My dad served in the Air Force when I was a kid, so we moved around the country quite a bit. As it so happened, there was another family in the Air Force we were quite close with who by sheer coincidence were often stationed at the same base we were. It's not normal to have that kind of constant presence when growing up in the military. Both of our fathers left the Air Force around the same time and joined the airlines. They got out first and we actually joined them in the same small town in Michigan as both of the dads flew out of Detroit Metro Airport.
I recall one day we were hanging out at their house discussing baseball when the mother mentioned she thought one of her old high school classmates played ball professionally. We asked who and she casually said Dwight Evans. My jaw dropped. She knew nothing about baseball let alone that Dewey was still playing at the time and was one of the best players in the league. Can you imagine being in the same graduating class as Dwight Evans? Or any professional player for that matter? I thought that was so cool, and it was completely lost on her. Oh well.
A Gary Ward solo homer off Bruce Hurst and a subsequent two-RBI double from George Wright gave the Rangers a 4-1 lead after three innings. The Red Sox tied things up in the fourth, though, with two of the RBI's coming from a Dwight Evans double. Billy Sample knocked home Larry Parrish in the fifth to give Texas back the lead, 5-4.
Things stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh. Danny Darwin had finally settled down and was inducing outs from the Boston lineup. But Wade Boggs led off with a single and Evans hit a triple to tie the game. Jim Rice singled home Evans and Darwin's day was done. Boston eventually stretched the lead to 9-5. Texas scored two in the ninth but the Ranger rally fell short.
Winning Pitcher - Bruce Hurst
Losing Pitcher - Mike Mason
Save - John Henry Johnson
Player of the Game - Evans, 2-5, 2B, 3B, 3RBI's, 1R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice
That's Dwight Evans' third POG honor. He's tied with Bob Knepper for the Statis Pro lead.
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