Lou Gorman

In the months preceding the 1984 season, the Red Sox were embroiled in a legal dispute involving two ownership factions seeking control of the team. Gorman was named a vice president of baseball operations in the Boston front office in January 1984; then, five months later, when the legal case was settled, he was officially appointed vice president and general manager, succeeding co-owner Haywood Sullivan, who moved up to chief executive officer.[6][7] When Gorman took on the general manager job June 6, the Red Sox already had players like Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans and Bob Stanley, stars that would form the nucleus of the talented Red Sox teams of the late 1980s. However, it was Gorman's acquisitions (from the Mariners) of Dave Henderson and Spike Owen and closer Calvin Schiraldi (from the Mets) that helped lead the Red Sox to the 1986 World Series. In the spring of 1987, unhappy about his contract, Roger Clemens left spring training, which prompted Gorman to quip, "The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I'll have lunch."[8]

Though the team made it back to the playoffs in 1988 and 1990, it never got any closer to a championship than it had in 1986. Gorman made several key trades, such as picking up Nick Esasky and Rob Murphy from Cincinnati and getting closer Lee Smith for World Series goat Schiraldi and pitcher Al Nipper, but he made mistakes as well. It was Gorman who traded away future All-Stars Jeff Bagwell, Curt Schilling, and Brady Anderson in pennant-stretch deals. The Boston farm system, which had produced players such as Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks, Jody Reed and Todd Benzinger early in Gorman's tenure, developed everyday players such as Mo Vaughn, John Valentin, Aaron Sele, Tim Naehring, Carlos Quintana and Scott Hatteberg in the early 1990s, but the flow of talent was not enough to keep the club at the forefront of its division. The Red Sox were unable to retain free agents Bruce Hurst, Esasky and Mike Boddicker (a front-line starting pitcher acquired in the Schilling trade), and when the team returned to the free agent marketplace after the 1989 season, catcher Tony Peña and pitchers Jeff Reardon and Danny Darwin approached expectations, while high-profile signings Jack Clark, Frank Viola and Matt Young were major disappointments.

The Red Sox won another AL East title in 1990, but it was the trade involving Bagwell, at the time a third base prospect in the minor leagues, that would ultimately come back to haunt the team the most. Looking to strengthen the bullpen, Gorman traded him to the Houston Astros for relief pitcher Larry Andersen. Andersen pitched just 15 games for the Red Sox before being declared a free agent as a result of the second collusion settlement, while Bagwell would spend his entire 15-year career with the Astros, evolving into one of most productive and consistent power hitters in major league history. Thus, the trade is now reckoned as one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history, especially as Bagwell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[9] Some analysts are less critical of Gorman making a deal to acquire Anderson, and more critical of Gorman selecting Bagwell as the third base prospect to send to Houston rather than Scott Cooper.[10]

After 1990, the Red Sox faded from contention. They finished a distant second in 1991, and in 1992 collapsed all the way to last place for the first time in 60 years. After another losing campaign in 1993, wholesale changes were made in the Red Sox front office. Gorman was relieved of his general manager responsibilities after the season, becoming senior vice president of baseball operations. A few weeks later, John Harrington, who as executive director of the JRY Trust was the team's managing general partner, bought out minority general partner Sullivan to assume full control. Harrington then hired Montreal Expos general manager Dan Duquette (another native New Englander) as Gorman's permanent successor.

In his nine full seasons as general manager, 1985 through 1993, the Red Sox compiled a 751–706 (.515) win-loss record, with three division titles and one American League pennant.