Hello readers! The game that decides it all comes in a few days. The conference championships are done, the Pro Bowl is done, and the game of all games will be here before you know it! In the post I'll briefly talk about the conference championship games, how the two teams in the Super Bowl got there, some tidbits about the game itself, my record in the big game, as well as my pick to who wins it all. Let's get started!
Conference Championships In the NFC Championship game, it pitted two great offenses in the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints. The Rams would win the game in overtime 26-23 though there was controversy in the game. There was a pass interference penalty that was not called against the Rams and sadly it was a good game nonetheless. The Rams return to the Super Bowl for the first time since they were in Super Bowl XXXVI as the St. Louis Rams.
The AFC Championship game would be much of the same story. Two great offenses with two quarterbacks helming the ship. One is considered to be "The GOAT" and the other an up and comer who could take over when the great one retires. The Patriots and Chiefs duked it out for over 4 quarters and beyond but the Patriots would win the game 37-31 on a 2-yard Rex Burkhead rushing touchdown to seal the deal. It's the Patriots 3rd straight trip to the big game.
New England Patriots Some had suspected that the Patriots would slow down a bit in 2018 and they certainly did during that time. The Pats would post an 11-5 record throughout the regular season, good enough for a 2nd seed in the playoffs. In the divisional round, the Patriots faced off against the Los Angeles Chargers. They won the game 41-28 based on Tom Brady's magnificent arm. In the AFC Championship game, they took on the #1 seed Kansas City Chiefs for the rights to go to the big dance. The Patriots would take it to overtime to win but they would get the result in their favor, with the score of 37-31. The Patriots are playing in their 11th Super Bowl in franchise history. They have played in Super Bowls XX, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, XLVI, XLIX, LI, and LII. They will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams looked to build off what they had started in 2017. They already had their best season in over 10 years, dating back to their days in St. Louis (sorry had to mention it). In 2016, the Rams returned to Los Angeles after being gone from the city since 1994. In 1995, the Rams moved out of Los Angeles, their home since 1946, to St. Louis where they stayed for 20 seasons. Back to 2018. The Rams posted a 12-4 record, qualifying them to get the 2nd seed in the playoffs. In the Divisional round, the Rams took on the Dallas Cowboys. The Rams would win the game 30-22 on the power running tandem of CJ Anderson and Todd Gurley. The Rams would take on the Saints in the NFC Championship game. The Rams and Saints would take it to overtime to win it but they won the game 26-23 on a 57-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein. They would be playing in their 4th Super Bowl in franchise history. They played in Super Bowl XIV as the Los Angeles Rams and Super Bowl XXXIV and XXXVI as the St. Louis Rams. They will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LIII Tidbits
Super Bowl LIII will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. It would be the 3rd time that the city would host the big game as they hosted Super Bowls XXVIII and XXXIV. The two games were played in the old GeorgiaDome and Super Bowl LIII will be played in Mercedez-Benz Stadium. The stadium opened its doors in 2017 and is home to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Super Bowl Halftime show will be headlined by the American pop-act, Maroon 5. They will be with hip-hop stars, Travis Scott and Big Boi. This is the first time that Maroon 5 will headline the big game.
The cost to put an ad in the Super Bowl will cost you a hefty penny. A 30-second spot in the game would cost you roughly around $5 million. Anheuser-Busch will have the most spots during the game with eight. Certainly money that I don't have lying around.
Television The network that gets to air the big game will be CBS. This will be the 20th Super Bowl that the network has called. They have called Super Bowls: I (with NBC), II, IV, VI, VII, X, XII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XXI, XXIV, XXVI, XXXV, XXXVIII, XLI, XLIV, XLVII, and Super Bowl 50.
Doing the play-by-play will be Jim Nantz, who is calling his 5th Super Bowl with CBS. He has called Super Bowl's XLI, XLIV, XLVII, and Super Bowl 50. Prior to him, such names like Greg Gumbel and Pat Summerall had called Super Bowls for CBS during its run with the NFL.
Doing the color commentary will be Tony Romo. The former Cowboys quarterback will be calling his 1st Super Bowl with CBS. He had never played in a Super Bowl before so at least you could say he is finally in one as a commentator.
Super Bowl Record
Super Bowl LIII will be the 22rd Super Bowl that I've watched that I can remember. Let alone keep track of my record of who I picked in the big game. Let's just say its not that good. Let's take a look:
Super Bowl XXXII: Packers vs Broncos (lost) Super Bowl XXXIII: Broncos vs Falcons (won) Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams vs Titans (won) Super Bowl XXXV: Ravens vs Giants (lost) Super Bowl XXXVI: Rams vs Patriots (lost) Super Bowl XXXVII: Raiders vs Buccaneers (lost) Super Bowl XXXVIII: Panthers vs Patriots (won) Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots vs Eagles (won) Super Bowl XL: Steelers vs Seahawks (lost) Super Bowl XLI: Colts vs Bears (won) Super Bowl XLII: Giants vs Patriots (lost) Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers vs Cardinals (lost) Super Bowl XLIV: Saints vs Colts (won) Super Bowl XLV: Steelers vs Packers (won) Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs Patriots (lost) Super Bowl XLVII: Ravens vs 49ers (lost) Super Bowl XLVIII: Seahawks vs Broncos (lost)
Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots vs Seahawks (lost) Super Bowl 50: Panthers vs Broncos (lost) Super Bowl LI: Patriots vs Falcons (won) Super Bowl LII: Eagles vs Patriots (lost) All-time record: 8-12 Keys To The Game
Patriots:
Keep Tom Brady Upright: The Rams possess a stifling defensive line that can pressure even the best quarterbacks around. That means that the Pats O-line needs to be like a steel wall, giving Tom Brady a chance to do what he does best.
Stuff the Rams running attack: The tandem of Todd Gurley and CJ Anderson is versatile and both can get a ton of yards each. Forcing the Rams to go one-dimensional quickly will keep Jared Goff on edge constantly.
Do Your Job: each member of your team has a role to play. The O-line protecting the quarterback or giving holes to the running backs. The defense communicating well and reacting well to plays.
Rams:
Keep the offense going: you have a great tandem of running backs with CJ Anderson and Todd Gurley. With the passing weapons that Jared Goff has, the Rams look to provide a lot of spark in this game.
Take Risks: The Patriots will fight for every second in this game. Those 4th down situations will be key to deciding the game. Fortunately, Sean McVay is just as much a riverboat gambler as Doug Peterson in last year's Super Bowl. Use trickery.
Attack Tom Brady: The biggest decider in this game will be #12 of the New England Patriots. He is the GOAT for a reason. He always thrived in games like this and will not back down if the team is down by 25. The Giants had success against him because they got to his head and kept him running around as he is not a fast runner. Eventually, the hits start to come to haunt you.
The Pick
The pick is pretty hard to choose. You got a young and upcoming team in the Los Angeles Rams, and you have the New England Patriots. Both teams have great offenses and can do well on defense when given the opportunity. They will need to have their defenses in check for this one. It could be a high scoring affair between the two. As it is in a Dome stadium. Little to no wind will be in there. There can only be one who will win the ultimate prize. I choose...
The New England Patriots.
You will have to remember that Tom Brady put up nearly 500 passing yards last year and the defense was without Malcolm Butler. The Patriots are free of that distraction and can play whatever defense they want without the distraction of whatever took place last year. If Tom Brady wins the game he will get ring #6 and it would be cool to see him possibly ride off into the sunset with the most rings by a quarterback in NFL history. The Patriots are up for a big task against the Los Angeles Rams but if they can wade the storm and hang on they have a great shot to win. Best of luck!
Aftermath
Once the Super Bowl is over the blog will geta bit quieter since there is no football after this game. Let alone no football until August. Nevertheless, if something comes up between that time, I'll post it, football related or otherwise. Until then, enjoy the game, may the best team win.
With the Boston Red Sox winning their 9th World Series title last October still fresh on people's minds, I felt that a comparison of how each of the nine championships stacks up. A sort of countdown to which championship team, in my opinion, is the best. It should be noted that each championship is worthy of being #1 but unfortunately there has to be a #1.
1918:
Record: 75-51
World Series: Boston Red Sox over Chicago Cubs 4-2
Credit: Carl Horner - Heritage Photo Gallery
With World War I still going on, the rosters of all 16 Major League were depleted, hence the record. The team that the Red Sox put forward in 1918 was still reminiscent of their previous championship teams of 1915 or 1916. It was still a force to be reckoned with despite the war in Europe going on.
The pitching featured such stars as Babe Ruth (at this point in his career he batted during when he wasn't pitching), Carl Mays, Bullet Joe Bush and Sad Sam Jones, all 10+ winners in 1918. For the position players, Harry Hooper was still the anchor in the outfield with Sam Agnew as the catcher. Such other names in the infield were Stuffy McInnis, Everett Scott, and Fred Thomas. That Babe Ruth guy at-bat wasn't too bad either.
The year for Babe Ruth in 1918 was really one that raised quite a few eyebrows. In 1918, he hit 11 home runs, the rest of the team combined for 4. He would drive in 61 runs, 26 doubles, 11 triples and had a .300 batting average. You have to remember that this was during the height of the dead-ball era of 1901-1920. Most teams would prefer to play small ball instead of going for the long ball. One could only imagine how many homers Ruth could've had if he didn't pitch.
The skipper for the 1918 team would be Ed Barrow. Barrow had been the manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1903-1904 until he was fired with a 32-46 record in 1904. At the age of 50 he would take over as manager of the Red Sox in 1918. He succeeded Jack Barry, the one-year player/manager, he led the Red Sox to a 90-62-5 record in 1917. Barrow would stay on as manager for the Red Sox until 1920. He would be inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Commision in 1953 as a pioneer/executive.
The Boston Red Sox would finish the regular season with a 75-51 record in 1918 finishing 2.5 games ahead of the Cleveland, four games ahead of Washington, 13.5 ahead of New York. Philadelphia Athletics would finish last in the American League with a 52-76 record. Interestingly enough, the New York and Philadelphia would finish with higher home run totals than Boston (20 and 22 respectively).
The National League opponent for the Red Sox in the World Series would be the Chicago Cubs. Chicago won 84 games in 1918 compiling a 84-45 record. The Cubs had such stars like Charlie Hollocher, Fred Merkle (yeah that Fred Merkle), and Hippo Vaughn anchoring the pitching rotation for Chicago. Vaughn was a 22-game winner in 1918.
The World Series was held from September 5th to 11th. Game 1 was held in Chicago at Comiskey Park, not Wrigley Field. The Red Sox had Babe Ruth throwing for them, Hippo Vaughn for the Cubs. Ruth would throw a 6-hit shutout as the Red Sox won the game 1-0.
Game 2 featured a bit more offense but it would be the Cubs that would be the victors. The Cubs would win with a 3-1 score as Lefty Tyler of Chicago would complete the game, holding the Red Sox offense to six hits and one run. George Whiteman would provide the only offense for the Red Sox with an RBI. The Cubs got RBI's from Lefty Tyler and catcher Bill Killifer (2 RBI's and 1 respectively).
The Red Sox would get an important 2-1 victory in game 3. The Cubs put in Hippo Vaughn on 1-days rest while the Red Sox sent in Carl Mays. The heroes for the Red Sox would be catcher Wally Schang and Everett Scott who would get an RBI each. Carl Mays held the Cubs to seven hits while striking out four Chicago batters. Charlie Hollocher of the Cubs would have two errors in the game.
The series would shift to Boston with a 2-1 advantage for the Red Sox. Game 4 would be held in Fenway Park. The Red Sox sent Babe Ruth to the mound to start, and Lefty Tyler would pitch for the Cubs. The Red Sox would get a 3-2 win off of two RBI's from Babe Ruth. Ruth would get a triple and a sacrifice hit in the game. It's interesting to note that the two RBI's were two-out RBI's. Bullet Joe Bush would get the save for the Red Sox.
Game 5 would see the Red Sox getting shutout based off a pretty good performance from Cubs starter Hippo Vaughn, who allowed five hits and struck out four Red Sox batters. Center fielder Dode Paskert and left fielder Les Mann would provide the offense for the Cubs with two RBI's for Paskert, one for Mann.
The Red Sox would ultimately clinch the championship in game 6. The Red Sox won the game 2-1 off of a good pitching performance from Carl Mays who would get his 2nd victory of the series. The offense for the Red Sox ultimately came down to errors from the Cubs. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, George Whiteman would reach on base from an error to Max Flack, the Cubs right fielder Carl Mays and Dave Shean would score but no RBI's were awarded to Whiteman. Fred Merkle would provide the only RBI for the Cubs.
Once the final out was recorded the Red Sox were champions again for the 3rd time in four seasons, 4th in seven seasons. It would be the pitching for the Red Sox that would get them championship #5 for them. The hitting was timely and the fielding was tight all series long.
The Cubs would return to the Fall Classic in 1929 until they fell to the Philadelphia Athletics 4-1. The Cubs would not win another World Series until 2016 when they beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games, ending a 108-year title drought.
The 1918 championship team was a sort of end of an era for the Boston Red Sox who took the title five times in 15 years, heralding one of the greatest dynasties of baseball at the time. Rivaling the Chicago Cubs championship teams of 1907 and 1908 or the Philadelphia Athletics teams in 1910, 1911 and 1913.
In 1919, the Red Sox would finish with a 66-71 record, the team's first losing record since 1908, the first year the Red Sox changed their name from Americans to Red Sox, when the Red Sox finished that year with a 75-79 record. Babe Ruth would hit 29 home runs that year while compiling 130 hits.
In 1916, the Red Sox were bought by Harry Frazee at the end of the season. Frazee, a Broadway producer, director and theatrical agent bought the team for a sum of $500,000. His love for baseball was well-known but his love for Broadway was his true love. In 1919, in order to finance one of his musicals, No-No, Nanette, Frazee would do the unthinkable (now and then). He would sell Babe Ruth, one of baseball's prominent stars, to the New York Yankees.
While it wasn't the only sale that Frazee would make during the late 1910's to early 1920's, Frazee would sell such players like Carl Mays, Herb Pennock, Joe Dugan, and Waite Hoyt. The one sale that really put the team on a bind would be Fenway Park itself. Frazee would also secure a $300,000 loan from the Yankees and put the park as collateral, essentially giving the Yankees ownership over the park.
While you can make an argument that Harry Frazee is to be blamed for the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees there were many factors that played into the sale that forced Frazee to be the ultimate heartbreaker for Red Sox fans everywhere. One such factor was American League founder and president, Ban Johnson, who put Frazee in a bind. Johnson forced Frazee to choose either the Chicago White Sox or New York Yankees to make the sale. Had the Red Sox shipped Ruth to Chicago, they might've gotten Shoeless Joe Jackson, unfortunately, the Black Sox Scandal hampered any talks of getting Jackson to Boston.
Ultimately, I still blame Harry Frazee in putting the Boston Red Sox in a hump that they would not get over for 86 years. The team would not finish above .500 until 1935, would not reach another World Series until 1946, and would not win another World Series until 2004. All the while the New York Yankees would win 26 World Series Championships between 1919 to 2003. Then again, I'm just a bitter Red Sox fan after all.
1916:
Record: 91-63
World Series: Boston Red Sox over Brooklyn Robins 4-1
Credit: National Photo Company - Library Of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
The 1916 championship Red Sox were coming off one of their best seasons in 1915 winning 101 games and beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1 in the World Series. The 1916 Red Sox would win 91 games that year witha a World Series victory over the Brooklyn Robins (now the Los Angeles Dodgers).
Helming the ship at skipper was Bill Carrigan, who had been managing the team since 1913, was a player/manager. He would have another stint as skipper for the Red Sox from 1927 to 1929. Sadly not in the Hall of Fame.
The pitching staff featured such players like Rube Foster, Dutch Leonard, Carl Mays, and the 23-game winner Babe Ruth. Ruth was only in his 3rd season when he would win 23 games. His career high was 24 wins in 1917.
The Red Sox positional players included Harry Hooper, Duffy Lewis, Larry Gardner, and Tillie Walker. Tillie Walker had 3 home runs, 29 doubles, 11 triples. Larry Gardner lead the team in RBI's with 62, batting average with .308, pretty respectable. Harry Hooper had a great year with 27 stolen bases and 157 hits. Babe Ruth had a .272 batting average, 37 hits, 3 home runs. Not bad for a pitcher.
The National League opponent for the Red Sox would be the Brooklyn Robins. Brooklyn had a 94-60 record for 1916. They had such position players like Jake Daubert, Zach Wheat and a 25 year-old player named Casey Stengel playing outfield. The Robins pitching staff included Jeff Pfeffer, Sherry Smith, Rube Marquard, and Jack Coombs. Brooklyn was returning to the Fall Classic after 26 years when they were the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in 1890. They played the Louisville Colonels that ended up being a 3-3-1 tie, note that there was no American League at that time.
The 1916 World Series lasted from October 7th to October 12th. Boston would use Braves Field to host their games and Brooklyn would use Ebbets Field to have their games played in. Braves Field was used by their main tenants, the Boston Braves. The Red Sox would use it due to the higher capacity that the ballpark provided.
Game 1 was an offensive showcase for both teams as the Red Sox won the game 6-5 with Ernie Shore getting the win and Carl Mays getting the save. Rube Marquard started for Brooklyn. Tillie Walker, Dick Hoblitzell, Duffy Lewis, and Larry Gardner would get an RBI each. Brooklyn would have four errors in the game. Ivy Olson would have two of the four errors.
The next game was a pitchers duel between Brooklyn's Sherry Lewis and Boston's Babe Ruth. Game 2 was a 14 inning affair. Babe Ruth gave up a home run to Hi Meyers but would make up for the mistake with an RBI of his own. Ultimately the game came down to the bat of Del Gainer, a pinch hitter for Larry Gardner, that would win the game for Boston. Gainer hit a single to left that would score Mike McNally, a pinch runner for Dick Hoblitzell ending the game with a 2-0 advantage for Boston.
The series shifted to Brooklyn where the famous Ebbets Field be played. In game 3, the Robins would win the game 4-3. The Red Sox had Carl Mays starting for them, while Jack Coombs started for Brooklyn. Coombs pitched for 6 1/3 innings while Jeff Pfeffer got the save putting in 2 2/3 innings of work. Ivy Olson had two RBI's, while George Cutshaw and Jack Coombs had an RBI each for Brooklyn. Jack Shorten, Harry Hooper and Larry Gardner provided the offense for Boston in a losing effort.
In game 4, the Red Sox would rebounded from the loss with a 6-2 victory. The Red Sox sent out Dutch Leonard to start while Rube Foster started for Brooklyn. Larry Gardner had three RBI's while Bill Carrigan and Dick Hoblitzell had an RBI each. George Cutshaw and Hi Meyers provided the only offense for Brooklyn.
The series moved back to Boston for game 5. The Red Sox would ultimately capture championship #4 with a 4-1 victory. Ernie Shore would win his 2nd game of the series for Boston while Jeff Pfeffer started for Brooklyn. George Cutshaw would score the only run for Brooklyn on a passed ball. For the Red Sox they would get their offense from Larry Gardner, Chick Shorten, and Hal Janvrin who got an RBI each for their efforts. Hick Cady scored a run on an error by Ivy Olson.
Brooklyn would return to the World Series in 1920 but would ultimately lose the series to Cleveland five games to two. It would not be until 1955 when the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees four games to three to win their first championship. They would move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.
The 1916 Red Sox were really a dominant team that had great seasons from both their pitchers and positional players. It was a climax of what the 1910's Red Sox teams could do on a baseball field. In 1917, the Red Sox would finish with a 90-62 record falling short of reaching the World Series where the Chicago White Sox would win their 2nd championship.
1915:
Record: 101-51
World Series: Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies 4-1
Credit: Heeritage Auctions, unattributed
After winning their 2nd championship in 1912, the Boston Red Sox of 1913 were in a down year. The Red Sox would finish with a 79-71 record, 4th place in the American League standings. The Philadelphia Athletics would win the pennant and capture the championship that year beating the New York Giants 4-1 to give the Athletics their 3rd championship.
The Red Sox would let go their manager, Jake Stahl, during the 1913 season and promoted Bill Carrigan to manage the rest of the season. Carrigan would stay on as manager until after 1916 season. Jake Stahl would lead the Red Sox to the 1912 AL pennant and win the championship.
The fortunes for the Red Sox improved in 1914 with the team fielding a 91-63 record, giving them 2nd place in the American League standings, playing 2nd fiddle to the Philadelphia Athletics who would win 99 games that year.
The Athletics would not win the championship that year as the Boston Braves would sweep the Athletics in the 1914 World Series, an upset considered to be one of the greatest in World Series history. It would be the only championship that the Braves would win in Boston until 1957 when the Braves won as the Milwaukee Braves. Still would've been cool to see an All-Boston Series, a rather Beantown Series to be sure.
One of the notable Red Sox additions in 1914 was a scrubby 19 year-old kid from Baltimore named George Herman Ruth, or Babe Ruth for short. The Babe would only record 2 wins and 1 loss with a 3.91 ERA in 1914 as he would be in baseball while living at St. Marys orphanage and school. On July 11th, 1914 he would make his major league debut. Babe Ruth would throw seven scoreless innings en route to a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Naps. It would be the start of an illustrious 21-year career.
With 1913 and 1914 behind them, the 1915 Red Sox looked forward to getting back on top of the American League. The Red Sox would post a 101-51 record in the regular season, only the Detroit Tigers with a 100-54 record finished behind the Red Sox in a 2.5 games behind margin. Pretty close margin.
The pitching rotation featured 2nd year player Babe Ruth with a 18-8 record, Rube Foster with a 19-8 record, Smokey Joe Wood with a team best 1.49 ERA, and Dutch Leonard who lead the team with 116 strikeouts. Carl Mays would save seven games for the Red Sox that year with a 2.60 ERA. Truly a dominant performance by the pitching staff.
The position players featured such names like Tris Speaker who drove in 69 runs, 176 hits, and posted a whomping .322 batting average. Harry Hooper got 133 hits, 20 doubles, 13 triples and hit two home runs. Some other names included Duffy Lewis, Heinie Wagner, Dick Hoblitzell, and Hick Cady. The batting was just as good as the pitching. Both would need to do well to keep the Tigers off their tracks.
The National League opponent for the 1915 World Series featured the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies finished 1915 with a 90-52 record. Such players on the team were Pete Alexander who won 31 games in 1915, and posted a 1.22 ERA, Erskine Meyer who won 21 games and Fred Luderus who batted .315, drove in 62 runs while compiling 157 hits.
The World Series would be played from October 8th to October 13th. The Red Sox played in the higher capacity ballpark, Braves Field. The Phillies would play in the Baker Bowl. The Red Sox were playing for their 3rd championship, the Phillies their 1st.
Game 1 would end up being a victory for the Phillies, a 3-1 score. Pete Alexander shut down the potent Red Sox lineup, striking out six batters. The Red Sox sent out Eddie Shore. Shore would give up three runs, issue four walks, while striking out two Phillies. Duffy Lewis provided the only offense for the Red Sox with one RBI, while Gavvy Cravath, Fred Luderus, and Possum Whitted getting an RBI each. The game was played in the Baker Bowl.
Game 2 would end in a Red Sox victory, a 2-1 score. The Red Sox sent Rube Foster while the Phillies sent Erskine Meyer to pitch. Meyer would give up 10 hits, two runs, while striking out seven Red Sox batters. Rube Foster only gave up three hits, one run and struke out eight batters. Fred Luderus provided the only offense for the Phillies with an RBI double. The Red Sox offense came from Rube Foster getting an RBI and a Phillies error. Speaker would attempt to steal 2nd, Harry Hooper would try to steal home, Speaker would reach 2nd on an error from catcher Ed Burns, Hooper would score.
The series shifted to Boston for game 3. The Red Sox would pull off another 2-1 victory. Pete Alexander started for the Phillies with only 2 days rest, Dutch Leonard would start for the Red Sox. Alexander would prove to be not so ineffective this go around giving up six hits, two runs, two walks while striking out four batters. Leonard would give up three hits, one run while striking out six batters. Dave Bancroft gave the Phillies their only offense in the game with an RBI single to center field. The Red Sox would get their offensive production from Duffy Lewis and Dick Hoblitzell with an RBI each.
Game 4 continued the 2-1 scoring trend with the Red Sox getting the victory. Eddie Shore would start for the Red Sox, the Phillies started George Chalmers. Shore would see redemption from his game 1 start only giving up seven hits, one run, while striking out four batters. Chalmers gave up eight hits, two runs while striking out six Red Sox. Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis gave the Red Sox the RBI's in the win, while Fred Luderus would give the Phillies their only RBI in the game.
The series shifted back to Philadelphia's Baker Bowl for game 5. Rube Foster got the start for the Red Sox and Erskine Meyer got the start for the Phillies. Foster would get the win in the series clincher giving up nine hits, four runs, striking out five batters. Meyer pitched for 2 1/3 innings while Eppa Rixey threw 6 2/3 innings in relief. Both pitchers gave up 10 hits, five runs, while striking out two batters. The Red Sox offense came from Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis getting two RBI's each, and Jack Barry getting one RBI. The Phillies offense came from Fred Luderus who got three RBI's while the fourth run was from an error on Red Sox third basemen Larry Gardner. The Red Sox won the game 5-4 and clinched the 1915 championship.
The Phillies would return to the Fall Classic in 1950 as the Miracle Phil's but would ultimately lose the series to the New York Yankees in four games. The Phillies would win their first championship in 1980 beating the Kansas City Royals in six games. The Philadelphia Phillies were the final Original Sixteen team to win a championship.
The 1915 championship team was a return to the winning ways as the Red Sox would win the championship in 1916 and 1918. Heralding the 2nd dynasty in the American League in the 1910's. The championship would be #3 for the Red Sox. It would be the last time the Red Sox won 100+ games in a championship season until 2018. It was overall one of the greatest teams that the Red Sox fielded but not quite better than the 1912 or 1903 team.
2007:
Record: 96-66
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-0
American League Championship Series: Boston Red Sox defeated Cleveland Indians 4-3
American League Division Series: Boston Red Sox defeated Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3-0
Credit: Joyce Boghosian
In 2005, for the first time in nearly 90 years, the Boston Red Sox would be defending their World Series title. The Red Sox would lose a few key members of the 2004 team with Pedro Martinez signing with the New York Mets after seven seasons with Boston. Dave Roberts, the MVP of game four of the ALCS with a key stolen base, was traded to the Padres. The team still put up a respectable 95-67 record, good enough for a 2nd place finish behind the New York Yankees. The Yankees had a 95-67 record as well but won out due to head-to-head record. The team would lose in the American League Division Series to the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox in four games. The White Sox would end a title drought of their own after 88 years. The last time they had one it was in 1917.
The 2006 Red Sox would see much more change to its team. Johnny Damon, one of the key players on the 2004 team would sign with the New York Yankees, forcing him to get rid of his iconic beard due to the Yankees stance on facial hair. The Red Sox would trade prospect Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Harvey Garcia, and Jesus Delgado to the Marlins for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota. Mota would not last long for the Red Sox as he was part of a package deal to Cleveland for Coco Crisp, David Riske, and Josh Bard.
The Red Sox started off well in 2006 with a new young closer in Jonathan Papelbon, who won Rookie of the Month in April. Ultimately it came down to a 5-game series with the New York Yankees on August 18th to 21st that would be nicknamed "The Third Boston Massacre" due to the first one in 1770, the 2nd in 1978. The Yankees would win all five games (the final scores were 12-4, 14-11, 13-5, 8-5, and 2-1). The Red Sox would not recover as they finished August with a 9-21 record and September with a 13-14 record. They would miss the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The 2007 Red Sox would see two new faces to the 25-man roster with the inclusion of Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. The biggest addition to the team would be Daisuke Matsuzaka who would sign with the team for six years worth $52 million. He would be appropriately nicknamed "Dice-K."
The team would do well in the regular season with a 96-66 record, finishing two games ahead of the New York Yankees, a team that would make the postseason again. Josh Beckett would win 20 games in 2007 while Matsuzaka would win 15 and Jonathan Papelbon would save 37 games for the Red Sox.
The batting would come to the slugging duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Ortiz would hit .332 while compiling 182 hits, 35 home runes, 117 RBI's, and 52 doubles. Ramirez would hit .296 while compiling 143 hits, 33 home runs, 88 RBI's. Only Mike Lowell (120 RBI's, .324 BA) would have a better year of the two.
In the American League Division Series, the Red Sox would face off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whom the Red Sox beat in the 2004 ALDS. The Red Sox would sweep the series in three games while compiling a run total of 19-4. The next opponent would not be a cake walk.
In the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox would face off against the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland had beaten the Red Sox in the playoffs in 1995 and 1998. The Indians had a very formidable team with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Travis Hafner, and Grady Sizemore. After winning game one with a 10-3 score, the Red Sox faltered losing three straight games, including a 13-6 drubbing in game two. Down 3-1 in the series, would score 30 runs in the three elimination games while only giving up five Cleveland runs. The Red Sox would win the series in seven games. The Red Sox would return to the World Series for the first time in three years.
The National League champion that year was the Colorado Rockies, who finished 2007 with a 90-63 record. The team featured such stars like Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Jeff Francis and Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies had to win a one-game tiebreaker game against the San Diego Padres for the division title, who would win with a 9-8 final. Matt Holliday would score the game-winning run. Colorado would dominate in the National League playoffs sweeping both the Philadelphia Phillies in three games and the Arizona Diamondbacks in four games. The Rockies would have quite a bit of time off in between the National League Championship Series and the World Series.
The World Series would be held in Fenway Park in Boston and Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. Game one would have Josh Beckett start for the Red Sox and Jeff Francis for the Rockies. The Red Sox would win the game with a 13-1 score. The Red Sox offense would get production from Dustin Pedroia, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, and J.D. Drew getting two RBI's each. Ryan Spilborghs, the Rockies designated hitter, would get an RBI to avoid the shutout.
Game two would be an opposite of game one with a 2-1 final, in favor of the Red Sox. Curt Schilling would start for the Red Sox, and Ubaldo Jimenez would start for the Rockies. Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek would give the Red Sox the offense they needed while Todd Helton would get the lone RBI for the Rockies with a groundout that Willy Taverez would score.
Game three would move to Denver, Colorado. It would be the first time that the World Series would be played in Colorado. Daisuke Matsuzaka would start for the Red Sox and Josh Fogg would start for the Rockies. The game would see more offense than game two as the game would end with a 10-5 final for the Red Sox. The Red Sox would get offense from Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell, Dustin Pedroia, and Daisuke Matsuzaka with two RBI's each. The Rockies would get their offense from Matt Holliday's three RBI's, and Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torrelba with an RBI each.
The crowd at Coors Field would hope to see their Rockies win a game in the series for game four. The Red Sox would send Jon Lester and Aaron Cook would get the start for the Rockies. The game would be a close one with the Red Sox ultimately winning the game with a 4-3 score. David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, and Bobby Kielty (a pinch hitter) would get an RBI each. The Rockies would get offense from Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe. The Red Sox would win their 2nd title in three years while Terry Francona would remain unbeaten as Red Sox manager having swept the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.
The Rockies haven't returned to the Fall Classic as of 2018. The team would reach the postseason in 2009, 2017 and 2018. The Rockies were founded in 1993 as an expansion franchise.
For the Red Sox, 2007 would seal their place as one of the best teams in franchise history at that time. It was championship #7. They practically dominated in every facet of the game and when they were down they would come back in improbable ways. They found no quit in them. Boston would not return to the Fall Classic for six years.
1903:
Record: 91-47
World Series: Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3
Credit: Elmer Chickering, Boston Public Library
In 1901, the American League was formed by Ban Johnson. Johnson would take charge of the Western League, a struggling league that had been around from 1885 to 1899, and would move its clubs to cities that had a National League presence like Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. One of the league's charter clubs were the Boston Americans, the team that would eventually become the Boston Red Sox.
The National League, which had been established since 1876, swallowed up any competition that dared to challenge them. One such league, the American Association (not to be confused with the modern American Association), which had been established in 1882, would last for 10 seasons. The two leagues agreed to play in a championship similar to the modern World Series but eventually, the league would fold in the early 1890's. Some other leagues that popped up during the first 24 years of the National League's existence included the Player's League and the Union Association, but they would not last long.
By the late 1890's, the National League and the game of baseball was in trouble. Players conducted themselves poorly, fans would get into fist fights in the stands during games, and attendance was plummeting. By 1900, the league would go from 12 teams to 8. From this, Ban Johnson knew it was his time to strike.
The league would be renamed to the American League. The new league would offer its players more money, its fans a better fan experience, and its teams a chance to compete. National League stars like Nap Lajoie, John McGraw, and Cy Young would jump to the American League. It would be the addition of Cy Young that would give Boston the star power it needed in pitching. Young had been a pitcher for the Cleveland Spiders and the St. Louis Perfectos (now the Cardinals) prior to 1901.
After two years of in-fighting between the National League owners, Ban Johnson won. The two leagues would agree to a championship to be played at the end of the regular season. The team with the best record at the end of the season would play in the championship. In 1903, the first of this championship would be played.
Boston played respectable, above .500 baseball in 1901 and 1902. The Americans would finish 1901 with a 79-57 record and 1902 with a 77-60 record. The Americans would finish 2nd in 1901 behind the Chicago White Stockings (now the White Sox) and 3rd in 1903 behind the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings (now the Baltimore Orioles). Certainly, 1903 would be a season that would give the Americans much joy and would seal their place in the early history of the American League.
In 1903, the Boston Americans would have their best season in their short history with a 91-47 record. They finished 14 1/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics, 15 games ahead of the Cleveland Naps. Giving them the first chance to play in the first championship between the two major leagues.
The Americans had such great position players like Patsy Dougherty, Buck Freeman (the team leader in RBI's), and player/manager Jimmy Collins. One other honorable mention would be Freddy Parent who had a whopping 170 hits during the 1903 season. Dougherty would have 195 dingers however.
The true stars of the team would be the pitching staff. The ace, Cy Young, would win 28 games in 1903. In addition, Bill Dinneen would win 21, Tom Hughes 20, and Norwood Gibson would win 13. Young's 28 would be the third highest while he was with the Americans/Red Sox. He won 33 games in 1901, 32 in 1902. Still a respectable number considering how pitchers were used at that time.
The National League representative for the 1903 championship series would be the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates finished 1903 with a 91-49 record. Finishing six games ahead of the New York Giants, the Pirates looked to be champions for the National League, while proving that their league was truly superior.
The Pirates in 1903 had stars like Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach, Deacon Phillipe, Sam Leever (Phillipe and Leever both won 25 games in 1903), and the great Honus Wagner. Considered to be one of the greatest shortstops ever, Wagner put up 182 hits, 30 doubles, 101 RBI's, while compiling a .355 batting average in 1903. Quite a stellar season for Wagner in 1903.
The 1903 Championship series would be held in the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston and Exposition Park III in Pittsburgh. It was held from October 1st to 13th. It would be a best-of-nine series.
Game one was held in Boston. Throwing for the Americans was their ace, Cy Young, and Deacon Phillipe would start for the Pirates. The Pirates would jump out 4-0 in the Top of the 1st, throwing Cy Young off his game. Honus Wagner would get the honor of getting the first RBI ever in a World Series game, a single that would score Tommy Leach. The Pirates would win the game 7-3. Jimmy Sebring would rake in four RBI's while Tommy Leach and Honus Wagner would get one. The Americans offense would come from Candy Lachance's two RBI's and Freddy Parent's one. Boston would commit four errors in the game. The game ended in 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Game two would give the Americans their first win an championship series for the American League, winning the game 3-0. Bill Dinneen would start for the Americans and Sam Leever would start for the Pirates. Leever would leave after an inning's work, giving up three hits and two earned runs. Bucky Veil would relieve for him. The Americans offense would come from Patsy Dougherty's two RBI's and Bucky Freeman's one RBI. Bill Dinneen would have a great game getting three hits and 11 strikeouts.
In game three, the Pirates would answer back with a 4-2 victory. Tom Hughes would start for the Americans and Deacon Phillipe would start for the Pirates with only one day's rest. The Pirates offense would come from Claude Ritchey, Ed Phelps and Tommy Leach. Leach would score a run off an error by Freddy Parent. The American's production would be from Chick Stahl and Freddy Parent.
The series would shift to Pittsburgh for game four. The game was held in Exposition Park III. Bill Dinneen would get the start for the Americans and Deacon Phillipe would get another start for the Pirates. With only two day's rest. Phillipe would get his 3rd victory in the series as the Pirates would win 5-4. The offense for the Americans came from Buck Freeman, Freddy Parent, Lou Criger and Duke Farrell (a pinch hitter for Criger). For the Pirates their offense was from Tommy Leach's three RBI's, Kitty Bransfield and Honus Wagner had one RBI to their own. The Pirates were ahead 3-1 in the series.
In game five, the Americans sent Cy Young to the mound while Brickyard Kennedy would be starting for the Pirates. The game was scoreless for five innings until the Americans would score six in the 6th inning, four in the 7th, en route to an 11-2 victory. Patsy Dougherty and Cy Young would be the juggernauts in the game with three RBI's each.
Game six was a closer matchup than game five. The Americans would get a 6-3 victory. Bill Dinneen would get the start for the Americans, and Sam Leever would get the start for the Pirates. The Pittsburgh offense was from Fred Clarke's two RBI's and Ginger Beaumont's one RBI. The Americans offense was from Jimmy Collins, Chick Stahl, Buck Freeman and Candy LaChance's RBI's each. The Pirates would commit three errors in the game. The Series would be tied at three.
In the series' 7th game, the Americans would get a 7-3 victory. It was a rematch of game one with Cy Young starting for the Americans and Deacon Phillipe would get his fourth start in the series. The Americans would figure Phillipe out with Lou Criger getting three RBI's and Freddy Parent and Chick Stahl's one RBI each. There would be a staggering seven errors committed in the game (four for the Americans, three for the Pirates). The Americans would take their first series lead with the series now 4-3 going back to Boston.
The eighth game would move the series back to Boston. The Americans started Bill Dinneen and the Pirates started Deacon Phillipe again. The Americans would win the game 3-0 and took the series. The offense came from Hobe Ferris with all three RBI's. The Americans won their first championship and gave the American League bragging rights over the National League. The championship series was a success and the demand for more was skyrocketing.
The Pittsburgh Pirates would return to the Fall Classic in 1909 against the Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers. The Pirates would win the series in seven. The Pirates would go on to win the World Series in 1925, 1960, 1971 and 1979.
Despite the fact that it is a 500+ mile drive from Boston, Massachusetts, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania there was a great consideration in calling the championship series, the World Series. It would mark a tradition that would not be matched in sports for another 60 years. At least until the National Football League would implement the Super Bowl in 1967.
In 1904, the Boston Americans would win the pennant for the American League. The New York Giants would be the National League participant. At least had they decide to hold it. John McGraw, the manager of the New York Giants, would decline to participate as he felt that the Giants won by being in a "real major league" and to exact revenge on Ban Johnson. In 1905, the Giants agreed to play the Philadelphia Athletics and would win that series in five games.
The Americans would not recover from 1904 as they would go through a rebuilding period through the rest of the decade. They would wind up in last place in 1906. A name change would happen in 1908 when they went from the Americans to the Red Sox.
The 1903 Boston Americans were one of my favorite teams and this shows. They were dominant in the American League's regular season. They had great pitching and timely hitting. When it came to the World Series, I felt that they weren't the better team. Injuries from Honus Wagner would plague the series for the Pirates. I felt that the Pirates team that the Americans faced in 1903 were not at their best, and I wanted to see them play the best that the National League had to offer. Nevertheless, I still admire the 1903 championship team, they made the American League a success.
2013:
Record: 97-65, 1st in AL East
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeated St. Louis Cardinals 4-2
American League Championship Series: Boston Red Sox defeated Detroit Tigers 4-2
American League Division Series: Boston Red Sox defeated Tampa Bay Rays 3-1
Credit: Bob P.B., Flikr
After winning the World Series in 2007, the Boston Red Sox would return to the American League Championship Series in 2008. The Red Sox would fall to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games. In 2009, the Red Sox made the playoffs but would fall to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Division Series. The dreaded New York Yankees would get their 27th World Series title that season.
After a couple of winning seasons in 2010 and 2011, the Red Sox would not get to the playoffs. They posted a 89-73 record in 2010, and a 90-72 record in 2011. It would be the 2011 season that hurt the most.
In the final month of the regular season of 2011, the Red Sox held a 9-game lead in the division. The team would post a 7-20 record for that month. On the final day of the regular season, the Red Sox blew a game to the Baltimore Orioles as the Tampa Bay Rays would get in as a wild card. There was distractions all throughout the clubhouse, beer and chicken, laziness among the players, and miscommunication. Ultimately the Red Sox would clean house as Terry Francona was gone, Theo Epstein was gone, it would be a fresh start.
In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the opening of Fenway Park. The Red Sox hired Bobby Valentine as manager. Ben Cherington was hired as the general manager. The team would come dead last with a 69-93 record. Valentine would only manage for that season. Not much was expected from the 2013 Red Sox.
The city of Boston would be changed forever when on Patriots Day, April 15th, 2013, during the Boston Marathon when two homemade pressure-cooker bombs detonated near the finish line. The place of the bombing was near Boylston and Exeter Streets. Three people were killed and injuring hundreds. The Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that two people, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were the suspects of the bombing.
On April 19th, a city-wide manhunt was implemented. During an altercation with police, Tamerlan was severely injured while Dzhokhar would run his brother over with a stolen car. Tamerlan would die soon after the incident. At 6:00 pm local time, a Watertown resident found Dzhokhar in his backyard, hiding behind a boat. Dzhokhar was shot several times before being taken into custody.
In April 2015, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of 30 charges. Such charges included using a weapon of mass destruction and destruction of property, resulting in death. He was sentenced to death in June 2015.
The country was stunned and heartbroken about what happened in Boston. There were moments of silence all throughout the Major League ballparks. During the 7th inning of a game in Yankee Stadium, they played "Sweet Caroline" a song that's played regularly at Fenway Park.
On April 20th, 2013, the Red Sox would return to Fenway Park for the first time since Patriots Day. A moment of silence was held and a speech by David Ortiz inspired the crowd. Ortiz would say "This is our f#@king city!" The April 19th game was postponed until the 21st due to the manhunt still going on in the city.
The Red Sox would rally the city following the tragedy. They really took inspiration from the stories of the survivors and took it upon themselves to play their best for them. A commemorative patch was worn by the players dedicated to the city of Boston that was worn through the whole season.
The batting for the Red Sox was led by David Ortiz who lead the team in RBI's, home runs, and 3rd in hits. Ortiz batted .309, had 30 home runs, 160 hits and 103 RBI's. Jacoby Ellsbury had 172 hits, nine home runs, 53 RBI's, 52 stolen bases and batted .298 in 2013. Dustin Pedroia would lead the team in hits with 193, had 42 doubles, nine home runs, 84 RBI's, while batting .301 in 2013.
The Red Sox pitching was lead by the ace, Jon Lester, who had a 15-8 record with a 3.75 ERA. Clay Buchholz had a 12-1 record with a 1.74 ERA (best among starters). Closing for the Red Sox was originally to be Andrew Bailey but an injury early in the season would move Koji Uehara into that role. Uehara saved 21 games while posting a 1.09 ERA that season. The pitching staff also had Andrew Miller (yeah that Andrew Miller) on the team that year.
The Boston Red Sox finished the 2013 regular season with a 97-65 record, giving them first place in the American League East division. The record would be their best since 2004, the year that they would break the curse. It would be the Red Sox first division title since 2007.
In the American League Division Series, the Red Sox took on their AL East rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays, who had beaten them in the 2008 ALCS and won game #162 in the 2011 regular season. The Red Sox would win the series, exacting some revenge on their rivals, in four games. Outscoring the Rays 26-12 in the series.
The Red Sox would face a tougher challenge in the American League Championship Series. The opponent was the Detroit Tigers, the defending American League champions. The Tigers had very capable hitters with Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Alex Avila. The Tigers hallmark was their outstanding pitching of Rick Porcello, Max Scherzer, and of course Justin Verlander. The Red Sox would prevail against the Tigers in six games. The series was very close run composite-wise, at 18-18. The Red Sox were back in the World Series.
The National League opponent for the Red Sox was a familiar one. Their opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals, had beaten the Red Sox in the 1946 and 1967 World Series, both by seven games. The Red Sox would return the favor to the Cardinals by sweeping them in the 2004 World Series. The 2013 World Series was the fourth meeting between the two in the Fall Classic.
The Cardinals that year had an exact record of the Red Sox, 97-65, earning them 1st place in the NL Central division. The team had a whopping four hitters that batted .300 or better. Matt Holliday had 156 hits, 22 home runs, 94 RBI's, batted at .300, and had had 31 doubles. Matt Carpenter had 199 hits (team leader), batted .318, 55 doubles, and 78 RBI's. Some other notable hitters were Carlos Beltran (who had team best 24 home runs), Allen Craig, and Yadier Molina.
The Cardinals pitching had 19-game winner Adam Wainwright who had a 2.94 ERA while throwing five complete games. Some other notable pitchers were Shelby Miller, Lance Lynn (both had won 15 games each). The Cardinals closer was Eduardo Mujica who had 37 saves for the redbirds with a 2.78 ERA. Definitely a formidable team that wouldn't back down.
The 2013 World Series was held from October 23rd to October 30th. The Red Sox held their games in Fenway Park and the Cardinals would have their games in Busch Stadium III. It was the 109th edition of the Fall Classic.
Game one was held in Boston's Fenway Park. The Red Sox would cruise to a 8-1 victory. Starting for the Red Sox was ace Jon Lester, and Adam Wainwright started for the Cardinals. The Cardinals offense was highlighted by Matt Holliday's home run in the 9th. The Red Sox run producers were from Mike Napoli and David Ortiz who had three RBI's each, while Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia would get an RBI each.
Game two was more in favor of the Cardinals as they won the game 4-2. The Red Sox sent John Lackey to the mound to start for them, and Michael Wacha started for the Cardinals. St. Louis got production from Matt Carpenter, Carlos Beltran, and Yadier Molina getting an RBI each. The fourth run came from an error from Mike Napoli. The only offense for the Red Sox was from David Ortiz's two-run home run. It was the Red Sox first loss in a World Series game since game 7 of the 1986 World Series, the Red Sox had won 8 straight World Series games.
The series shifted to St. Louis for game three. The Cardinals would end up winning the game 5-4. The Red Sox started Jake Peavy and Joe Kelly (yeah that Joe Kelly) for the Cardinals. The Red Sox offense came from Mike Carp and Xander Bogaerts with one RBI each and two RBI's from Daniel Nava. The Cardinals offense came from Yadier Molina with one RBI and Matt Holliday's three RBI's. The fifth and game-winning run would come from a controversial play at third base. Will Middlebrooks, the Red Sox third basemen, had a run in with Allen Craig that would be called "obstruction" on Middlebrooks. The Red Sox were down 2-1 in the series. Here's a video of the play. Good call or bad call? You decide.
In game four, the Red Sox would rebound from the two losses in the series. Boston got the victory with a score of 4-2. Clay Buchholz got the start for the Red Sox and Lance Lynn got the start for the Cardinals. The Cardinals offense came from Carlos Beltran and Matt Carpenter with an RBI each. The Red Sox run producers came from Stephen Drew with one RBI and Jonny Gomes with three RBI's. The series was tied at 2 a piece.
Game five was another tight, low scoring affair. The Red Sox would win the game 3-1. The pitching matchup was a rematch of game one with Jon Lester starting for Boston and Adam Wainwright for St. Louis. The lone run for the Cardinals was from a Matt Holliday home run. The Red Sox offense came from David Ross, David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI each. The series would give the Red Sox a series lead at 3-2.
In game six, the series shifted back to Boston. In the series clincher, the Red Sox would win the game 6-1. The Red Sox started John Lackey and the Cardinals started Michael Wacha. The only run for the Cardinals came from Carlos Beltran with an RBI. The Red Sox run producers came from Stephen Drew and Mike Napoli with an RBI each, while Shane Victorino would get four RBI's. The Red Sox won the World Series in Fenway for the first time since 1918, over 95 years ago.
I still hold dear to the 2013 Red Sox. The previous season they were in last place, in the next they were in first. They were the 2nd American League team to go from worst to first in two seasons, the first team being the 1991 Minnesota Twins.
In the face of great tragedy, like the Boston Marathon bombing, the Red Sox took inspiration and gave the city of Boston something to cheer for. Its one of the best things in sports, the ability to bring people together. Whether you're black or white, male or female, young or old, the whole world comes together and supports each other and gives people a break from the outside world.
The Red Sox were somewhat in the middle of another great dynasty of the decade, the San Francisco Giants. Had the Giants held some form of a great team in 2013, they would be a worthy team to play against in the World Series. Sadly not the case with the Cardinals, who were two years gone from having Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols, and winning the 2011 World Series.
The 2013 Red Sox would bring championship #8 to the city. It was a successful season for first-year manager John Farrell who would hold the position until 2017. It would be the last championship for David Ortiz who would retire after the 2016 playoffs.
1912:
Record: 105-47
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeated New York Giants 4-3
Credit: Vermont Sunday News; The Sporting News Collection
After winning back-to-back American League pennants in 1903 and 1904 (winning a World Series in 1903), Boston would falter in the standings for the rest of the decade. The lowest of the lows was losing 105 games in 1906. The team would slowly build back up to the top.
At the end of the first decade of the 20th century, such teams like the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers would win pennants for the American League. Only the Chicago White Sox championship in the 1906 World Series over the Chicago Orphans (now the Cubs) would be the only other championship for the American League that decade (Boston would be the first). The National League was the more dominant league in that decade. It would not last into the next decade.
Probably the biggest rival for the Americans/Red Sox during the first part of the 20th century was not a New York team, but the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics, managed by the great Connie Mack, had such great players during those years like Eddie Collins, Elmer Leonard, Eddie Plank and Chief Bender. The Athletics won the pennant in 1905, 1910, 1911, and 1913. They would win in 1910, 1911, and 1913. They were just as good as Boston during that era. Definitely a worthy opponent.
In 1912, the Red Sox would move out of their first home, Huntington Avenue Grounds, in favor of a new ballpark that was named Fenway Park. The name of the park would come from a boggy, marshland area of Boston called "The Fens" and from a nearby neighborhood called Fenway. As of 2018, the Red Sox still play their home games in the 106-year old ballpark.
It was originally supposed to be opened on April 18th, 1912 but was postponed due to rain. The park opened on April 20th, 1912. The Red Sox opponent for the game was the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees), by a score of 7-6. The continuing newspaper coverage of the Titanic sinking would dominate the news.
The Red Sox would finish 1912 with a 105-47 record, good enough to finish 1st in the American League. The closest team to them was the Washington Senators with a 91-61 record. Taking third was the Philadelphia Athletics with a 90-62 record, a down year for them.
Batting for the Red Sox that year featured some greats like Tris Speaker who hit .383 that year with 90 RBI's. Speaker also led the team in stolen bases with 52, hits with 222 (yikes) and 53 doubles. Duffy Lewis led the team in RBI's with 109 while compiling a .284 batting average.
The pitching featured stars like Smokey Joe Wood, Hugh Bedient, and Buck O'Brien. Wood posted a 34-5 record for 1912 with 1.91 ERA with 258 strikeouts. Bedient posted a 20-9 record with a 2.92 ERA with 122 strikeouts. O'Brien posted a 20-13 record with a 2.58 ERA with 115 strikeouts. Pitching was still the name of the game at this point in the 20th Century.
The National League representative for the 1912 World Series was the New York Giants. Managing them was John McGraw, the manager who canceled the 1904 World Series which Boston was the AL representative in that series. The Giants that year posted a 103-48 record. They had such stars like Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Chief Meyers, Rube Marquard. None of them compared to the true star on the team, the man nicknamed "The Christian Gentleman," Christy Matthewson. Christy posted a 23-12 record in 1912 with a 2.12 ERA with 134 strikeouts.
The 1912 World Series took place from October 8th to October 16th. The Giants played their home games in the Polo Grounds while the Red Sox played theirs in Fenway Park. The series would go to eight games.
Game one of the World Series was held in the Polo Grounds in New York. The Red Sox started Smokey Joe Wood while the Giants gave the nod to John Tesreau. Smokey would give up eight hits, three earned runs, while striking out 11 Giants. Tesreau would give up only five hits but earned four runs while striking out four Red Sox batters. The Red Sox got their offense from Steve Yerkes two RBI's while Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis got an RBI each. The Giants offense got production from Red Murray's two RBI's and Chief Meyers one RBI. The Red Sox drew first blood with a 4-3 victory.
Game two was held at Fenway Park. The Giants started Christy Matthewson and the Red Sox started Ray Collins. Matthewson gave up 10 hits, six earned runs and struck out four batters. Collins gave up five hits, three earned runs, while striking out five Giants batters. Buck Herzog gave the Giants three RBI's while Red Murray, Chief Meyers, and Moose McCormick got an RBI each. The Red Sox offense came from Jake Stahl's two RBI's with Steve Yerkes and Larry Gardner getting an RBI each. The Giants had five errors in the game resulting in two unearned runs for the Red Sox. The game would result in a 6-6 tie in 11 innings due to darkness.
Game three stayed in Boston. Rube Marquard got the start for New York while Buck O'Brien got the start for the Red Sox. Marquard gave up seven hits, one run while striking out six batters. O'Brien gave up six hits, two runs while striking out three batters. Buck Herzog and Art Fletcher got an RBI each for the Giants while the Red Sox offense came from Larry Gardner's one RBI. The final was a 2-1 Giant victory.
Game four returned to New York. Smokey Joe Wood started for Boston while Jeff Tesreau got the start for the home team. Wood gave up nine hits, one run while striking out eight Giants batters. Tesreau gave up five hits, two runs with five strikeouts. The Red Sox offense came from Hick Cady and Smokey Joe Wood getting an RBI each while the other run came from a wild pitch. The Giants one RBI came from Art Fletcher. The Red Sox took a 3-1 victory.
Game five moved back to Boston. Christy Matthewson got his 2nd start of the series for the Giants and Hugh Bedient got the start for Boston. Matthewson gave up five hits, two runs while striking out only two batters. Bedient allowed three hits, one run and struck out four batters. Steve Yerkes and Tris Speaker gave the Red Sox the offense for the game while the Giants one RBI came from an error by Heinie Wagner in the top of the 7th inning. The Red Sox won the game 2-1 with a 3-1 series lead.
Game six returned to New York. Buck O'Brien got his 2nd start for the Red Sox and Rube Marquard got his 2nd start for New York. O'Brien gave up six hits with five runs with one strikeout. Marquard gave up seven hits with two runs and struck out three batters. Boston got offense from Tris Speaker's one RBI and from a Larry Gardner who reached on base from an error by Marquard. The Giants offense came from Fred Merkle, Buck Herzog, and Art Fletcher's one RBI each. The other two were from errors from a balk and Steve Yerkes. The Giants won the game 5-2.
Game seven returned to Boston. The Red Sox started Smokey Joe Wood who was starting his 3rd game in the series. The Giants started Jeff Tesreau. Tesreau gave up nine hits with four runs and struck out six batters. Smokey Joe Wood was somewhat ineffective in the game as he had seven hits given up with six runs allowed with zero strikeouts. The relief pitcher Charley Hall didn't stop the bleeding as he gave up five more Giants runs. The Red Sox offense came from Harry Hooper, Steve Yerkes, Duffy Lewis and Tris Speaker getting an RBI each. The Giants exploded on offense with Larry Doyle, Fred Snodgrass, and Jeff Tesreau getting two RBI's each. Fred Merkle and Chief Meyers got an RBI to go along with it. The rest came from errors. The game was decided on an 11-4 result in favor of the Giants. The Giants came back from a 3-1 deficit and looked to get a championship.
There was much talk before game eight. There was a boycott from The Royal Rooters, rumors of fixing due to players not getting gate receipts from game two. In order to determine who played in the 8th and deciding game, it came down to a coin toss. Boston would ultimately win the toss and chose the game to be played in Fenway. Only an attendence of 17,034 came to watch the Red Sox play.
Christy Matthewson got the start for the Giants while Hugh Bedient got the start for the Red Sox. Matthewson gave up eight hits with three runs while striking out four Red Sox. Bedient gave up six hits with a run and struck out two batters. Smokey Joe Wood came in to relief Bedient. Wood stopped the bleeding with three hits given up with a run and struck out two batters. Red Murray and Fred Merkle got an RBI each for the Giants. The Red Sox offense got their production from Tris Speaker, Larry Gardner, and pinch hitter Olaf Henrickson. Gardner would get the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 10th. The Red Sox won the game 3-2 in 10 innings. Boston won its 2nd championship.
The bottom of the 10th inning was an intriguing one. On what seemed to be a routine fly ball for Fred Snodgrass would end up being a dropped ball, becoming an error from the official scorer. The error would ultimately become the "The $30,000 muff" due to the difference between the losing and winning shares was $29,514.34. Had Snodgrass made the play at centerfield, it might've ended up being a different story than today. The Giants were leading 2-1 at the bottom of the 10th inning. Just something intriguing to remember.
When it comes to dominant Red Sox teams, the 1912 team always comes to mind. It was a passing of a torch from one dynasty to the next. Even though the Philadelphia Athletics would win one more championship in 1913, the Red Sox would go on to win 1915, 1916, and 1918 World Series. The team had great pitching, timely hitting, strategic base stealing all the while the team won the championship in Fenway Park's first year of existence. Up until 2018, the 105 regular season wins were the most ever by a Red Sox team.
2018:
Record: 108-54
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeated Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1
ALCS: Boston Red Sox defeated Houston Astros 4-1
ALDS: Boston Red Sox defeated New York Yankees 3-1
Credit: Jeff Gross, Getty Images
After winning the championship in 2013, the Boston Red Sox would spend the next two seasons much like they did in 2012, in last place. Posting a record of 71-91 in 2014, and 78-84 in 2015. It would be the first time since 1929-1930 where the Red Sox posted back-to-back last-place finishes in their division/league.
In 2016, the Red Sox would return to the postseason with a 93-69 record with a division championship in their belt. The season would mark David Ortiz's last season. The Red Sox would run into a buzzsaw in the Cleveland Indians (who would later win the American League pennant) and lost the ALDS in a three-game sweep.
The 2017 season would see a return of regular season success with a 93-69 record and a division championship. The team would once again run into another buzzsaw in the Houston Astros in the ALDS, losing the series in four games. Houston would later win the World Series that year.
In order to achieve the goal of a championship in 2018, the team would let go of John Farrell, who had won them the 2013 World Series. His replacement was Alex Cora, a player who had played on the team from 2005 to 2008. The move was a risky one in bringing in a player who had no managing experience in the big leagues but time would tell how well the move would pay off.
The team that Cora fielded in 2018 was reminiscent of the 2017 team with a few exceptions. Nathan Eovaldi, a pitcher from Tampa Bay, was acquired by trade on July 25th. Outfieldfielder J.D. Martinez was acquired from free agency to a five-year, $110 million deal in February. Ian Kinsler, a 2nd basemen from the Angels, was acquired by trade from the Angels. The move was a defensive move as the Red Sox couldn't rely on their captain Dustin Pedroia to stay healthy.
Offensively the Red Sox were quite the powerhouse when it came to both contact and power. Every hitter from the leadoff to the 9th man in the batting order was a force to be reckoned with. They sometimes had to pull their own weight when the pitching was having a bad day.
J.D. Martinez led the team in RBI's and Home runs with 130 and 43 respectively. He was short by .016 of leading the team in batting average with his still respectable .330, only Mookie Betts had a .346 batting average. Betts led the team in stolen bases with 30.
The starting pitching coming into 2018 looked to build off what had been established in 2017. You had starters like David Price, Rick Porcello, and Chris Sale leading the bunch. Rick Porcello finished with a 17-7 record with a 4.28 ERA with 190 strikeouts. David Price had 16-7 record in 2018 with a 3.58 ERA. The ace of the staff was Chris Sale who had a 12-4 record with a 2.11 ERA with 237 strikeouts.
The Red Sox bullpen was probably their weakest point during the regular season. Joe Kelly had a 4-2 record with a 4.39 ERA. Matt Barnes in 2018 had a 6-4 record with a 3.65 ERA with 96 strikeouts. The anchor of the bullpen was the scruffy looking Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel had a good year with a 5-1 record with a 2.74 ERA with 42 saves. More on the bullpen later on.
The 2018 Red Sox were really truly dominant. One of the reasons why they were just so overpowering is they had a great lineup, played tight defense and once they held a lead, they usually kept it close to the chest. They never had a losing streak higher than three. That was during a series with the Tampa Bay Rays from August 24th to 26th during the Players Weekend.
Going into the playoffs the Red Sox won the division, held the #1 seed in the playoffs, ensuring home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and had the best record in baseball at 108-54, only the 2001 Seattle Mariners had a better record with 116-46. Not also to mention the 1998 New York Yankees had 114-48, but hey wait this is a Red Sox post.
The road to the World Series would not be a cake walk. The American League that year had two other teams with 100+ wins. The Houston Astros had 103 and the New York Yankees had 100. Cleveland Indians won the AL Central, Houston won the AL West, and both Oakland and New York would play in the wild-card game. New York easily won the AL Wild Card game against Oakland 7-2.
The Red Sox and Yankees would meet each other in the postseason for the first time since 2004. The ALDS was going to be a slugfest between two superpowers that knew each other very well. Game one was held in Boston with a result of 5-4 with a strong outing by Chris Sale. Game two was a different story with David Price on the mound. Price would get rocked early and wouldn't finish the game. The Yankees were Price's kryptonite and it was rough to see him in the shape he was in afterward.
With the day off and a change of scenery to New York. There was much buzz before game three. After game two, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge blared out Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" on the way back to the team bus. Interesting to note that this was while in Fenway Park. The team took it as an offense and they reacted to it.
In game three, the Red Sox needed a great start by pickup Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi would deliver with seven innings of work with only one run given up. The offense would deliver as well with a resounding 16-1 victory in Yankee Stadium.
The fourth and series-clinching game was a 4-3 victory for Boston. Boston would rock Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the middle innings. With the score 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th, the Red Sox called on closer Craig Kimbrel to close the Evil Empire out. It wasn't a pretty save but Kimbrel would get it done. Boston would move on to the ALCS.
The Red Sox would face off against the Houston Astros, the team that had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before. Houston had a great team that still had the pieces that helped them win the title in 2017. It wasn't going to be an easy out for them.
Game one would result in much the same way it had before. The Astros got to Chris Sale early and would leave the game in the 5th inning. The game was close at 3-2 until the Astros would put four in the 9th inning, thus forcing the Red Sox to rely on their offense to bail them out. It would end in a 7-2 game in favor of Houston.
For game two, the Red Sox bats would wake up. The game would end in a 7-5 result with Matt Barnes getting the win. David Price would be pulled in the 4th inning with two outs after giving up four runs. Jackie Bradley Jr., helped the team out with his game-high three RBI's.
The series would shift to Houston for game three. Nathan Eovaldi started for the Red Sox and the Astros started Dallas Keuchel. The game would end in a 8-2 Red Sox victory. Jackie Bradley Jr., got a grand slam in the 8th inning. The Red Sox led the series 2-1.
It would be game four that would result in much debate and controversy. In the bottom of the 1st inning with one on and one out, Astros slugger would hit a ball to center-right field with Mookie Betts nearing towards the stands. What looked like to be a home run ended up being fan interference according to umpire/cowboy Joe West. Here's an extended cut of the play, you decide on whether or not it is a fan interference or a home run:
The Red Sox would end up winning game four with an 8-6 result. The Red Sox bullpen would hold up well to give Joe Kelly the win, and Craig Kimbrel the save. Kimbrel would give the Red Sox some panic attacks but the result remained in Boston's favor. It was a great game that would overshadow with the controversy of the call.
In the fifth game, the Red Sox would close out the series with a resounding 4-1 victory. It would be David Price who would redeem himself from losses of postseasons past in getting his first postseason victory as a starter. Rafael Devers would lead the way with his three RBI's. The Red Sox were on their way back to the Fall Classic.
The National League representative in the World Series was the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two teams had met prior before in the 1916 World Series, back when the Dodgers were called the Brooklyn Robins. The Dodgers had a good team with a strong rotation with Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Alex Wood. Their lineup was tough to beat as well. With batters like Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and Manny Machado.
In game one, Alex Cora started Chris Sale and the Dodgers started Clayton Kershaw. Sale would get pulled in the middle innings before giving up five hits with three runs and striking out seven Dodgers. Kershaw would face the same story with seven hits given up on five runs while striking out five. Manny Machado would get three RBI's in the game while Matt Kemp would get one. The Red Sox offense was from Eduardo Nunez who hit a three-run home run in the 7th inning. JD Martinez would get two RBI's while Andrew Benintendi, Xander Boegaerts, and Rafael Devers got an RBI each. The result was an 8-4 victory.
In game two, the Red Sox started David Price and the Dodgers gave Hyun-Jin Ryu the nod. Price repeated his pitching success with six innings of work, three hits were given up with two runs and struck out five. Ryu would give up six hits with four runs and striking out five batters. Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp got an RBI each for the Dodgers. The Red Sox offense came from JD Martinez with two RBI's and Steve Pearce and Ian Kinsler getting an RBI each. The game ended in a 4-2 victory for Boston.
The series would shift to sunny California in Los Angeles for game three. Rick Porcello got the start for the Red Sox and Walker Buehler started for the Dodgers. The game was a pitching duel, low scoring affair. The result was a 3-2 win for the Dodgers in 18 innings. Combined both teams put out 18 pitchers for the game. The game-winning run was from a Max Muncy home run. Not quite the result the Red Sox wanted and surely momentum shifted back to the Dodgers.
Game four was a continuation from the night before. The Red Sox started Eduardo Rodriguez while the Dodgers gave Rich Hill the start. It remained a 0-0 score until a three-run home run from Yasiel Puig came in the 6th inning. Rodriguez would give up one more run before getting pulled. It would be Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce that would get things started for the Red Sox in getting four runs in two innings. Steve Pearce would finish the game with four RBI's. It was the former Oriole that would propel the Red Sox the rest of the way. It ended in a 9-6 game for the Red Sox
Game five was a continuation from game four with momentum back on the Red Sox side. The Red Sox started David Price on three days rest and the Dodgers started Clayton Kershaw. Price gave the Red Sox seven innings of work with only three hits given up on one run while striking out five batters. Kershaw had a similar start with seven innings while giving up seven hits on four runs with five strikeouts. The lone Dodgers RBI was from David Freese. The Red Sox production was from Steve Pearce with three RBI's and JD Martinez and Mookie Betts tallying an RBI each. The game ended with a 5-1 series-clinching victory for the Red Sox. It was championship #9.
The 2018 team was certainly one of my favorites. They dominated the American League while putting up outstanding numbers in pitching and batting. They stepped up big when they had to, they carried each other against odds. They earned each and every victory from win #1 to win #108 to win #119 that gave them the title. They are worthy of being one of the greatest Red Sox teams ever assembled in their long history, but they aren't the most important. None more important than the one that changed the franchise forever.
2004:
Record: 98-64
World Series: Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals (4-0)
ALCS: Boston Red Sox defeated New York Yankees (4-3)
ALDS: Boston Red Sox defeated Los Angeles Angels (3-0)
Credit: Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis
It was 86 years. The wait was 86 years, nearly a lifetime. It had been 86 years since the Red Sox had won a championship. Long past were the days of Cy Young throwing the rubber. Long past the days when Babe Ruth was on both the mound and at centerfield in Fenway Park in a Red Sox uniform. The days of 'Nuf Ced, The Royal Rooters, and the dominant hitter named Tris Speaker seemed like an age ago.
The decade that came after the transaction of Babe Ruth to the Yankees was a hard one for the Red Sox, attendance plummeted, losing seasons were a trend, and the Red Sox tried to find a way to recover but wouldn't be able to. The decade was spent in the success of the New York Yankees whom would win the World Series in 1923, 1927, 1928 and 1932 during the rest of Babe Ruth's career. The success the Yankees would have continued into the 1930s, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.
The lowest point the club would go through would be in the 1932 season where the club finished with a 43-111 record, a franchise worst. In 1933, the club would see a glimmer of hope. Tom Yawkey, an industrialist from Michigan, bought the team. It would be Yawkey that would give the Red Sox a thing they haven't had for over a decade, a team that could compete. The owner would sign such names like Wes Farrell, Earl Webb, Lefty Grove, but it would be the purchase of a 20-year old kid from California, that would make one of the bigger impacts on the team, let alone baseball.
It would be these acquisitions that would help the team be competitive in the American League in the late 1930s. In 1935, the team would finish the season above .500 for the first time since 1918. It would not be enough to get back to the World Series, however, as the mighty Yankees always seemed to stay ahead of the Sox in the standings.
In 1946, after 28 years of hardship, the club made it back to the World Series. Their opponent was the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had a great team of sluggers with Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, and Red Schoendiest. The Red Sox gave the Redbirds all they could handle but the Red Sox would lose the series in seven games. Ted Williams, in his only World Series appearance, would hit only .200 for the series. Perhaps largely to the fact that Williams hit more to his right than left, the Cardinals preyed on this strategy. Also known as the "Williams Shift."
The Red Sox through the late 1940s and into the 1950s would stay competitive, close to getting the pennant in many of those years. Once again, however, it would be the Yankees that would be one step ahead of their rivals. Much of those years would be lost due to Ted Williams serving in the army during the Korean War.
On September 28th, 1960, Ted Williams would hit a home run in his last game. The next year a new face would appear patrolling the same left field that Ted patrolled so many years before. He was a New York-born kid named Carl Michael Yastrzemski, also known as "Yaz" to Red Sox fans. Considered to be Ted Williams with a better arm for fielding, the guy would capture batting titles, triple crowns, but couldn't quite get it done with a World Series championship. The guy would play for the next 22 years for the team.
By the time the 1960's came, the Yankees were in the twilight of their championship success. They still had formidable stars like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Elston Howard, and Whitey Ford. They still won the championship in 1961 and 1962. They would lose back-to-back World Series in 1963 and 1964.
The Red Sox in the 1960s would spend much of the years in the middle of the standings or close to dead last. Their worst season during that span was in 1965 where the team lost 100 games. In 1966, the fortunes changed a bit with a 72-90 record. The Red Sox were expected to do the same for the 1967 season.
The 1967 season was one of the best in American League history, let alone Red Sox history. The Red Sox were in a deadlock between three other teams: Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, and the Detroit Tigers. It came down to the last game of the season where the Red Sox would beat the Twins 5-3 to give them their first pennant since 1946. The region of New England was electric over the prospect of a championship that had eluded them for nearly 50 years.
Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 would finish the year in one of the best seasons ever by a hitter. Yaz had 189 hits, 44 homers, 121 RBI's and a .326 batting average during that season. It would qualify him to earn the prestigious Triple Crown feat. Miguel Cabrera would be the only person after Yaz to achieve the feat (as of 2018). He would also be an All-Star and AL MVP in 1967.
The National League representative in the World Series in 1967 was the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals of the 1960s were dominant in pitching and contact. They had stars like Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver, Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Roger Maris. The same Cardinals team that had beaten the once mighty Yankees in 1964 would try to get their 2nd championship in four seasons.
The Red Sox gave them all they could handle but it would prove to be the unstoppable Bob Gibson that kept the Red Sox in check. The Red Sox would lose the series in seven games. The team had planned on a victory parade to celebrate.
The Red Sox would stay competitive during the late 1960s and into the 1970s but couldn't get past the Baltimore Orioles who were the new darlings of the American League. The Orioles would win the Fall Classic in 1966 and 1970 while capturing the American League pennant in 1966, 1969, 1970, and 1971.
The Yankees after 1964 were a shadow of their former selves. They would spend much of the 1965-1975 period behind 1st place or near the bottom of the standings. In 1973, they would get a new owner. He was an Ohio baron named George Steinbrenner. It would be a long way to get back to their former ways.
If 1967 was a magical year, 1975 would be just as magical for Boston. The team had fresh talent with Bill Lee, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant, Jim Rice, and Carlton Fisk. They were a young team, an ambitious team that was anchored by Carl Yastrzemski. They would capture their first AL East division title and beat the 3-time American League champion Oakland Athletics in three games (worthy to note that they were a shadow of their former selves by 1975).
Their competition in the 1975 World Series was the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds, also known as The Big Red Machine, had Hall of Famers up and down their lineup. With such sluggers like Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and of course the rough and tumble veteran Pete Rose. The Reds had won the National League Pennant in 1970 and in 1972 but fell short in getting a championship. They looked to change that in 1975.
The Red Sox gave the Big Red Machine all they could handle, including a dramatic game six, extra innings win where Fisk made the ball go fair towards the left field pole. Boston could still not get it done in the seventh and deciding game.
The Yankees, with their fiery owner in charge, took it upon themselves to pay big money to free agents resulting in acquisitions of Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and Goose Gossage. They had a terrific farm system but the market was ripe for George Steinbrenner's taking. From 1976 to 1981, the Yankees would be in the World Series four times, resulting in two championships in 1977 and 1978.
It wasn't 1977 that hurt the most but it would be 1978 that caused the Red Sox to earn the "choker" moniker. In July of 1978, the Red Sox held a 14-game lead over the Yankees. The Yankees would recover to cause the two teams to play in a one-game playoff to determine the AL East division. The Red Sox would lose the game in heartbreaking fashion with a Bucky Dent home run late in the game. Boston lost the game 5-4.
The Red Sox in the 1980s were a team in change. Gone was Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, and Luis Tiant were gone. New players rose to become future stars like Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs. The team finished 1985 with an 81-81 record, a 5th place finish in the AL East. The next year would be much different.
The Red Sox in 1986 looked like a team out of a fairy tale. Roger Clemens had a career year up to that point with a 24-4 record. Jim Rice played lights out with 110 RBI's, and Dwight Evans' 26 homers. The team looked like a possible championship winner.
In the playoffs the Red Sox took on the California Angels for the American League Pennant. The series was dominant from the Angels perspective. Down three games to one, trailing 5-2 in the 9th inning, the Red Sox would come back to win 6-5. Boston would win out games six and seven en route to their 9th pennant in franchise history.
Facing them in the 1986 Fall Classic was the New York Mets. The Mets finished with a 108-54 record and had a lineup of strong hitters with great starting pitching. The Mets that year had Darryl Strawberry, Ron Darling, Mookie Wilson, Gary Carter, and Dwight Gooden. The Mets were favored to win the series.
The Red Sox drew first blood in game one with a 1-0 score. Game two resulted in more offense in favor of Boston with a 9-3 result. The series would move to Boston where the Mets would tie the series at two games apiece with a 7-1 win and a 6-2 win. The Red Sox would regain momentum en route to a 4-2 win in game five. Boston was one win away from capturing that elusive championship.
Game six seemed to start out much like before. Boston had success in New York capturing two of their three wins in the series. Boston would score two runs in the first two innings before New York tied it at 2. Boston would break the tie with a run in the top of the 7th inning before New York tied it in the bottom of the 8th. In the 10th inning Boston would regain the lead with a two-run inning putting the score at 5-3.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, two quick outs came and went for the Mets. Staring down at 2 outs with no one on, Gary Carter got a single. Kevin Mitchell would pinch hit for Rick Aguilera. Mitchell would hit a single, sending Carter to 2nd. Ray Knight would hit another single, sending Carter home. The score was now 5-4. Then came Mookie Wilson. Calvin Schiraldi was relieved by Bob Stanley. With a 3-2 count to Wilson, Stanley would throw a wild pitch, allowing Mitchell to score, the score is now tied at 5. What would happened next... well I'll let Vin Scully tell it for you.
The Red Sox would lose the game. There was another game to be played a night later but it would end in a 8-5 result where New York won its 2nd championship in franchise history. Boston would not recover from the gaffe.
In the late 80's the Red Sox would get a new manager in Joe Morgan (not the Hall of Famer mind you). Morgan would lead the team to division titles in 1988 and 1990 but would lose to the Oakland Athletics in both ALCS. Morgan would be the manager until 1991.
The early 90s were not kind to the Red Sox finishing in 7th, 5th and 4th in 1992, 1993, and 1994 (shortly before the strike). In 1995, the Red Sox would win the newly realigned American League East division before losing in the ALDS to the eventual American League pennant winner, Cleveland Indians.
The New York Yankees, after spending more than a decade out of the playoffs were a wild card team in 1995. They would lose to the Seattle Mariners in five games. It was Don Mattingly's last chance at a World Series championship.
In 1996, the New York Yankees would recover from the loss and would be back in the World Series for the first time in 15 years, taking on the defending champion Atlanta Braves. The Braves would give the Yankees some fight but the Yankees would win the series in six games, their first championship since 1978.
The Yankees would go on to create a dynasty in the late 90s, winning championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Some of those championship teams were former Red Sox like Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs. A championship for Boston seemed out of reach by that point.
The Red Sox remained somewhat competitive in 1996 with an 85-77 record before having a sub-par 1997 with a 78-84 record (their last losing record until 2012). In 1998, the Red Sox qualified for a wild-card spot in the playoffs. They would lose once again to the Cleveland Indians.
In 1999, the All-Star Game came to Boston, Ted Williams would throw out the first pitch, it was the 70th Mid-Summer Classic. The season finished well for the Red Sox posting a 94-68 record, good enough for another wild card spot. The Red Sox would face off against the Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox would surge past the Indians in four games en route to their first playoff series win since 1986. Facing them was their longtime rival, New York Yankees. The Yankees would go on to win the series in five games.
The next three seasons would see the Red Sox post winning records but wouldn't sniff the postseason. The closest they would get as they posted a 93-69 record in 2002. They fielded good teams but there was always one team that was ahead of them in the wild-card standings, let alone the division.
In 2003, after years of postseason misses, the Red Sox qualified again as the wild card. Facing them in the ALDS was the Oakland Athletics, the team that defeated them in 1988 and 1990. The Red Sox enacted some revenge after being down 2-0 in the series to win three straight games. The Yankees stood in their way yet again for the pennant. The series was a tightly contested one. Each team would trade blows to the opposition. Boston won game one, New York won games two and three, Boston won game four, New York game five, Boston game six. The deciding game would decide the fates.
In game seven, the Red Sox would jump out to a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th. Pedro Martinez was the starter who had already put in 7 innings of work. In a controversial move, manager Grady Little kept him in the game. The Yankees would get production from RBI's from Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada. Williams scored one and Posada would bring in two. In the bottom of the 11th with the score tied at 5, and Tim Wakefield pitching for the Red Sox, unknown Aaron Boone would do the unthinkable, I'll let Joe Buck tell the tale:
The series was over, the season was over, another year of Yankee fans chanting "1918!", another year of heartbreak, another year without a championship. The Yankees would lose the World Series to the Marlins but nothing would hurt worse than that, not since I've been alive. The Red Sox would be lovable losers for at least another winter. Hell would freeze over.
On July 31st, 1997, the Red Sox would make a trade. The trade sent player Heathcliff Slocumb to the Mariners in exchange for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek. The trade might not have seemed like much at the time but what would be the cornerstone of a championship began.
Trot Nixon, a player who had debuted with the club in 1996, returned to play in 1998. In the offseason of 1997-98, the Red Sox traded a player to be later named and Carl Pavano to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Pedro Martinez. Martinez would also play in 1998.
The Red Sox would sign Manny Ramirez off the free agent market in the 2000 offseason. Ramirez had played with the Cleveland Indians prior to that point. Kevin Youkilis would get drafted by the Red Sox in the 2001 MLB draft. Johnny Damon would arrive in the 2001 offseason as well as Alan Embree in a trade with the San Diego Padres.
In the 2002 offseason, the Red Sox would pick up David Ortiz in free agency. The pick up was not much to be expected. Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar would arrive in 2003 for the Red Sox via free agency and purchasing of contract from the Marlins respectively.
In the 2003-2004 offseason, the Red Sox acquired Curt Schilling in a package deal that sent four minor league players to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mark Bellhorn was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. Gabe Kapler was acquired through free agency.
The 2004 team that was assembled prior to Opening Day would not be the same that would make it to the postseason. A lot of question marks remained with Nomar Garciaparra's injury, contract status, and trade rumors. Garciaparra, the player that had been with the team since 1996, would not remain with the team come playoff time.
The season started off well for the Red Sox early on, having a great April and May before injuries crept upon the team, threatening to end the season in more heartbreak. The defensive woes that plagued them hurt as well, Garciaparra was not part of the everyday lineup. Something had to change.
That change would come against the New York Yankees on July 24th, 2004. The game would be infamous for the brawl between Yankee's third basemen Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek where Varitek would shove his glove into the infielder's face. Not also to mention the same game where Don Zimmer lunged at Pedro Martinez before Martinez would push him off into the ground. The Red Sox would win the game 11-10.
The team would be shaken up as Nomar Garciaparra was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins. General Manager Theo Epstein would also trade Henri Stanley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dave Roberts. It would be these moves that would help turn the 2004 season around for the Red Sox, finishing three games behind the New York Yankees, qualifying them for the AL Wild Card.
The Red Sox that year were fronted by their starting rotation. Curt Schilling finished with a 21-6 record with a 3.26 ERA with 203 strikeouts. Pedro Martinez finished with a 16-9 record with 3.90 ERA with 227 strikeouts. Derek Lowe had an average year with a 14-12 record and a 5.42 ERA with 105 strikeouts.
The Red Sox hitting was dominated by the duo of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Ramirez compiled a .308 batting average, 43 home runs, 130 RBI's and 175 hits. Ortiz had a .301 batting average, 41 home runs, 139 RBI's and 175 hits as well. Some other notables were Johnny Damon with .304 batting average with 20 home runs and 94 RBI's.
The road to the World Series would not be an easy one. In the ALDS the Red Sox would face off against the Anaheim Angels, a team that won the championship two years earlier, looked to get back to a championship. The Red Sox would rout the Angels in game one with a 9-3 victory. The victory would prove costly as Curt Schilling's leg tendon was injured on a line drive. Game two was much of the same with the game close at hand until the Red Sox scored late into the game with an 8-3 victory. In game three, the game close at hand would be decided on the bat of David Ortiz. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Ortiz would hit a 2-run home run off of Jarrod Washburn. The Red Sox won the series and would move on to face a familiar foe in the ALCS.
Despite the year before, where each team traded blows against each other. The Yankees dominated the early part of the ALCS. In game one, Curt Schilling, still recovering from the injury that had plagued him in game one of the ALDS, was shellacked for six runs before getting pulled. The Yankees won the game 10-7.
Game two would be a quieter, pitching game with a 3-1 result in favor of New York. The Red Sox started Pedro Martinez and the Yankees threw in Jon Lieber. John Olerud would provide the offense for the Yankees with his two RBI's and Gary Sheffield with one. Orlando Cabrera would give the Sox their only RBI in the game. The Yankees were up 2-0.
Game three was the opposite of game three. It was held in Boston. Bronson Arroyo was the starter for the Red Sox and Kevin Brown for New York. Arroyo would get two full innings of work before getting shellacked. Arroyo gave up six hits on six runs while only striking out zero Yankees. The bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding as Ramon Mendoza would give up a run, Curt Leskanic gave up three runs, Tim Wakefield gave up five, Alan Embree two, and Mike Myers with two more. When the final out was recorded the Yankees put 19 runs on the board. The final result was 19-8 in favor of New York. The Yankees were up 3-0.
Game four was quieter on offense than game three. Derek Lowe got the start for Boston and Orlando Hernandez looked to finally close out the Sox. The Yankees would strike first in the top of the 3rd with two runs before Boston would answer back with three in the 5th inning. New York reclaimed the lead with two more in the 6th. In the bottom of the 8th, with a score at 4-3, New York sent out Mariano Rivera to close the Sox out.
With three outs away from getting back to the Fall Classic, Rivera had already put in an innings amount of work. It was a strange move for Yankees manager Joe Torre to send Rivera out with a longer save opportunity. Nonetheless, Rivera was near unhittable up to that point in his career. Getting a hit against him was trying to hit a fly with a sword.
In the bottom of the 9th, Rivera would walk Kevin Millar in five pitches. In a gutsy move, Red Sox manager Terry Francona called on Dave Roberts to pinch run for Millar. In what seemed to be a stolen base would end up becoming the biggest moment that saved a franchise. Here's a look:
Roberts, who had stolen 38 out of 41 bases that season, seemed like a perfect player for an opportunity like that. The single by Bill Mueller would send Roberts home. Rivera had blown a save. The Sandman now seemed mortal at that moment. The Sox had tied the game at 4.
In the bottom of the 12th, Paul Quantrill replaced Tom Gordon in relief for New York. Paul Quantrill faced off against Manny Ramirez. Ramirez would hit a single in a four-pitch at-bat that would send David Ortiz to the plate.
Ortiz that night was 1 for 4 with a walk and a single. He also struck out in the 8th inning against Rivera. The first pitch from Quantrill was a ball, 2nd pitch was a strike, 3rd was a pitch that was blocked by the catcher. The fourth:
The Red Sox had staved off elimination. Ortiz had saved them. The series was now 3-1 in favor of New York.
Game five would end up being a longer game than game four. The total time for game four was 5:02, it was 5:49 for game five. Pedro Martinez started for Boston and Mike Mussina started for New York. Martinez would get pulled in the 7th before giving up seven hits on four runs. Mussina would fare better with only six hits with two runs given up.
The game was just like the night before. The Red Sox got two runs in the 1st before New York added a run in the 2nd and three in the 6th innings. The score was now 4-2 going into the 8th inning.
In the 8th inning, Tom Gordon faced off against David Ortiz. On the 2nd pitch during the at-bat, Ortiz would hit a solo home run that cut the deficit to one run. Kevin Millar would draw a walk. Like the night before Terry Francona put Dave Roberts to pinch run for Millar. Trot Nixon would hit a single to centerfield that sent Roberts running to third base. Mariano Rivera would be brought in relief to Gordon. Jason Varitek would hit a flyball that would send Roberts home. The Red Sox once again tied the game at 4 on a Dave Roberts scored run.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 14th inning. The Yankees had Esteban Loaiza pitching that inning. Loaiza was brought in to relieve Paul Quantrill in the 11th inning. The Red Sox kept his pitch count high going into that inning as he had 32 pitches thrown. Mark Bellhorn, Johnny Damon and Orlando Cabrera were due up. If they could get on base Manny Ramirez was waiting in the wings and if he could get on base, David Ortiz looked to cause some magic of his own.
Mark Bellhorn struck out on five pitches. Johnny Damon got a walk on five pitches. Orlando Cabrera would strike out as well. With a man on first with two outs, Manny Ramirez would keep the Sox alive with a walk that would send Damon to 2nd base. Enter David Ortiz.
Ortiz for the 2nd night in a row had put the Red Sox in a scoring mode. He gave the Red Sox a 3-2 series. Once again Boston was still alive heading into game six in New York.
Game six was in New York. The Red Sox would have to win the next two games in hostile territory. The Red Sox started Curt Schilling who was still recovering from the tendon injury that had plagued him since the Anaheim series. New York started Jon Lieber. The game was kept scoreless until Boston put four runs in the 4th inning.
In the 7th inning, Bernie Williams got the Yankees on the board with a solo home run. It was the first run that Schilling had given up all game. Schilling would finish the game with a quality start with only four hits given up on one run. Not bad for a guy with one good leg.
The Red Sox landed into trouble in the 8th inning with Bronson Arroyo pitching. Miguel Cairo would hit a double off of Arroyo. Derek Jeter would hit a single to left field that sent Cairo home. The score was now 4-2 with Boston still in the lead. Alex Rodriguez was coming up to the plate. It would be during his at-bat that gave the Red Sox the reassurance that New York can be beaten. It was on a 2-2 count:
It was Alex Rodriguez, the man who had been in trade talks with the Red Sox to send Manny Ramirez to Texas the offseason before, that would give the Red Sox a much needed out. Had the result would be different, the Yankees could've possibly put more than a run on Arroyo. With Rodriguez out and the baseballs and other debris off the field, Garry Sheffield would hit a popup flyball that would end the inning with the Red Sox still ahead 4-2.
The Red Sox sent Keith Foulke to close the game for Boston. It wasn't an easy save. Hideki Matsui would get on base with a walk, Bernie Williams would strike out for the first out. Jorge Posada would hit a popup flyball to third base, two outs. Ruben Sierra would get on base with a walk, Matsui to 2nd. Tony Clark was New York's last hope to give the Yankees a chance to send them to the World Series, much like Aaron Boone the year before. Unlike Boone, Clark would strike out on six pitches. Boston won the game 4-2. They had come back from a 3-0 series deficit to tie the series at three. They had one more game to go.
Game seven was still in New York. The Red Sox started Derek Lowe and Kevin Brown for the Yankees. The Red Sox would get to Brown early as he was pulled with only a 1 1/3 innings work. He had given up four hits on five runs with one strikeout. Johnny Damon would do the most damage with his six RBI's in the game. The Red Sox put two in the 1st inning, four in the 2nd. New York got a run in the 3rd inning before Boston answered back with two more runs in the 4th inning.
The Yankees would put two runs in the 7th inning, it would be the last time they would score in the series. The Red Sox would add a run in the 8th and 9th innings.
Alan Embree was called in to relieve Mike Timlin in the 9th. He would have to face Ruben Sierra with two on and two out. The first pitch was a ball. The 2nd pitch was a ball in play. Mark Bellhorn would have to throw the ball to Kevin Millar, the first basemen, to end the game. Bellhorn would indeed throw the ball to Millar to get the final out. It was over. The Red Sox won the game 10-3 off of a great night by Johnny Damon. New York looked invincible on October 16th, 2004. On October 20th, they were dead.
Prior to that, only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders came back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series. The Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings while the Islanders beat the Penguins in a quarterfinals series. The Maple Leafs remain the only team to ever come back in a championship series.
New York was dead. The Great Bambino was probably staring blankly at what happened up in heaven, but certainly with a smirk on his face. The Red Sox still had to win the World Series in order to break the curse. That elusive championship that haunted such Red Sox greats like Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Nomar Garciaparra. If they won the championship, they would be hailed as one of the greatest sports teams in history, let alone franchise history. If they failed, it would mean more heartbreak for a baseball town hungry for a championship.
Standing in their way to a championship was the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the Cardinals who had beaten them in seven games in the 1946 and 1967 Fall Classics before. The Cardinals finished 2004 with a 105-57 record. They had such great batting with Albert Pujols, Tony Womack, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen, all hitters batted .300 or better.
The Cardinals on pitching were just as good. Jeff Suppan had a 16-9 record with a 4.16 ERA with 110 strikeouts. Jason Marquis had a 15-7 record with a 3.71 ERA and 138 strikeouts. Matt Morris had a respectable 15-10 record with a 4.72 ERA and 131 strikeouts. The Cardinals were a tough team and looked to keep the Red Sox waiting on that elusive championship.
The 2004 World Series was held from October 23rd to October 27th. The Red Sox played their games in Fenway Park and the Cardinals played theirs in Busch Stadium II. The Red Sox held home-field advantage since the American League won the All-Star Game back in July.
Game one was held in Boston. The Red Sox started Tim Wakefield and Woody Williams for the Cardinals. Both starters didn't last long as Wakefield was pulled in the 4th inning with two outs. Williams was pulled in the 3rd inning with one out.
The game ended up being an offensive frenzy as the Red Sox put four runs in the 1st. The Cardinals got a run in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Boston would take on three more in their frame of the 3rd. St. Louis answered with three of their own in the 4th, two in the 6th. Boston would score two in the 7th inning, St. Louis got two more in the 8th and then the Red Sox got two in their frame of the 8th. The Red Sox would win the game 11-9, the Red Sox would commit four errors in the game. It was an ugly win.
Game two was quieter on offense but still showed promise. The Red Sox gave Curt Schilling the nod and Matt Morris was the starter for St. Louis. Schilling would give the Red Sox six innings of work with four hits and one run given up. Morris would last for only 4 1/3 innings with four hits on four runs. Scott Rolen was the lone RBI for the Redbirds while the other run was scored on an error from Bill Mueller. The Red Sox offense got their production from Orlando Cabrera, Jason Varitek, and Mark Bellhorn getting two RBI's each. The Red Sox won the game 6-2. The Red Sox were two wins away from a championship.
The series shifted to St. Louis for game three. Pedro Martinez got the start for Boston and Jeff Suppan was called on for St. Louis. Martinez had a quality start with seven innings, three hits given up and zero runs. He struck out six batters. Suppan gave up eight hits on four runs while striking out four batters. The Red Sox offense got their production from Manny Ramirez with his two RBI's and Bill Mueller and Trot Nixon getting an RBI each. Larry Walker got the only RBI for St. Louis. Boston won the game 4-1. The Red Sox led the series 3-0 with one win away from a championship.
Game four was a low scoring game, much like game three. Derek Lowe was tasked to guide the Red Sox to victory and Jason Marquis was the man to help keep the Cardinals alive for at least one more game. Lowe would have a quality start with seven innings of work giving up only three hits and zero runs, striking out four. Marquis gave up six hits on three runs while striking out four batters. He had six innings of work. The Redbirds were shut out. The Red Sox on offense came from Trot Nixon getting two RBI's and Johnny Damon getting an RBI.
In the bottom of the 9th, Terry Francona sent out closer Keith Foulke to relieve Alan Embree. Foulke would have to contend with Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds in order to get the save. Pujols would get a single to centerfield. Rolen would hit a popup flyball to right field that would be the first out. Jim Edmonds would strike out for the 2nd out. During the at-bat to Edgar Renteria on the first pitch, Albert Pujols stood unchallenged in running to 2nd base for defensive indifference. The 2nd pitch would cause both grief for one fanbase and joy for the other. I'll let Joe Buck handle this one:
On the 2nd pitch to Renteria, the batter hit a groundball to Foulke. What seemed like an eternity to probably Foulke and many others, ended up being a routine 1-3 groundout. With the final out called, the Red Sox could finally feel a great weight lifted off their shoulders. After 86 years of heartbreak, losing seasons, constant berating from Yankee fans chanting "1918!" the Boston Red Sox were finally, World Series champions.
The 2004 championship was the franchise's 6th in their history. They had won a championship in the first World Series in 1903 and then becoming a dynasty in the 1910s with championships in 1912, 1915, 1916, and 1918. They would spend the next eight decades in futility, in the cellar, being bridesmaids to the Cardinals in 1946 and 1967, the Reds in 1975, and the Mets in 1986. They would have to settle on being the little brother to the New York Yankees who would win 26 championships in that 1919-2003 span.
Between 1919 and 2003 the Yankees would win a championship in 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. The Baltimore Orioles would win a championship in 1966, 1970, and 1983. The Toronto Blue Jays would win a championship in 1992 and 1993. These teams would be the Red Sox biggest rivals and would win a championship before the Red Sox could ever win one.
Since 2004 the Red Sox would win the championship in 2007, 2013 and 2018. Only the 2009 New York Yankees could win a championship during that timeframe. As of 2018 the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, or Toronto Blue Jays have won a championship.
The 2004 Red Sox should be regarded as the greatest and most important team to ever win a championship in franchise history. They had to deal with great odds, a harsh franchise history, the ghosts of the team's past haunting them, and the damn Yankees. To overcome a 3-0 series deficit doesn't come often and to do it against your rival is one of the most bittersweet moments in the franchise's history.
Is there some argument that the Red Sox have become the new New York Yankees? You could make an argument about it. I'm not going to say that you're wrong about it. They certainly spend a lot of money on free agents and sometimes they don't pan out the way they want to. I could name at least four players that were signed to big money contracts that didn't quite pan out the way that the money said it would. At the end of the day, making mindful trades, building through the draft and with some luck matter in Major League Baseball.
When I first decided to do this column back in November, I wasn't entirely sure how long it would take. That fateful day in October of 2018 seems so away now. Now that Pitchers & Catchers are set to report in nearly a month. Hopefully, this piece will give you some pause and remember all those times the Red Sox would spend time with the Commissioner's Trophy and not be tagged with the "lovable losers" tag. Thanks for reading!
