 [The 2004 World Series Champions Banner ... proudly flying over Fenway Park in Boston.] |
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The ALCS against the Yankees was agonizing! The 2004 season was really a continuation of the 2003 season that ended in heartbreak for the fans of Boston (and a WS loss for the Yankees ... don't forget that, folks). Here we were again, a seven game series between the two most heated rivals in all of sports. The Yanks came out of the blocks to win the first three games, the third by a humiliating 19-8 difference. The Red Sox were on the brink of the must devastating loss in their history, and they have a long tradition of humiliating defeats. But, balancing on the brink of the abyss, down by a run and with only three outs to go, the Sox rallied to tie the game and then went on to win Game 4 in the bottom of the twelfth inning. The rest in history! The Sox won the next game, the longest post-season game in the history of the game of baseball (surpassing the record set the night before by these same two teams), then won game 6 (the Schilling-blood-ankle game), and then pounded the Yanks in game 7 to capture the American League pennant. For the first time in baseball history, a team had come from an 0-3 deficit to win a seven game series in post-season. Even more, this was the Boston Red Sox overcoming the Goliath of the NY Yankees. Someday, a team may overcome an 0-3 deficit again, maybe even in the world series, but never will the event match the drama and history of the Yankees versus Red Sox rivalry. After capturing the AL pennant, the Red Sox were unstoppable. They faced the St. Louis Cardinals (another historic rival of the Sox) in the World Series. The Cards had won the most games in baseball that season, but they were swept four-games to nothing. Personally, I agonized through each game, each inning, each pitch! With the Sox up by three games and with a comfortable 3-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth of Game Four, I still was so nervous that I could not watch the game ... I had to listen in my kitchen, with my hands clenched in prayer. But, this year, finally, something did not go wrong at the last moment. The Boston Red Sox had won the World Series. After that, one of my biggest thrills was returning to Fenway and seeing the World Series banner flying from over center field. To a Red Sox fan, this is one of the most beautiful sites ever witnessed! Some friends and I also made a "pilgrimage" to the Baseball Hall of Fame to see the display of WS artifacts, including Schilling's Bloody Sock. |
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