Not that long ago, the Boston Red Sox seemed to define the essence of futility and an improbably long streak of always falling just short. In my own living memory, the so-called “Curse of the Bambino” was still very much intact, and perhaps best personified by what may have been the best season that the Red Sox had enjoyed in the latter half of the 20th century. They made it all the way to the World Series and seemed on the verge of winning the whole thing, when the infamous play with Brent Buckner seemingly allowing an easy scoop to be badly misplayed, as it went right through his gloves. The fact that it happened in New York, even though it was to the Mets and not the Yankees, only seemed to rub salt on an already open wound. It was perhaps the most notorious “choke” in a professional championship level event for North American sports at the time, arguably matched by Scott Norwood’s missed field goal in Super Bowl XXV, or more recently, Seattle’s 2nd and 1 disaster at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, from which the Seahawks have yet to fully recover.
Yes, that seemed to define the Red Sox through the 20th century, and even very early into the 21st. Remember, the Red Sox met their hated rivals, the Yankees, in the 2003 ACLS, and lost in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. And the next year, it seemed to be more of the same, as the same two teams met yet again, only to see the Yanks take a decisive 3-0 series lead. No team recovers from that kind of deficit, right? Certainly, no MLB baseball team had ever recovered from such a deficit and gone on to win the series.
Then, the Red Sox did exactly that. They narrowly won Game 4, avoiding what would have been an embarrassing sweep before their home fans. Then, they did the same in Game 5, just barely winning, but keeping the series going, and their chances, although seemingly fragile, were nevertheless kept alive.
Boston went into Yankee Stadium, the site of so many of their historic torments, in Game 6, but did something rather shocking: they won, 4-2. They forced a Game 7, and suddenly, it was the Yankees who lost three in a row, and had all of the pressure on them. Suddenly, despite not having home field advantage, it was the Red Sox who enjoyed all of the momentum, and they capitalized big time, taking an early lead and continually adding to that lead, putting the pressure on the suddenly lifeless Bronx Bombers, who were hardly living up to their names.
The Yankees did put up a bit of a fight, and seemed on the verge of rallying. There were chants of “Who’s your daddy?” targeting Red Sox relief pitcher Pedro Martinez.
But the rally fell short – way short. It was far too little and much too late, and the always seemingly dominant Yankees found themselves in the improbable position of watching their hated rivals, the team that they always had a mastery of before, celebrate winning the pennant before the Yankees faithful in the Bronx. Finally, the Red Sox had gotten over the hump, and they went into the World Series with a head full of steam.
Surely, some though, their championship run was bound to be derailed. However, that was not going to happen. Not this time. The Red Sox swept their way to a World Series win, ending an 86-yard drought, and enjoying a Cinderella kind of championship run that would have seemed too much even for Hollywood endings.
Since then, however, the Boston Red Sox have become one really the most dominant force in professional baseball. They followed up that World Series win with another one in 2007, so that they were not merely to be dismissed as a one year wonder. Then, they managed to win it again in 2013, with a very different line-up.
Now, here they are again, with a historically dominant team, arguably one of the best that baseball has ever seen. They had one of the best records in recent baseball history, finishing 108-54, easily winning their division and enjoying the best record in the league by far this year. They might have had a nervous moment or two against the Yankees in their first round series, but the Sox, especially after the Bombers took Game 2 at Fenway Park.
But these are not the Red Sox of the latter 20th century anymore. This team responded by crushing the Yankees in the next game, handing them an absolutely brutal loss, once again in front of the Yankee faithful in the Bronx. They beat New York 16-1, the worst defeat that the Yankees had ever suffered in the postseason. They then hung on to win Game 4, 4-3, to take the series, which means that the Sox have now won the last two playoff series between these two franchises. And they moved on.
The defending champion Houston Astros proved tougher, but the Red Sox proved up more than up to the challenge here, too. The Red Sox won that one without leaving a shred of doubt, beating the Astros 4 games to 1.
Now, against a highly touted, dangerous Los Angeles Dodgers team, the Red Sox once again. The Red Sox won Game 1, 8-4. They doubled the Dodgers again in game 2, 4-2, to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Dodgers won a marathon Game 3, and both teams had to be feeling it entering Game 4. It looked like Boston was hurting more after allowing the Dodgers to take a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning. At that point, it looked like it was going to be a very tough series.
But the Red Sox - these new, 21st century Red Sox, that is – keep battling back. And they fought back in this game, scoring three in the seventh to make it a very tight game, and ultimately coming back to win, 9-6, for a commanding 3-1 series lead.
After that, the outcome for the series felt like a foregone conclusion.
And as it turns out, it was. Sometimes, sports can surprise you, like the 2003 Red Sox did in coming from that 0-3 deficit against the Yanks to win the series. But this time, the Red Sox did exactly what they had to do to win, to close out the series in Game 5, and clinch what is now a fourth World Series championship in 16 years.
Four World Series titles for a team that had gone the better part of a century without winning a single one. They easily lead all the rest of the MLB in numbers of World Series trophies won in this new century. Nowadays, some have taken to referring to them as the “Empire,” a title once held by their hated division rivals in the Bronx.
What a season, and what a dominant display in this latest championship for the Boston Red Sox, your 2018 World Series champions!
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