Dwight Evans

Dwight Evans: Red Sox legend, eight-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger, and Hall of Fame finalist.

Dwight Michael "Dewey" Evans (born November 3, 1951) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and right-handed batter who played with the Boston Red Sox (1972–1990) and Baltimore Orioles (1991) in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a three-time All-Star, won eight Gold Glove Awards, and won two Silver Slugger Awards. Evans played the second-most career games for the Red Sox of any player, surpassed only by Carl Yastrzemski.

Quick Facts

Position: Right fielder
Born: 3 November 1951
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: September 16
Debut year: 1972
Debut team: Boston Red Sox

Lore & Background

Evans was born in Santa Monica, California. He played Pony League and Colt League baseball in Northridge, California, with Doug DeCinces. He attended Granada Hills High School in the tenth grade, then transferred to Chatsworth High School, from which he graduated in 1969. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1969 MLB draft by the Red Sox, with the 107th overall pick.

He acquired the nickname "Dewey" while playing for Winston-Salem in 1971, coined by manager Don Lock. In 1972, with Louisville, Evans was named MVP of the International League. He made his major league debut with the Red Sox on September 16, 1972. Evans was the Red Sox regular right fielder starting in 1973.

He hit for the cycle on June 28, 1984. In 1986, he hit a home run on opening day on the first pitch of the MLB season. As recently as 2016, Evans has said publicly that he has never watched any highlight films of the 1986 World Series because the memory remains too painful. In his 19 years with Boston, Evans batted .272 with 379 home runs and 1,346 RBIs in 2,505 games.

Only Carl Yastrzemski played more games for the Red Sox. Evans signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles on December 6, 1990. He was released by the Orioles in spring training on March 15, 1992. Evans spent two seasons as an MLB hitting coach: 1994 with the Colorado Rockies, and 2002 with the Red Sox.

He was named a Player Development Consultant for the Red Sox in 2003. In 2000, Evans was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. He was dropped from the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot after his third year of eligibility. In November 2019, Evans was included as a Modern Baseball Era finalist as part of the 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting; he received eight votes, falling short of the threshold by four votes.

In January 2021, Evans was ranked 10th by Joe Posnanski of The Athletic in a listing of the 100 greatest eligible players not in the Hall of Fame. Evans and his wife, Susan, have three children; Timothy, Kirstin, and Justin. Their youngest child, Justin, died in April 2019 at age 42 of complications from neurofibromatosis. Their son Timothy died ten months later from complications of the same disease.

Reader's Guide

Dwight Evans played 19 seasons for the Boston Red Sox (1972–1990) and one season for the Baltimore Orioles (1991). He batted .272 with 385 home runs and 1,384 RBIs in 2,606 regular season games. He had 157 outfield assists. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000.