Dwight Evans enjoyed a solid career in professional baseball. Many commentators on Hall of Fame worthiness have presented strong arguments for his candidacy. During his 20-year career, all with the Red Sox, Dewey was a three time all-star, he led the league in homers once (1981), and he collected 385 homeruns and just under 2,500 hits. Perhaps most impressive are his 8 gold gloves.
He first appeared in a Red Sox uniform in 1972. Before that he spent time in the minors playing for the Louisville Colonels. While developing in the minors in ‘72, reports of 20-year old Evans were very favourable. He was touted by The Sporting News as “the best outfield prospect the Louisville Colonels have had.” The list of other Colonels’ outfielders included the likes of Billy Conigliaro, Ben Oglivie, Joe Lahoud and Rick Miller.
According to The Sporting News, Evans had “shown an exceptional arm and unusual steadiness in right field. He spent nearly half the season hitting a mere .185, but since then has been pounding the ball at a .390 clip to raise his average to .299.”
Evans was described by scouts as being “cool-headed.” He wasn’t the type of ball player that was going to fly off the handle and start throwing around equipment when he happened to be slumping. From the beginning Evans was a student of the game. Throughout his baseball career he listened, watched and learned. “If I struck out, it was my fault. I’m not going to throw my bat or my helmet. I might cuss at myself, but I like to sit back and think what I did wrong” he said.
Evans explained his rapid growth as a hitter. “I started out at Winston-Salem hitting .180 in about 130 at-bats last year. Then I went something like 40-for-100 like I did this year. [Sam] Mele [the hitting instructor] got me on the right track. He knows what I look like when I’m hitting well. He told me to keep my head and shoulders in there. One thing I did on my own was to move closer to the plate. That has helped me a lot on breaking balls and outside pitches.”
When Evans first signed with the Red Sox his goal was to make it to the Red Sox in four years. In ’72, Evans had only two years under his belt, but it appeared that he was way ahead of his own schedule. Even so, he acknowledged that he sought to learn more. Evans said, “Maybe I need another year in Triple A. There are so many technical things you need to learn. Lately I’ve had a problem stepping out of the batter’s box and looking for the signal. You’re supposed to do that after every pitch. The other night, with a runner on third, I got thinking all I had to do was hit a fly ball. Darrell [Johnson] got peeved at me. He told me the next time I didn’t look he’d pull me out of the game. That’s good. That’s something I should learn.”
There were absolutely no complaints or advice provided to the young player concerning Evans’s defensive play. With the Colonels, Evans patrolled the outfield like a pro, and he had thrown out 9 base runners, five at the plate. “When I’m throwing home, I like to throw it all the way. If a cut-off man lets the ball go and it short-hops the catcher, it’s hard to handle.”
Interestingly, over the past few years many have made offensive comparisons between Dewey and recent Hall inductee (teammate) Jim Rice. They are indeed quite similar. The biggest difference in their batting statistics is that Rice’s numbers show he had greater peaks and valleys. Evans was more of a steady producer, even though he started slower and steadily improved over the years. Apart from that, when you consider Evans’s defensive prowess, something Rice could not even come close to, Evans indeed deserves serious Hall consideration.
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When Evans first signed with the Red Sox his goal was to make it to the Red Sox in four years. In ’72, Evans had only two years under his belt, but it appeared that he was way ahead of his own schedule. Even so, he acknowledged that he sought to learn more. Evans said, “Maybe I need another year in Triple A. There are so many technical things you need to learn. Lately I’ve had a problem stepping out of the batter’s box and looking for the signal. You’re supposed to do that after every pitch. The other night, with a runner on third, I got thinking all I had to do was hit a fly ball. Darrell [Johnson] got peeved at me. He told me the next time I didn’t look he’d pull me out of the game. That’s good. That’s something I should learn.”
