Wes Gardner. Unless you were a Sox fan 25 years ago, the name means little or nothing. But as the team began spring training at Winter Haven, Gardner was regarded as a good prospect-someone to bolster an underachieving staff.
In his typical fashion, Dan Shaughnessy began an article entitled "He's Game Again" in the following way: "One game summed up Wes Gardner's 1987 season. The Sox reliever was standing on the mound in the Metrodome on September 3, leading 1-0 in the ninth with two outs and a 2-2 count on the Twins' Kirby Puckett."
"Gardner tried to throw a curve, low and away. When he let go of the pitch, he knew he'd hung it, and he watched Puckett's eyes grow big as the ball slowly approached the middle of home plate….(he) drove the pitch 459 feet, far over the left field fence. It was a majestic shot- a heat-seeking missle that threatened to collapse the Dome. In their golden years, players tell their grandchildren about such hyperbolic homers."
Shaughnessy went on to tell how Gardner gave up a double and three walks in the tenth to force in the winning run. "Untimely homers and walks, " he continued. "that was the Wes Gardner story in 1987."
Gardner had come from the Mets in an 8-player trade before the 86 campaign. The important figures were hurlers Gardner and Calvin Schiraldi coming to the Sox for Bobby Ojeda, who had always seemed on the verge of stardom but never quite achieved it. After missing the entire 86 season with torn shoulder cartilege, Gardner appeared in 49 games as a reliever in 87, and the results were not good- a 3-6 mark, 10 saves and a 5.42 ERA.
Only 25 years old, Wes was projected as a setup man for star closer Lee Smith, obtained in the Cubs over the winter. "I need to pitch inside more than anything, " he was quoted as saying. "I was still searching for myself at the end of last season. Sometimes I got a little tired and….I got behind guys when my ball is up a little and there isn't very much on it, guys catch up with it."
Wes Gardner will go down in history with a number of Sox hurlers who almost made it over the hump, but never did. 1988 would turn out to be his top season, with an 8-6 mark and 3.50 ERA as both a starter and reliever. But that was it. He relapsed to 3-7 in each of his next two years and was out of the majors by 1991. His final mark was 18-30.
The trade had not been a good one for the Sox. Ojeda went on to an 18-5 record with the 86 Mets and won the all-important third game of the World Series at Fenway. Despite a number of serious injuries in his later years, he won 71 games after leaving Boston. It was not GM Lou Gorman's finest hour.
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