For this calendar year, I will examine the season of the 1999 Red Sox– 15 years ago. Before I begin, certain things must be said. Entering that campaign, it had been exactly 80 years since a championship banner had flown over Fenway. The Sox were still owned by the Yawkey Trust, headed by John Harrington. The GM was Dan Duquette, an intelligent and thoughtful man, who, unfortunately, had communication problems with both writers and fans.
Since he took over the front office in 94, Duquette's teams had gone 395-350 for a good percentage of .530. They had made the postseason twice- winning the AL East in 95 under Kevin Kennedy and copping a wild card in 98 under Jimy Williams. Both seasons, however, had ended unhappily. The Sox fell to Cleveland twice in the Divisional round- three straight in 95 and three games to one in 98.
The 98 squad had showed a 14-game improvement over 97, but the feeling was that the team had capitalized on several career years by performers who might fade in 99. For example, Tom Gordon had emerged as a star closer, leading the AL in saves with 46. Incredibly, he had only blown one all season. Few expected Gordon, who previously had been an average to good starter, to repeat that performance. Another example was outfielder Darren Lewis, a career journeyman who had appeared in 155 games, scored 95 runs, and slammed 25 doubles with a career-high .268 average
Another question mark lay at first base, where slugger Mo Vaughn, after a season filled with acrimony toward the team's administration, had quickly signed a 6-year, $80 million deal with Anaheim. Vaughn and Normar Garciaparra had combined for 75 homers in 98, and many felt the whole would not be filled.
In his Sunday column in the Globe, baseball icon Peter Gammons listed Duquette first on his list of "Heat" forecasts for 99. He stated that Duke and Harrington had hoped to replace Vaughn with Albert Belle, but the Cleveland slugger did not want to play in Boston (surprise). Duquette was apparently close to bringing in the Yankees' Bernie Williams, but that also fell through
But another reason for the heat on Duquette would seem to be the front office's detached mentality. Gammons wrote of "the arrogant attitude of entitlement in the current ownership, which felt that all a season ticketholder should get with his bill….is the GM's letter. Far from today's fan-friendly attitude, Gammons referred to Fenway as "Yawkey Way Tower" and later stated that "human nature isn't something this franchise has ever understood" He goes on to talk about "minor league Statman memos telling managers whom to play and when based on rotisserie numbers."
The Sox were a talented team going into 99, but fans and writers did not seem optimistic. Duquette's image was one of a technocrat and despite his many strong qualities, it would ultimately prove his downfall in Boston.
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