A piece of history was made at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox. Why is that historical? It is the first time the Reds have beat the Red Sox at Fenway in the regular season.
But it wasn’t the only time that the Reds won a game at Fenway. The last time they won a game at Fenway Park was on October 22, 1975. That was Game 7 of the 1975 World Series, which is one of the best World Series of all time.
The #Reds have won at Fenway Park for the first time since Oct. 22, 1975
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) June 1, 2022
The Cincinnati Reds won their first game at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox since Game 7 of the 1975 World Series
The 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox is memorable in a few different ways. The series featured controversy in Game 3 at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, five one-run games, two extra-inning games, many days of postponements due to rain, and most notably, Carlton Fisk’s walkoff home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 at Fenway Park.
After the Reds won Game 7 by the score of 4-3, the Reds won the World Series again in 1976, dispatching the New York Yankees in a sweep.
However, since the Reds and Red Sox have not met again in the World Series and interleague play didn’t start until 1997, the Reds did not play at Fenway Park again until 2005.
Here are the starting lineups for that first game in 2005.
| Batting |
|---|
| Ryan Freel CF |
| Joe Randa 3B |
| Sean Casey 1B |
| Ken Griffey Jr. DH |
| Wily Mo Pena RF |
| Adam Dunn LF |
| Felipe Lopez SS |
| Rich Aurilia 2B |
| Javier Valentin C |
| Eric Milton P |
| Team Totals |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2022.
| Batting |
|---|
| Johnny Damon CF |
| Edgar Renteria SS |
| David Ortiz DH |
| Manny Ramirez LF |
| Kevin Millar 1B |
| Jason Varitek C |
| Bill Mueller 3B |
| Jay Payton RF |
| Mark Bellhorn 2B |
| Matt Clement P |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2022.
The Reds were swept in that three-game series and swept in a two-game series in 2014. This current visit to Fenway is their first visit since 2014.
For comparison to the 2005 lineups, here are the starting lineups for each team in Game 7 from 1975 (note: neither team played with the DH as the DH was not used in the World Series. The DH was only in its third season).
| Batting |
|---|
| Pete Rose 3B |
| Joe Morgan 2B |
| Johnny Bench C |
| Tony Perez 1B |
| George Foster LF |
| Dave Concepcion SS |
| Ken Griffey RF |
| Cesar Geronimo CF |
| Don Gullett P |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2022.
| Batting |
|---|
| Bernie Carbo LF |
| Denny Doyle 2B |
| Carl Yastrzemski 1B |
| Carlton Fisk C |
| Fred Lynn CF |
| Rico Petrocelli 3B |
| Dwight Evans RF |
| Rick Burleson SS |
| Bill Lee P |
| Team Totals |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2022.
A total of five Hall of Famers in the 1975 lineup and a few others have very good cases, including Pete Rose, Dwight Evans, and Fred Lynn. Despite the Reds not being a good team in 2005, the two lineups combine to have two Hall of Famers in it and a third (Manny Ramírez) still on the ballot.