Behind the Gold Glove

For twenty Major League seasons, the name Dwight Evans was synonymous with sterling defense and a potent bat. A Red Sox legend, he played in 2,505 games in Boston - second only to Carl Yastrzemski - and hit 379 home runs for the club, trailing only Yastrzemski and Ted Williams. Nobody hit more home runs in the American League and no player had more extra base hits in all of baseball than the man affectionately known as Dewey did during the decade of the 1980s, but it was his rifle-like right arm - and eight Gold Glove Awards - that established him as the best right fielder of his era.

In Dewey, Evans and baseball historian Erik Sherman take Red Sox fans back to a glorious time in baseball, filled with unforgettable World Series appearances in 1975 and 1986, legendary teammates including fellow outfield mainstays Jim Rice and Fred Lynn, and some of the most memorable games in MLB history.

Yet for all his greatness on the baseball field, the immense challenges that Evans and his family dealt with off it were even more impressive, a journey that Evans poignantly explores in detail like never before. A man who would become known for his class, dignity, and strength, Evans would use those attributes along with his wife Susan to help nurture and comfort two sons, Timothy and Justin, as they battled neurofibromatosis (NF) - commonly known as elephant man’s disease - a condition that causes tumors to form in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

Part charming memoir of an underrated star from bygone era of baseball and part exploration of a man whose inner strength sustained him through the trials and tribulations surrounding the diagnosis, treatment, and deaths of two sons who were tragically afflicted with NF, Dewey is the long-awaited full story of Dewey from the man himself.

Dwight ’Dewey’ Evans was one of the best outfielders in baseball throughout his career and one of the most popular Red Sox players of all-time. Evans was a three-time All Star, eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, won two Silver Slugger Awards, and was a key player on two legendary American League championship Boston clubs. When Evans retired from the game, he was ranked among the Red Sox all-time leaders in games played, home runs, and runs batted in. Evans was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000. He and his wife, Susan, have given a great deal of time and support to the Neurofibromatosis Northeast charity organization.

Erik Sherman is a baseball historian and author or co-author of eight books on baseball, including two New York Times Bestsellers--After the Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the ’69 Mets and Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the ’86 Mets. His other works include Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball With the ’86 Mets, Out at Home: The Glenn Burke Story, which will soon be made into a Netflix mini-series; Steve Blass: A Pirate for Life; Davey Johnson: My Wild Ride in Baseball and Beyond; Two Sides of Glory: The 1986 Red Sox in Their Own Words; and Daybreak at Chavez Ravine: Fernandomania and the Remaking of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hosts the podcast ’The Erik Sherman Show’ and is a 2023 inductee into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame for his baseball writing.