despite reassurances by John McNamara that the team was "in pretty good shape', the fans and writers weren't buying it. A piece by ever-critical Dan Shaughnessy pointed out 12 reasons for the squad's 8-13 May record. They included another knock at the slumping Rice and the hope that Trautwein would soon be back in Pawtucket. Despite a win by Clemens over Mark Langston in the third Seattle game, Johnny Mac was on shaky ground.
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