We experienced riches almost this good in the mid-80s, when all four major professional sports teams played in at least one final championship series or game (yes, even the Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals in 1988), but it was nowhere near as successful as this era has been, with three Super Bowl and two World Series championships for Boston sports teams. Moreover, as 11- or 12-year old kid, I couldn't fully appreciate how special it was to witness the Celtics compete in four straight NBA finals, the Red Sox make it to the World Series, and the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl. Although, I should add, that I understood at the time and for the next 18 years how awful it was for that ball to go through Buckner's legs.
Since the current era of Red Sox popularity began in the late 1990s, I as a Boston sports fan have experienced remarkable joys. I witnessed the most dominant pitcher in the history of baseball in his prime, with Pedro's utter brilliance in 1999 and 2000. Take a look at Pedro's stats from 2000, and then remember that he was doing this amid a dramatic offensive explosion across baseball that was partially caused by steroids, which, by the way, were not against the rules of Major League Baseball at that time, no matter what the mainstream sports media, your local sports radio talk show host, or your old friend from high school who loves Phil Mushnick tries to tell you.
This included seeing in person perhaps one of his top two or three pitching performances ever when I ventured to Camden Yards for a Red Sox-Orioles game on a beautiful spring night in May 2000. This experience also made me aware of the growing national popularity of the Red Sox, as more than half the crowd that night were fellow Red Sox fans. Numerous "Let's Go Red Sox" and, my personal favorite, "Yankees Suck" cheers erupted throughout the upper deck in left field. Bill Simmons even pointed out in his Red Sox book that this was the night that the Boston sports media started to understand that something major was going on with the popularity of the Red Sox, as it was the first road game where Red Sox fans drowned out the home town fans and took over a visiting stadium.
Among the other legendary Pedro performances that I had the good fortune of watching (unfortunately only on TV) were his six-inning, no hit, no runs allowed relief appearance in game 5 of the 1999 ALDS versus the Indians, his domination of the vile New York Yankees in game 3 of the 1999 ALCS, and his striking out of the first four straight batters he faced in the 1999 All-Star game, three of whom in my opinion belong in the Hall of Fame (Barry Larkin, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire). I will also remember with fondness the way he never backed down from a hitter and pitched with a mean streak equal to that of Bob Gibson. This in turn led to one of the most amusing scenes on a baseball field in the last few decades, with Pedro tossing a charging Don Zimmer to the ground by his bald head during a brawl in the 2003 ALCS caused in part by Pedro's penchant for hitting Yankee batters.
However, a Pedro memory that I will not think of fondly is his 8th inning of game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Most of you will remember this as the Grady Little game, where Red Sox manager Grady Little let Pedro start the 8th inning when he was clearly fatiguing (this was despite the fact that the Red Sox front office instructed Little to take out Martinez after he threw 100 pitches because they had statistical evidence that Pedro's effectiveness deteriorated dramatically after he threw 100 pitches) and let him continue to pitch in the 8th inning after he gave up two hits. This poor decision led to the Red Sox giving up a 5-2 lead, with the ultimate heartbreak coming in the bottom of the 11th inning off the bat of Aaron Boone. I have little doubt that the Sox would have won that game had Grady Little put in Mike Timlin at the start of the 8th inning.
The heartbreak nearly continued the following fall, with the Red Sox falling behind to the Yankees 3 games to none in the 2004 ALCS, including suffering an embarrassing, seemingly demoralizing rout in game 3. What happened over games 4 through 7 in the ALCS is the stuff of legend and needs not bear repeating here. But needless to say, demons were exorcised, curses were upended, jinxes were crushed, and the natural order in the baseball world was turned upside down over those ensuing four games. And I couldn't have been any happier with that result. The dream became even sweeter a week later when the Red Sox captured their first World Series victory in 86 years. I'm not exaggerating when I say that one of the five best moments of my life was when Edgar Renteria grounded out to Keith Foulke to end game 4 of the 2004 World Series. It was a moment of pure joy and elation, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I smile every time I think about it. Every time.
Celebrating that World Series victory was particularly special as well. That night I went out to a Red Sox bar in Georgetown to celebrate with my buddy Wertman. The bar was filled with several hundred Red Sox fans. It was a common sight to see someone giving high fives and hugs to random people throughout the bar. In a "it's a small world" moment, I gave a victory cigar to a fellow Red Sox fan not knowing who he was. Later on I ran into the younger brother of one of my friends from high school. The next thing I knew, my friend's brother and the guy whom I gave the cigar came up to me to tell me that the cigar recipient was my sister's 9th grade boyfriend.
The celebration continued a few days later when I flew home for the Red Sox's victory parade, where I joined an estimated one million fellow Red Sox fans along the streets of Boston to yell, scream, and cheer as the World Champs rode by in duck boats. I remember fondly waiting with anticipation for the parade to come near and finally hearing the crowd about a half mile away erupting when the Sox reached them. I remember seeing the first duck boat up close with Johnny Damon leaning out the front waiving. I remember seeing Manny, Papi, Pedro, and Schilling pointing into the crowd. And I remember trying to yell my hardest and loudest when I saw Theo Epstein roll by.
I know that the emotions I felt were also felt by millions of Red Sox fans across the world. Many fellow fans also used the moment to connect with loved ones who had passed away, with thousands throughout New England putting balloons, victory flowers, and other World Series memorabilia on the graves of the recently and long-lost siblings, parents, and grand parents who never had the opportunity to experience a Red Sox World Series Championship.
To top it all off, just three years later, the Red Sox emerged as the best team in baseball in April, held that position throughout the season, staved off elimination by winning three straight must-win games against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, and swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series Championship of the decade. To Red Sox fans used to perpetual agony, it was almost an embarassment of riches.
What makes this all so great as a Red Sox fan is that the Red Sox are well positioned to contend for the World Series for the foreseeable future. They have the resources (financial and organizational) to acquire and develop elite talent that are unmatched by all but one team in the sport (the vile New York Yankees). This should allow them to be one of the five best teams for at least the next two or three seasons, and be one of the five best teams five to eight out of the next ten seasons. I wouldn't be surprised if in ten years, I will be able to write about another one or two World Series Championships.
On that uplifting note, I'll end this post. More to follow on this theme tomorrow.
Go Sox. Yankees Suck. Long Live Theo.
2 comments:
"your local sports radio talk show host, or your old friend from high school who loves Phil Mushnick tries to tell you."
Awesoem
there's nothing like watching a frustrated city celebrate its heroes. i am an islanders fan, but went to the ticker tape parade in NYC with a buddy when the rangers won the cup in '94. the energy was unbelievable, the crowds massive, and the true joy undeniable. even for a non-fan, it was an event i'll never forget.
oh, and mushnick? awesome.
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