May 20, 1993: Blue Jays say ‘Cheers’ to the Red Sox at Fenway

On May 20, 1993, Boston found itself in the national spotlight. Cheers, NBC’s popular Thursday night TV show set in Boston and featuring a fictional retired Red Sox reliever and his friends, was about to air for the final time, ending an 11-year run. To mark the occasion, the show’s stars traveled to Boston for a live episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at the Bull & Finch Pub that aired on NBC immediately following the Cheers finale.1 The event was expected to draw thousands of people into the heart of Boston, with 500 people attending the taping and many more watching both the Cheers finale and The Tonight Show on a big screen on the Boston Common.2

All of this was in addition to that night’s Red Sox game at Fenway Park, which saw the Olde Towne Team facing the defending World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays.

The Cheers cast was originally supposed to be the only show in town on May 20, but a rainstorm on May 18 forced a Red Sox makeup game two nights later. Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy floated the suggestion that actor Ted Danson, who starred as fictional pitcher-turned-barkeep Sam “Mayday” Malone, throw out the first pitch on May 20.3 John Ratzenberger, who played mailman Cliff Clavin, threw out the first pitch the previous night.4 Despite a 6 P.M. start that would have given Danson time to get to the Bull & Finch Pub for The Tonight Show, the suggestion was not taken.

Both teams entered the game with a record of 21-18 and in a tie for third place in the American League East Division. The Red Sox had dropped the first game, on May 17, then won a 10-5 blowout on May 19, putting up 10 runs in the first two innings against starter Dave Stewart.5 The Blue Jays, who had defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1992 World Series, were looking to get their season going.

Back in Toronto, the SkyDome was hosting a viewing party for Cheers free of charge.6 In a testament to the show’s popularity, 40,000 fans went to the Blue Jays’ ballpark to watch a fictional Red Sox reliever say farewell.7

The Red Sox took the field on a rainy night in front of only 18,219 fans, the lowest attendance at the ballpark since August 22, 1991.8 By comparison, 27,465 fans had passed through the turnstiles at Fenway Park the night before. The Cheers finale was likely a contributing factor to the decreased attendance. More households in the Greater Boston area watched the finale than had watched either 1986’s Super Bowl XX (which featured the New England Patriots) or Game Seven of the 1986 World Series (which featured the Red Sox).9

In the top of the first, Boston starter Frank Viola gave up only a single to Paul Molitor, who had signed with Toronto as a free agent in December 1992 after 15 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. In the bottom of the inning, Blue Jays starter Juan Guzmán set down the top of the Red Sox lineup in order.

John Olerud walked to begin the second inning and Ed Sprague moved him to third with a line-drive double to short left field. Pat Borders scored both runners with another double. The Red Sox struck back in the bottom of the inning when Guzmán, leading the league in wild pitches, threw one with Bob Melvin at the plate and two outs. Billy Hatcher scored from third. Guzmán walked Melvin to put runners on first and second but ended the inning by striking out John Valentin.

In the third, Molitor tripled and scored on Joe Carter’s groundout. Olerud followed with a double, putting another runner in scoring position. Shortstop Valentin threw out Olerud at third on Ed Sprague’s grounder. Viola struck out Darrin Jackson to keep the Blue Jays’ lead at 3-1.

The Red Sox narrowed the margin to one in the bottom half on smart baserunning by Scott Fletcher, who walked to start the inning. Fletcher stole second and made it to third on Carlos Quintana’s groundout. Mo Vaughn brought him home on a line-drive single.

Hatcher’s baserunning tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the fourth. He started the inning by grounding a single to left field. He stole second and then moved to third on a lineout to right by Ernie Riles. Valentin scored Hatcher on a line-drive single to left. Fletcher walked to put Valentin in scoring position but Guzmán induced a lineout to left from Scott Cooper.

In the seventh inning, Red Sox manager Butch Hobson removed Viola. Reliever Paul Quantrill struck out Roberto Alomar and Molitor, but ran into trouble when Carter hit a fly-ball triple to right field. Quantrill intentionally walked Olerud and got out of the inning on Sprague’s fielder’s choice groundout to shortstop Valentin.

In the bottom of the inning, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston went to the bullpen and brought Tony Castillo into the game. Castillo got two outs and gave up a single to Vaughn, after which Gaston summoned Danny Cox. Cox ended the inning by getting Iván Calderon to pop to second.

The Red Sox again threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Hatcher led off with a line-drive single to center field. Riles hit a groundball with the runner in motion, but Hatcher was thrown out at second. During his slide, Hatcher grabbed Toronto shortstop Alfredo Griffin’s hand and prevented the throw to first to complete the double play.10 Umpire Don Denkinger ruled that Hatcher had interfered with the play and called Riles out at first.11 The Red Sox showed signs of life when Melvin doubled, prompting the insertion of Jeff Richardson as a pinch-runner. Valentin reached on a fielding error by shortstop Griffin that moved Richardson to third. But Fletcher grounded to Griffin, who made the play at first to end the inning.

In the ninth, the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup made the Red Sox regret not capitalizing on their opportunities. Devon White reached on a leadoff bunt up the third-base side. Alomar sacrificed White to second. Molitor lined a single to right field that moved White to third. Carter brought the run home with a liner that banged off Quantrill’s glove and landed in front of second baseman Fletcher, who threw to second to record the out.12 White scored on the play and gave the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead. Lefty specialist Tony Fossas replaced Quantrill and walked Olerud. Hobson made another call to the bullpen and brought in Greg Harris, who struck out Sprague to end the inning.

Gaston sent in Duane Ward to close out the game. Ward set down Cooper, Bob Zupcic, and Vaughn in order to secure a 4-3 victory for the Blue Jays. Danny Cox picked up his third win of the year, Paul Quantrill got his third loss, and Duane Ward picked up his 10th save.

Any Red Sox fan who decided to head to Fenway Park instead of watching the Cheers finale went home disappointed. The disappointment would not end there. While the Blue Jays were able to right the ship and repeat as World Series champions in 1993, the Red Sox finished the season with an 80-82 record, their second straight losing season.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Jim Sweetman and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Trading Card DB.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS199305200.shtml 

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1993/B05200BOS1993.htm

Notes

1 Cheers was filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles, but its exterior shots were filmed at the Bull & Finch Pub on Boston’s Beacon Street.

2 Thomas C. Palmer Jr., “Cheers End Expected to Create Traffic Snarl,” Boston Globe, May 20, 1993: 32.

3 Dan Shaughnessy, “Fenway Visit by Sam Malone Would Certainly Bring a Little Cheer to the Place,” Boston Globe, May 19, 1993: 74.

4 Mark Zeisberger, “Second Time Unlucky for Stewart,” Financial Post (Toronto), May 20, 1993: 59.

5 Larry Whiteside, “Red Sox Take It Out on Stewart, Rip Jays,” Boston Globe, May 20, 1993: 61.

6 Daniel Cerone, “Separation Anxiety in Prime Time,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1993: A20.

7 Elizabeth Payne, “Last Call: 40,000 Bid Farewell to Cheers,” Ottawa Citizen, May 21, 1993: 1.

8 Nick Cafardo, “Red Sox Fall Short vs. Jays,” Boston Globe, May 21, 1993: 39.

9 Susan Bickelhaupt, “NBC Cheers Finale a Ratings Bonanza,” Boston Globe, May 22, 1993: 23.

10 Cafardo.

11 Cafardo.

12 Tom Slater, “Cox Escapes Jam in Jays’ Win,” Ottawa Citizen, May 21, 1993: C2.