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+ "page_name": "From the Archives: Red Sox win 2004 World Series \u2013 Boston Herald",
+ "page_url": "https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/04/06/from-the-archives-red-sox-win-2004-world-series/",
+ "page_snippet": "PUBLISHED: April 6, 2022 at 10:22 a.m. | UPDATED: April 6, 2022 at 10:25 a.m. This story, by Gerry Callahan, is from the Herald\u2019s archives and was first printed on Oct. 28, 2004, when the Red Sox finally put to rest the \u201cCurse of the Bambino\u201d and won a World Series Championship.Louis Cardinals Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium. Jason Veritek & Johnny Damon celebrate in the clubhouse. 102704sox- (Staff Photo By Matt Stone Thursday) ... PUBLISHED: April 6, 2022 at 10:22 a.m. | UPDATED: April 6, 2022 at 10:25 a.m. This story, by Gerry Callahan, is from the Herald\u2019s archives and was first printed on Oct. 28, 2004, when the Red Sox finally put to rest the \u201cCurse of the Bambino\u201d and won a World Series Championship. So it was more than just the fact that they won 109 games, an AL pennant and a World Series championship at last. It was how they won, and it was how they carried themselves when they didn\u2019t win. Most of all, it was how they handled just being the Boston Red Sox, the team that had to beat the ghosts as well as the Yankees, a team that needed a separate bus just to lug around all its emotional baggage. He laughed back. And then he hit .412 in the World Series and won the MVP. Just a guess: He probably won\u2019t get waived again this offseason. After generations of intense, uptight Red Sox superstars in left field, maybe Manny was the perfect guy to change the course of this franchise. The Red Sox may win the World Series again next year and maybe the year after, but they probably won\u2019t sweep the best team in the National League to do it. They\u2019ll never again be the first team ever to win eight straight postseason games. They may beat the hated Yankees in the ALCS, but they won\u2019t be the first team in baseball history to come back from a 0-3 deficit.",
+ "page_result": "\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tFrom the Archives: Red Sox win 2004 World Series – Boston Herald\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\tSkip to content\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t(10/27/04,St. Louis,MO) as the Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium. Jason Veritek & Johnny Damon celebrate in the clubhouse. 102704sox- (Staff Photo By Matt Stone Thursday)\t\t\n\t\n
This story, by Gerry Callahan, is from the Herald’s archives and was first printed on Oct. 28, 2004, when the Red Sox finally put to rest the “Curse of the Bambino” and won a World Series Championship. Follow the “From the Archives” newsletter for more items like this one.
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It is something most of us had never seen before, but in the end, that is not what made this Red Sox season so special. Someone wins the World Series every year, and eventually Boston, with its big stars and its big payroll, was going to get a turn. It almost happened last year, just as it almost happened in ’86 and ’75 and ’67. It almost happened lots of times. Maybe you heard.
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All that history and all that heartbreak have naturally been the focus of attention for the giddy anchor babes and the smiling sitcom stars this October, but none of it explains why this Sox team had such a hold on New England for the past three weeks. Hell, they were FAVOREDin all three series. They were supposed to win.
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So it was more than just the fact that they won 109 games, an AL pennant and a World Series championship at last. It was how they won, and it was how they carried themselves when they didn’t win. Most of all, it was how they handled just being the Boston Red Sox, the team that had to beat the ghosts as well as the Yankees, a team that needed a separate bus just to lug around all its emotional baggage.
\n
The truth here: In 1986, when the Sox blew the sixth game and John McNamara wore the goat horns out of Shea Stadium, I laughed out loud. He was a hard guy to root for, and that was a hard team to like. There have been a few Red Sox teams over the years who weren’t exactly the U.S. hockey team at Lake Placid. These guys are different.
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These Red Sox have played under as much pressure as any Boston team ever has, and yet they never treated a season in Boston like it was eight months in Abu Ghraib. The surliness that was once thought to be part of the organization, like slow runners and bad fielders, was gone. The old paranoia lifted, at least after the trading deadline, and the self-proclaimed idiots embraced the pressure and the scrutiny. They were happy idiots, as Jackson Browne once sang, but they weren’t exactly struggling for the legal tender. They were playing ball. So why not have a good time?
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Kevin Millar once blasted the “talk-show hostees” and the “caller-inners,” but did it, like he did just about everything, with a smile as bright as the Citgo sign. When guys such as Johnny Damon and Mark Bellhorn went into slumps and heard boos in the playoffs, there was none of that old familiar venom that spewed from Sox stars in the past. And when they turned it around and busted out late in the Yankees series and in the World Series, there was no lashing out at their critics. None of that, oh, everyone-gave-up-on-us crap.
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They grew their hair. They lost their attitude. It might have been hideous to look at, but it was a beautiful thing to see.
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\n(10/27/04,St. Louis,MO) as the Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium. Kevin Millar holds the trophy in the lockeroom. 102704sox- (Staff Photo By Matt Stone Thursday)\n
Manny Ramirez was waived, traded, slandered, libeled and laughed at. What did he do? He laughed back. And then he hit .412 in the World Series and won the MVP. Just a guess: He probably won’t get waived again this offseason. After generations of intense, uptight Red Sox superstars in left field, maybe Manny was the perfect guy to change the course of this franchise. After the game last night, he thanked the Boston fans who, he said, “always got my back even when I made an error.” Maybe boos don’t matter when no one hears them.
\n
Last night, Manny and the rest the idiots knocked off a sad excuse for a St. Louis team, 3-0, to clinching the Red Sox’ first World Series title in 86 years. It was something we have never seen before, of course, but this is what makes it so memorable: It is something we’ll never see again.
\n
The Red Sox may win the World Series again next year and maybe the year after, but they probably won’t sweep the best team in the National League to do it. They’ll never again be the first team ever to win eight straight postseason games. They may beat the hated Yankees in the ALCS, but they won’t be the first team in baseball history to come back from a 0-3 deficit.
\n
They won’t give up 19 runs and 44 total bases in Game 3 next year and then pick themselves up, pull themselves together and stamp the words “Biggest Choke in Baseball History” across the Yankees pinstripes. That all happened this October. Remember it all. It is never going to happen again.
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“If we were going to do it after 86 years,” GM Theo Epstein said, “we figured we might as well do it in style.”
\n
They’ll never do it like this again. They’ll never be led by a starting pitcher who gets his ankle stapled together like he’s some kind of medical experiment.
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They won’t get great performances out of two embattled starters who are free agents now, maybe stepping off the Red Sox roller coaster at the highest of high points. They’ll never trade their franchise player halfway through the season and get better in every way. They’ll never have a team like this one, full of unique personalities but seemingly free of selfish agendas, a team of hardened veterans who bounced around like giddy rookies, a team that went through so much over eight months and 176 games and still couldn’t find an answer to a simple question: Why not us?
\n
Why not them? Why not now? Why the hell not?
\n(102704 – St. Louis, MO) Boston Red Sox v St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis Wednesday. Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke and Doug Mientkiewicz celebrate the win. (102704soxdg – Staff Photo by David Goldman. saved in Photo Thu/FTP)\n
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+ "page_name": "2004 Boston Red Sox season - Wikipedia",
+ "page_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Boston_Red_Sox_season",
+ "page_snippet": "The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series.After Foulke lobbed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz, the Sox had won their first World Championship in 86 years (this was the second time that Renter\u00eda had ended a Series, as he had won it for the Marlins seven years prior in the 1997 World Series). The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named World Series MVP. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox performed well in the 2004 postseason. From the eighth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees (a tie) until the end of the World Series, the Sox played 60 innings, and never trailed at any point. This was only the fourth World Series ever played in which the losing team had never held a lead. To add a final, surreal touch to the Red Sox championship title, on the night the Red Sox won, a total lunar eclipse colored the moon over Busch Stadium to a deep red hue. The Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXIX in the ensuing offseason made Boston the first city to have two Super Bowls and one World Series championship over a span of 12 months since Pittsburgh in 1979\u20131980. After the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, which made Boston the first city to win championships in all four sports leagues in the new millennium, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe ranked all seven championships by the Boston teams (the Patriots in the Super Bowls played in 2002, 2004 and 2005, the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, the Celtics in 2008, and the Bruins in 2011) and picked the Red Sox win in 2004 as the greatest Boston sports championship during the ten-year span.",
+ "page_result": "\n\n\n\n2004 Boston Red Sox season - Wikipedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJump to content\n
The 2004 Boston Red Sox season was the 104th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Managed by Terry Francona, the Red Sox finished with a 98\u201364 record, three games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, swept the Anaheim Angels in the ALDS, and faced the Yankees in the ALCS for the second straight year. After losing the first three games to the Yankees and trailing in the ninth inning of the fourth game, the Red Sox became the first team in major league history to come back from a three-game postseason deficit, defeating the Yankees in seven games. The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, capturing their first championship since 1918.[1]\n
Following the Sox' exit from the Postseason by the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, Red Sox manager Grady Little was fired from his position on October 27, one business day after the 2003 World Series.[7] Little, who had accumulated a 188\u2500136 record with the Red Sox, received a $250,000 parting gift as well as $60,000 in performance bonuses.[8] \n
During the 2003\u201304 off season, the Red Sox acquired a starting ace pitcher; Curt Schilling, as well as a closer, Keith Foulke.[12] Many visitors at their spring training at Fort Myers, Florida, were very enthusiastic about the 2004 Red Sox team. Expectations once again ran high that 2004 would finally be the year that the Red Sox ended their championship drought.[13]\n
The regular season started well in April, but through midseason the team struggled due to injuries, inconsistency and defensive woes, and fell more than eight games behind New York. A bright point came on July 24, when the Red Sox overcame a five-run deficit as Bill Mueller hit a game-winning home run to right-center off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The game also featured a now infamous brawl between Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek.\n
Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein shook up the team at the MLB trading deadline July 31, trading the team's wildly popular yet often hurt and disgruntled shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Chicago Cubs,[57] receiving Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins in return. In a separate transaction, the Red Sox also traded AAA outfielder Henri Stanley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for center fielder Dave Roberts. With valuable players like Cabrera, Mientkiewicz, and Roberts in the lineup, the club turned things around, winning twenty-two out of twenty-five games and going on to finish within three games of the Yankees in the AL East and qualifying for the playoffs as the AL Wild Card.\n
The team played its home games at Fenway Park, before a regular season total attendance of 2,837,294 fans.\n
Boston began the playoffs by sweeping the AL West champion Anaheim Angels.[59] The Red Sox blew out the Angels 9\u20133 in Game 1, scoring 7 of those runs in the fourth inning. However, the Sox' 2003 off season prize pickup Curt Schilling suffered a torn tendon when he was hit by a line drive. The injury was exacerbated when Schilling fielded a ball rolling down the first base line. The second game, pitched by Pedro Mart\u00ednez, stayed close until Boston scored four in the ninth to win 8\u20133. In game three, what looked to be a blowout turned out to be a nail-biter, as Vladimir Guerrero hit a grand slam off Mike Timlin in the top of the seventh inning to tie it at six. However, David Ortiz, who was noted for his clutch hitting, delivered in the 10th inning with a game winning two-run homer, off Jarrod Washburn, sailing over the Green Monster. The Red Sox advanced to a rematch in the 2004 American League Championship Series against their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees.\n
Despite high hopes that the Red Sox would finally vanquish their nemesis from the Bronx, the series started disastrously for them. Curt Schilling pitched with the torn tendon sheath in his right ankle he had suffered in Game 1 of the Division Series against Anaheim, and was routed for six runs in three innings. Yankee starter Mike Mussina retired the first nineteen Red Sox that came to the plate before Mark Bellhorn broke it up with a double with one out in the top of the seventh. Despite the Sox' best effort to come back (they scored seven runs to make it 8\u20137), they ended up losing 10\u20137. In Game 2, already with his Yankees leading 1\u20130 for most of the game, John Olerud hit a two-run home run to put the New York team up for good. The Sox were soon down three games to none after a 19\u20138 loss in Game 3 at home. In that game, the two clubs set the record for most runs scored in a League Championship Series game. At that point in the history of baseball, no team had come back to win from a 3\u20130 series deficit (only the 1998 Atlanta Braves and 1999 New York Mets had ever gotten as far as a Game 6).\n
In Game 4, the Red Sox found themselves facing elimination, trailing 4\u20133 in the ninth with Yankees closerMariano Rivera on the mound. After Rivera issued a walk to Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts came on to pinch run and promptly stole second base, this being what many consider the turning point in the series.[60][61][62] He then scored on an RBIsingle by Bill Mueller which sent the game to extra innings. The Red Sox went on to win the game on a two-run home run by David Ortiz in the 12th inning. In Game 5, the Red Sox were again down late, this time by the score of 4\u20132, as a result of Derek Jeter's bases-clearing triple. But the Sox struck back in the eighth, as Ortiz hit a homer over the Green Monster to bring the Sox within a run. Then Jason Varitek hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Roberts, scoring the tying run. The game would go for 14 innings, capped off by many squandered Yankee opportunities (they were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position). In the top of the 12th inning, the knuckleballing Tim Wakefield came in from the bullpen, without his customary \"personal catcher\", Doug Mirabelli. Varitek, the starting catcher, had trouble with Wakefield's tricky knuckleballs in the 13th: he allowed three passed balls in the top of the 13th. The third and last of those gave the Yankees runners on second and third with two out. The Red Sox were spared, however, as Rub\u00e9n Sierrastruck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 14th, Ortiz would again seal the win with a game-winning RBI single that brought home Damon. The game set the record for longest postseason game in terms of time (5 hours and 49 minutes) and for the longest American League Championship Series game (14 innings), though the former has since been broken.\n
With the series returning to Yankee Stadium for Game 6, the improbable comeback continued, with Curt Schilling pitching on an ankle that had three sutures wrapped in a bloody white sock (red with a blood stain). Schilling struck out four, walked none, and only allowed one run over seven innings to lead the team to victory. Mark Bellhorn also helped in the effort as he hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Originally called a double, the umpires conferred and agreed that the ball had actually gone into the stands before falling back into the field of play. A key play came in the bottom of the eighth inning with Derek Jeter on first and Alex Rodr\u00edguez facing Bronson Arroyo. Rodr\u00edguez hit a ground ball down the first base line. Arroyo fielded it and reached out to tag him as he raced down the line. Rodr\u00edguez slapped at the ball and it came loose, rolling down the line. Jeter scored and Rodr\u00edguez ended up on second. After conferring, however, the umpires called Rodr\u00edguez out on interference and returned Jeter to first base, the second time in the game they reversed a call. Yankees fans, upset with the calls, littered the field with debris. The umpires called police clad in riot gear to line the field in the top of the 9th inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees staged a rally and brought former Red Sox player Tony Clark, who had played well against the Red Sox since leaving the team, to the plate as the potential winning run. Closer Keith Foulke however, struck out Clark to end the game and force a Game 7. In this game, the Red Sox completed their historic comeback on the strength of Derek Lowe's one-hit, one-run pitching and Johnny Damon's two home runs, including a grand slam in the second inning off the first pitch of reliever Javier V\u00e1zquez, and defeated the New York Yankees, 10\u20133. Ortiz, who had the game-winning RBIs in Games 4 and 5, was named ALCS Most Valuable Player.\n
The Boston Red Sox are currently the only team in Major League Baseball history to overcome a three game deficit in either a league or a World Series championship.[citation needed]\n
The Red Sox faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. The Cardinals had posted the best record in the major leagues that season, and had previously defeated the Red Sox in the 1946 and 1967 Series, with both series going seven games. The third time would be the charm, however, as the momentum and confidence Boston had built up in the ALCS would overwhelm St. Louis. The Red Sox began the Series with an 11\u20139 win, marked by Mark Bellhorn's game-winning home run off Pesky's Pole. He later on said that he \"just did what he needed to do.\" It was the highest scoring World Series opening game ever (breaking the previous record set in 1932). The Red Sox would go on to win Game 2 in Boston (thanks to another sensational performance by the bloody-socked Schilling). The Red Sox won both these games despite making 4 errors in each game. In Game 3, Pedro Mart\u00ednez shut out the Cardinals for seven innings. The Cardinals only made one real threat \u2014 in the third inning when they put runners on second and third with no outs. However, the Cardinals' rally was killed by pitcher Jeff Suppan's baserunning gaffe. With no outs, Suppan should have scored easily from third on a Larry Walker ground ball to second baseman Bellhorn, who was playing back, conceding the run. But as Bellhorn threw out Walker at first base, Suppan inexplicably froze after taking several steps toward home and was thrown out by Sox first basemanDavid Ortiz as he scrambled back to third. The double play was devastating for St. Louis. The Red Sox needed one more game to win their first championship since the 1918 World Series. In Game Four, the Red Sox did not allow a run, and the game ended as \u00c9dgar Renter\u00eda (who would become the 2005 Red Sox starting SS) hit the ball back to Keith Foulke. After Foulke lobbed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz, the Sox had won their first World Championship in 86 years (this was the second time that Renter\u00eda had ended a Series, as he had won it for the Marlins seven years prior in the 1997 World Series). The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named World Series MVP. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series.\n
The Red Sox performed well in the 2004 postseason. From the eighth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees (a tie) until the end of the World Series, the Sox played 60 innings, and never trailed at any point. This was only the fourth World Series ever played in which the losing team had never held a lead.\n
\nThe Boston Red Sox are honored at the White House by President George W. Bush following the side's winning the 2004 World Series.\n
To add a final, surreal touch to the Red Sox championship title, on the night the Red Sox won, a total lunar eclipse colored the moon over Busch Stadium to a deep red hue. The Red Sox won the title about eleven minutes before totality ended. Many Red Sox fans who were turned away due to no tickets for the game were allowed to watch the final inning from the confines of Busch Stadium after being let in free of charge.\n
\n
Fox commentator Joe Buck famously called the final out, saying:
Back to Foulke. Red Sox fans have longed to hear it: the Boston Red Sox are World Champions!\"
\n
The Red Sox held a parade (or as Boston mayor Thomas Menino put it, a \"rolling rally\") on Saturday, October 30, 2004. A crowd of more than three million people filled the streets of Boston to cheer as the team rode on the city's famous Duck Boats. The parade followed the same route the New England Patriots took following their victories in Super Bowls Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and Super Bowl XXXVIII in February.\n
Following their 2004 World Series win, the Red Sox replaced the dirt from the field as a \"fresh start\". They earned many accolades from sports media and throughout the nation for their incredible season.\n
Pitcher Derek Lowe said that with the win, the chants of \"1918!\" would no longer echo at Yankee Stadium again.[63]\n
The Patriots win in the Super Bowl meant the Red Sox World Series win made Boston the first city to have Super Bowl and World Series champions in the same year in 25 years, when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XIII, followed by the Pirates winning the 1979 World Series.[64] The Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXIX in the ensuing offseason made Boston the first city to have two Super Bowls and one World Series championship over a span of 12 months since Pittsburgh in 1979\u20131980.[64]\n
After the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, which made Boston the first city to win championships in all four sports leagues in the new millennium, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe ranked all seven championships by the Boston teams (the Patriots in the Super Bowls played in 2002, 2004 and 2005, the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, the Celtics in 2008, and the Bruins in 2011) and picked the Red Sox win in 2004 as the greatest Boston sports championship during the ten-year span.[65]\n
^Francona, Terry; Shaughnessy, Dan (2013). Francona: The Red Sox Years. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 46.\n
\n
^Hohler, Bob (October 28, 2003). \"Point Of No Return\". The Boston Globe. pp. D1 & D10.\n
\n
^Stout, Glenn; Johnson, Richard A. (2005). Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise, Expanded and Updated. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 459. ISBN978-0-618-62226-9.\n
\n
^Hohler, Bob (December 5, 2003). \"Nice And Easy For Sox\". The Boston Globe. pp. E1 & E6.\n
^Shaughnessy, Dan; Ryan, Bob (April 2, 2004). \"Staff picks\". The Boston Globe. p. F12. Retrieved September 16, 2020 – via newspapers.com. World Series: Red Sox over Cubs\n
\n\n\n\n",
+ "page_last_modified": " Sat, 09 Mar 2024 15:15:23 GMT"
+ },
+ {
+ "page_name": "2004 Boston Red Sox season - Wikipedia",
+ "page_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Boston_Red_Sox_season",
+ "page_snippet": "The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series.After Foulke lobbed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz, the Sox had won their first World Championship in 86 years (this was the second time that Renter\u00eda had ended a Series, as he had won it for the Marlins seven years prior in the 1997 World Series). The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named World Series MVP. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox performed well in the 2004 postseason. From the eighth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees (a tie) until the end of the World Series, the Sox played 60 innings, and never trailed at any point. This was only the fourth World Series ever played in which the losing team had never held a lead. To add a final, surreal touch to the Red Sox championship title, on the night the Red Sox won, a total lunar eclipse colored the moon over Busch Stadium to a deep red hue. The Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXIX in the ensuing offseason made Boston the first city to have two Super Bowls and one World Series championship over a span of 12 months since Pittsburgh in 1979\u20131980. After the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, which made Boston the first city to win championships in all four sports leagues in the new millennium, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe ranked all seven championships by the Boston teams (the Patriots in the Super Bowls played in 2002, 2004 and 2005, the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, the Celtics in 2008, and the Bruins in 2011) and picked the Red Sox win in 2004 as the greatest Boston sports championship during the ten-year span.",
+ "page_result": "\n\n\n\n2004 Boston Red Sox season - Wikipedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJump to content\n
The 2004 Boston Red Sox season was the 104th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Managed by Terry Francona, the Red Sox finished with a 98\u201364 record, three games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, swept the Anaheim Angels in the ALDS, and faced the Yankees in the ALCS for the second straight year. After losing the first three games to the Yankees and trailing in the ninth inning of the fourth game, the Red Sox became the first team in major league history to come back from a three-game postseason deficit, defeating the Yankees in seven games. The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, capturing their first championship since 1918.[1]\n
Following the Sox' exit from the Postseason by the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, Red Sox manager Grady Little was fired from his position on October 27, one business day after the 2003 World Series.[7] Little, who had accumulated a 188\u2500136 record with the Red Sox, received a $250,000 parting gift as well as $60,000 in performance bonuses.[8] \n
During the 2003\u201304 off season, the Red Sox acquired a starting ace pitcher; Curt Schilling, as well as a closer, Keith Foulke.[12] Many visitors at their spring training at Fort Myers, Florida, were very enthusiastic about the 2004 Red Sox team. Expectations once again ran high that 2004 would finally be the year that the Red Sox ended their championship drought.[13]\n
The regular season started well in April, but through midseason the team struggled due to injuries, inconsistency and defensive woes, and fell more than eight games behind New York. A bright point came on July 24, when the Red Sox overcame a five-run deficit as Bill Mueller hit a game-winning home run to right-center off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The game also featured a now infamous brawl between Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek.\n
Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein shook up the team at the MLB trading deadline July 31, trading the team's wildly popular yet often hurt and disgruntled shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Chicago Cubs,[57] receiving Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins in return. In a separate transaction, the Red Sox also traded AAA outfielder Henri Stanley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for center fielder Dave Roberts. With valuable players like Cabrera, Mientkiewicz, and Roberts in the lineup, the club turned things around, winning twenty-two out of twenty-five games and going on to finish within three games of the Yankees in the AL East and qualifying for the playoffs as the AL Wild Card.\n
The team played its home games at Fenway Park, before a regular season total attendance of 2,837,294 fans.\n
Boston began the playoffs by sweeping the AL West champion Anaheim Angels.[59] The Red Sox blew out the Angels 9\u20133 in Game 1, scoring 7 of those runs in the fourth inning. However, the Sox' 2003 off season prize pickup Curt Schilling suffered a torn tendon when he was hit by a line drive. The injury was exacerbated when Schilling fielded a ball rolling down the first base line. The second game, pitched by Pedro Mart\u00ednez, stayed close until Boston scored four in the ninth to win 8\u20133. In game three, what looked to be a blowout turned out to be a nail-biter, as Vladimir Guerrero hit a grand slam off Mike Timlin in the top of the seventh inning to tie it at six. However, David Ortiz, who was noted for his clutch hitting, delivered in the 10th inning with a game winning two-run homer, off Jarrod Washburn, sailing over the Green Monster. The Red Sox advanced to a rematch in the 2004 American League Championship Series against their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees.\n
Despite high hopes that the Red Sox would finally vanquish their nemesis from the Bronx, the series started disastrously for them. Curt Schilling pitched with the torn tendon sheath in his right ankle he had suffered in Game 1 of the Division Series against Anaheim, and was routed for six runs in three innings. Yankee starter Mike Mussina retired the first nineteen Red Sox that came to the plate before Mark Bellhorn broke it up with a double with one out in the top of the seventh. Despite the Sox' best effort to come back (they scored seven runs to make it 8\u20137), they ended up losing 10\u20137. In Game 2, already with his Yankees leading 1\u20130 for most of the game, John Olerud hit a two-run home run to put the New York team up for good. The Sox were soon down three games to none after a 19\u20138 loss in Game 3 at home. In that game, the two clubs set the record for most runs scored in a League Championship Series game. At that point in the history of baseball, no team had come back to win from a 3\u20130 series deficit (only the 1998 Atlanta Braves and 1999 New York Mets had ever gotten as far as a Game 6).\n
In Game 4, the Red Sox found themselves facing elimination, trailing 4\u20133 in the ninth with Yankees closerMariano Rivera on the mound. After Rivera issued a walk to Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts came on to pinch run and promptly stole second base, this being what many consider the turning point in the series.[60][61][62] He then scored on an RBIsingle by Bill Mueller which sent the game to extra innings. The Red Sox went on to win the game on a two-run home run by David Ortiz in the 12th inning. In Game 5, the Red Sox were again down late, this time by the score of 4\u20132, as a result of Derek Jeter's bases-clearing triple. But the Sox struck back in the eighth, as Ortiz hit a homer over the Green Monster to bring the Sox within a run. Then Jason Varitek hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Roberts, scoring the tying run. The game would go for 14 innings, capped off by many squandered Yankee opportunities (they were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position). In the top of the 12th inning, the knuckleballing Tim Wakefield came in from the bullpen, without his customary \"personal catcher\", Doug Mirabelli. Varitek, the starting catcher, had trouble with Wakefield's tricky knuckleballs in the 13th: he allowed three passed balls in the top of the 13th. The third and last of those gave the Yankees runners on second and third with two out. The Red Sox were spared, however, as Rub\u00e9n Sierrastruck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 14th, Ortiz would again seal the win with a game-winning RBI single that brought home Damon. The game set the record for longest postseason game in terms of time (5 hours and 49 minutes) and for the longest American League Championship Series game (14 innings), though the former has since been broken.\n
With the series returning to Yankee Stadium for Game 6, the improbable comeback continued, with Curt Schilling pitching on an ankle that had three sutures wrapped in a bloody white sock (red with a blood stain). Schilling struck out four, walked none, and only allowed one run over seven innings to lead the team to victory. Mark Bellhorn also helped in the effort as he hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Originally called a double, the umpires conferred and agreed that the ball had actually gone into the stands before falling back into the field of play. A key play came in the bottom of the eighth inning with Derek Jeter on first and Alex Rodr\u00edguez facing Bronson Arroyo. Rodr\u00edguez hit a ground ball down the first base line. Arroyo fielded it and reached out to tag him as he raced down the line. Rodr\u00edguez slapped at the ball and it came loose, rolling down the line. Jeter scored and Rodr\u00edguez ended up on second. After conferring, however, the umpires called Rodr\u00edguez out on interference and returned Jeter to first base, the second time in the game they reversed a call. Yankees fans, upset with the calls, littered the field with debris. The umpires called police clad in riot gear to line the field in the top of the 9th inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees staged a rally and brought former Red Sox player Tony Clark, who had played well against the Red Sox since leaving the team, to the plate as the potential winning run. Closer Keith Foulke however, struck out Clark to end the game and force a Game 7. In this game, the Red Sox completed their historic comeback on the strength of Derek Lowe's one-hit, one-run pitching and Johnny Damon's two home runs, including a grand slam in the second inning off the first pitch of reliever Javier V\u00e1zquez, and defeated the New York Yankees, 10\u20133. Ortiz, who had the game-winning RBIs in Games 4 and 5, was named ALCS Most Valuable Player.\n
The Boston Red Sox are currently the only team in Major League Baseball history to overcome a three game deficit in either a league or a World Series championship.[citation needed]\n
The Red Sox faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. The Cardinals had posted the best record in the major leagues that season, and had previously defeated the Red Sox in the 1946 and 1967 Series, with both series going seven games. The third time would be the charm, however, as the momentum and confidence Boston had built up in the ALCS would overwhelm St. Louis. The Red Sox began the Series with an 11\u20139 win, marked by Mark Bellhorn's game-winning home run off Pesky's Pole. He later on said that he \"just did what he needed to do.\" It was the highest scoring World Series opening game ever (breaking the previous record set in 1932). The Red Sox would go on to win Game 2 in Boston (thanks to another sensational performance by the bloody-socked Schilling). The Red Sox won both these games despite making 4 errors in each game. In Game 3, Pedro Mart\u00ednez shut out the Cardinals for seven innings. The Cardinals only made one real threat \u2014 in the third inning when they put runners on second and third with no outs. However, the Cardinals' rally was killed by pitcher Jeff Suppan's baserunning gaffe. With no outs, Suppan should have scored easily from third on a Larry Walker ground ball to second baseman Bellhorn, who was playing back, conceding the run. But as Bellhorn threw out Walker at first base, Suppan inexplicably froze after taking several steps toward home and was thrown out by Sox first basemanDavid Ortiz as he scrambled back to third. The double play was devastating for St. Louis. The Red Sox needed one more game to win their first championship since the 1918 World Series. In Game Four, the Red Sox did not allow a run, and the game ended as \u00c9dgar Renter\u00eda (who would become the 2005 Red Sox starting SS) hit the ball back to Keith Foulke. After Foulke lobbed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz, the Sox had won their first World Championship in 86 years (this was the second time that Renter\u00eda had ended a Series, as he had won it for the Marlins seven years prior in the 1997 World Series). The Sox held the Cardinals' offense (the best in the NL in 2004) to only three runs in the last three games, never trailing in the Series. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named World Series MVP. The Red Sox won Game Four of the series on October 27, eighteen years to the day from when they lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series. In fact, it came 18 years to the day they lost their last World Series game, as they would sweep the 2004 World Series.\n
The Red Sox performed well in the 2004 postseason. From the eighth inning of Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees (a tie) until the end of the World Series, the Sox played 60 innings, and never trailed at any point. This was only the fourth World Series ever played in which the losing team had never held a lead.\n
\nThe Boston Red Sox are honored at the White House by President George W. Bush following the side's winning the 2004 World Series.\n
To add a final, surreal touch to the Red Sox championship title, on the night the Red Sox won, a total lunar eclipse colored the moon over Busch Stadium to a deep red hue. The Red Sox won the title about eleven minutes before totality ended. Many Red Sox fans who were turned away due to no tickets for the game were allowed to watch the final inning from the confines of Busch Stadium after being let in free of charge.\n
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Fox commentator Joe Buck famously called the final out, saying:
Back to Foulke. Red Sox fans have longed to hear it: the Boston Red Sox are World Champions!\"
\n
The Red Sox held a parade (or as Boston mayor Thomas Menino put it, a \"rolling rally\") on Saturday, October 30, 2004. A crowd of more than three million people filled the streets of Boston to cheer as the team rode on the city's famous Duck Boats. The parade followed the same route the New England Patriots took following their victories in Super Bowls Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and Super Bowl XXXVIII in February.\n
Following their 2004 World Series win, the Red Sox replaced the dirt from the field as a \"fresh start\". They earned many accolades from sports media and throughout the nation for their incredible season.\n
Pitcher Derek Lowe said that with the win, the chants of \"1918!\" would no longer echo at Yankee Stadium again.[63]\n
The Patriots win in the Super Bowl meant the Red Sox World Series win made Boston the first city to have Super Bowl and World Series champions in the same year in 25 years, when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XIII, followed by the Pirates winning the 1979 World Series.[64] The Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXIX in the ensuing offseason made Boston the first city to have two Super Bowls and one World Series championship over a span of 12 months since Pittsburgh in 1979\u20131980.[64]\n
After the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, which made Boston the first city to win championships in all four sports leagues in the new millennium, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe ranked all seven championships by the Boston teams (the Patriots in the Super Bowls played in 2002, 2004 and 2005, the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, the Celtics in 2008, and the Bruins in 2011) and picked the Red Sox win in 2004 as the greatest Boston sports championship during the ten-year span.[65]\n
^Francona, Terry; Shaughnessy, Dan (2013). Francona: The Red Sox Years. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 46.\n
\n
^Hohler, Bob (October 28, 2003). \"Point Of No Return\". The Boston Globe. pp. D1 & D10.\n
\n
^Stout, Glenn; Johnson, Richard A. (2005). Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise, Expanded and Updated. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 459. ISBN978-0-618-62226-9.\n
\n
^Hohler, Bob (December 5, 2003). \"Nice And Easy For Sox\". The Boston Globe. pp. E1 & E6.\n
^Shaughnessy, Dan; Ryan, Bob (April 2, 2004). \"Staff picks\". The Boston Globe. p. F12. Retrieved September 16, 2020 – via newspapers.com. World Series: Red Sox over Cubs\n
\n\n\n\n",
+ "page_last_modified": " Sat, 09 Mar 2024 15:15:23 GMT"
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+ "page_name": "2004 World Series | Baseball Wiki | Fandom",
+ "page_url": "https://baseball.fandom.com/wiki/2004_World_Series",
+ "page_snippet": "The 2005 movie Fever Pitch (or Perfect Match) starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon is set around the entire 2004 Red Sox season. Originally the script had called for the Red Sox to once again end in a loss short playoff success and most notably at the hands of the Yankees.The 2005 movie Fever Pitch (or Perfect Match) starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon is set around the entire 2004 Red Sox season. Originally the script had called for the Red Sox to once again end in a loss short playoff success and most notably at the hands of the Yankees. Down 3-0 in the ALCS this seemed certain but the team won that series against astronomical odds which sent the production staff scrambling to secure World Series tickets and filming rights for games 4 through 7. What was supposed to be another heart-breaking season for the Red Sox, which was popular at the time given recent collapses and the popularization of the Curse of the Bambino, turned into a great victory and caused a near full re-write of the ending of the movie. The two teams had played each other in two previous World Series, in 1946 and 1967; the Cardinals won both in seven games. The Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1918. The AL had been awarded home-field advantage having won the All-Star Game, giving the Red Sox the advantage at Fenway Park. Saturday, October 23, 2004 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts Tim Wakefield made his first start of the 2004 post season for the Red Sox and Woody Williams, who had won both his previous two starts in the post season, was the Cardinals starting pitcher.[23] In the bottom of the first inning, Williams gave up a leadoff double to Johnny Damon, and then hit Orlando Cabrera in the shoulder with a wild pitch. After Manny Ram\u00edrez flied out, David Ortiz hit a three-run home run in his first ever world series at bat. The 2004 World Series was the championship series of the 2004 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the Boston Red Sox against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals four games to none in the best-of-seven series played between October 23 and October 27 2004 played at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium.",
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The Cardinals earned their place in the playoffs by having the best record in the National League and the Red Sox earned theirs by winning the American Leaguewild card. The Cardinals then reached the World Series by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best of five Division Series, and the Houston Astros in the best of seven National League Championship Series. The Red Sox earned their place by beating the Anaheim Angels in the Division Series and the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. It was the Red Sox's first trip to the World Series since 1986 and their first World Series title since 1918. The Cardinals were making their first trip to the World Series since 1987. Both teams have won the World Series since, the Cardinals in 2006 and the Red Sox in 2007.\n
A home run by David Ortiz and a five out save by Keith Foulke helped the Red Sox win game 1. They won game 2 thanks to six innings from starter Curt Schilling. The Red Sox won the first two games despite committing four errors in each of them. Seven innings from Pedro Mart\u00ednez where he did not allow a run helped the Red Sox win game 3. A home run by Johnny Damon in the first inning won game four for the Red Sox to secure series. The Cardinals never led in any of the four games in the series and trailed at some point of every inning in all four games. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the series.\n
During the off-season the Red Sox hired Terry Francona as their new manager.[2] They also signed Keith Foulke as their closer[3] and Curt Schilling as a starting pitcher.[4] The Red Sox played two notable games against the Yankees during the regular season. On July 1 they came back from a three run deficit to force extra innings where, in the 12th, Derek Jeter made a catch on the run before hurling himself headfirst into the stands. The Yankees would win the game in the next inning to complete a sweep and take an eight game lead in the American League East.[5] In the third inning of a game on July 24, Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Alex Rodriguez. As Rodriguez walked towards first base, he was shouting profanities at Arroyo, and then got in Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek face, who then pushed his glove in Rodriguez face causing a Bench-clearing brawl. The Red Sox would eventually win the game thanks to a home run by Bill Mueller in the ninth inning.[6] They would win the wild card to earn a place in the post-season for the second straight season.[7]\n
In the division round of the playoffs the Red Sox faced the Anaheim Angels in a best of five series. They swept the series largely thanks to a seven run fourth inning in game one and a walk-off home run by David Ortiz in game three after Vladimir Guerrero had tied the game with a grand slam.[8] In the American League Championship Series the Red Sox lost the first three games against the New York Yankees and were trailing when they began the ninth inning in game 4. Kevin Millar was walked by Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, Dave Roberts then pinch ran for him and stole second base before Mueller singled to enable him to tie the game. Another walk-off home run by Ortiz won it for the Red Sox in the 12th inning.[9] Ortiz also won game five with a single in the 14th inning in what was the longest post-season game in baseball history.[10] Despite having a dislocated ankle tendon, Schilling started game six for the Red Sox. He pitched for seven innings allowing just one run during which time his sock became soaked in blood. In the eighth inning, Yankees third basemanAlex Rodriguez slapped a ball out of Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo's hand, allowing the Yankees to score a run. However, after a discussion the umpires called Rodriguez for interference and canceled the run. Fans then threw debris onto the field in protest and the game was stopped for ten minutes. The Red Sox won the game and became the first baseball team to ever force a game seven having been down three games to none.[11] A ten to three win in game seven sent the Red Sox to the World Series for the first time in 18 years.[12]\n
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Cardinals[]
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Having failed to make the playoffs the season before and their division rivals the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros expected to be strong teams, the Cardinals were generally expected to finish third in the National League Central.[13][14] However a strong offensive season from Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds where they each hit thirty home runs and 100 runs batted in (RBI) helped them to lead the league in runs scored. They also led the league in runs allowed with four starters recording 15 wins each and closer Jason Isringhausen a league best 47 saves.[15] They added outfielder Larry Walker in August and finished the regular season with the best win-loss record in the league.[16]\n
The Cardinals took on the Los Angeles Dodgers the divisional round of the playoffs. Five home runs in game one and no runs allowed by the bullpen in game 2, helped them win the first two games.[17] A complete game by Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima helped force a game four where a home run by Pujols won the series for the Cardinals.[18] In the National League Championship Series the Cardinals faced the Houston Astros where they won the first two games in St. Louis. However the Astros tied the series in the next two games in Houston before a combined one hitter by Astro pitchers Brandon Backe and Brad Lidge, gave them the lead in series.[19] The Astros tied game six in the ninth inning and Edmonds won the game for the Cardinals with a home run in the 12th.[20] A Scott Rolen three run in the sixth inning of game seven helped to sent the Cardinals to the World Series for the first time in 17 years.[21]\n
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Series[]
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Both teams had lost their previous World Series appearances. The Red Sox lost in seven games to the New York Metsin 1986, while the Cardinals lost in 1987, also in seven games, to the Minnesota Twins. The Cardinals had not won the World Series since 1982. The two teams had played each other in two previous World Series, in 1946 and 1967; the Cardinals won both in seven games. The Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1918.\n
The AL had been awarded home-field advantage having won the All-Star Game, giving the Red Sox the advantage at Fenway Park.\n
Prior to game 1, local band Dropkick Murphys performed Tessie and a moment of silence was give to remember local student Victoria Snelgrove who had been accidentally killed by police two days earlier. Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith another local band, performed The Star-Spangled Banner and former Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski threw the ceremonial first pitch. Also present at the game were actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.[22]\n
Tim Wakefield made his first start of the 2004 post season for the Red Sox and Woody Williams, who had won both his previous two starts in the post season, was the Cardinals starting pitcher.[23]\n
In the bottom of the first inning, Williams gave up a leadoff double to Johnny Damon, and then hit Orlando Cabrera in the shoulder with a wild pitch. After Manny Ram\u00edrez flied out, David Ortiz hit a three-run home run in his first ever world series at bat. Kevin Millar then scored thanks to a single by Bill Mueller to put the Red Sox up four to nothing.[24]\n
The Cardinals score one run in both the second and third innings on a sacrifice fly by Mike Matheny to score Jim Edmonds and a home run by to right field Larry Walker respectively. However in the bottom of the third, the Red Sox scored three runs thanks to seven consecutive batters reaching base, giving them a five run lead. Dan Haren came in from the Cardinals bullpen to replace Williams during the inning.[25]\n
In the top of the fourth inning Bronson Arroyo was brought in to replace Wakefield after he had walked four batters. Those walks combined with a throwing error by Millar and a passed ball by Doug Mirabelli allowed the Cardinals to reduce the lead to two runs. In the sixth inning, So Taguchi reached first on an infield hit and was allowed to advance to second when Arroyo threw the ball into the stands. Doubles by Edgar Renter\u00eda and Walker tied the game at seven. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ram\u00edrez singled with two men on base and a poor throw by Edmonds allowed Mark Bellhorn to score. Ortiz then hit a line drive that appeared to skip off the lip of the infield and hit Cardinals second baseman Tony Womack with solid force. Womack immediately grabbed his clavicle as a second Red Sox run scored. He was attended to once play had ended and replaced by Marlon Anderson. A precautionary X-ray revealed that there was no damage.[25][26]\n
In the top of the eighth inning, with one out and two men on base, Red Sox closer Keith Foulke came in to pitch. Edgar Renter\u00eda singled towards Ram\u00edrez in left field who, unintentionally, kicked the ball away allowing Jason Marquis to score. Walker hit also hit the ball towards in the next at bat. Ram\u00edrez, slid to try and catch the ball but tripped and deflected the ball away for his second error in as many plays, and the forth Red Sox error in the game. Roger Cede\u00f1o would score on the play to tie the game at nine.[25][27]\n
In the bottom of the eight inning however, Jason Varitek reached on an error and Mark Bellhorn then hit a home run off the right field foul pole, also known as Pesky's Pole, for his third home run in as many games to give the Red Sox a two run lead.[28] In the ninth inning, Foulke struck out Cede\u00f1o to win the game for the Red Sox eleven to nine.[23][25]\n
With a total of 20 runs, it was the highest scoring opening game of a World Series ever. With four RBIs, Ortiz also tied a franchise record for RBIs in a World Series game.[29]\n
Boston native James Taylor performed \"The Star-Spangled Banner\" before game 2 and singer Donna Summer, also a Boston native, performed \"God Bless America\" during the seventh-inning stretch. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by three members of the 1946 Red Sox team that faced the Cardinals in the World Series: Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky. Affleck was present again, as was actors Tom Hanks and Jimmy Fallon, who at the time was making Fever Pitch, where he played an obsessed Red Sox fan.[30]\n
Despite having a torn tendon in his right ankle and blood seeping through his sock, Curt Schilling started game 2 for the Red Sox. Shilling had, had four stitches in the ankle the day before, causing him considerable discomfort. He wasn't sure on the morning of game 2 if he would be able to play but after one of the stitches was removed, he was treated with antibiotics and was able to pitch.[31]\nMatt Morris started for the Cardinals on three days rest.[32]\n
In the first inning, Albert Pujols doubled with two out and Scott Rolen hit a line drive towards Mueller who caught it to end the inning.[31] Morris walked Ram\u00edrez and Ortiz in the bottom of the inning, Varitek tripled to center field to give the Red Sox a two to nothing lead.[33]\n
In the fourth inning Pujols doubled again and was able to score on an error by Mueller. The Red Sox also scored in the bottom of the inning when Bellhorn doubled to center with two runners on base to give them a three run lead. Cal Eldred came in to relieve Morris, after a disappointing performance, in the fifth inning. Mueller committed a World Series record tying third error of the game in the sixth inning, however the Cardinals failed to take advantage. In the bottom of the inning, Trot Nixon led off with a single to center, and two more singles by Johnny Damon and Orlando Cabrera, allowed enabled two more runs to score to make it six to one.[33]\n
Alan Embree replaced Schilling at the start of the seventh inning and he was then replaced by Mike Timlin in the eighth. A sacrifice fly by Scott Rolen in that inning would reduce the Red Sox lead to four. Keith Foulke then came in to strike out Edmonds to end the inning, and also pitch the ninth to end the game. For the second game in a row, the Red Sox won despite committing four fielding errors.[33]\n
With the win Schilling became only the fifth pitcher to win a World Series game with a team from both leagues, having previously done it with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.[31] He later donated the bloody sock he wore during the game to the Baseball Hall of Fame museum.[34] Large blame for the Cardinals losses in the first two game was directed at the fact that Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders, three of the Cardinals best batters, had combined for just three hits in 22 at bats.[35]\n
Seattle Marinersdesignated hitterEdgar Mart\u00ednez was presented with the 2004 Roberto Clemente Award prior to game 3, having announced his retirement one month before.[36] The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Stan Musial, who had played for the Cardinals for 22 years, and was caught by former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson. The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America were sung by country music singer Martina McBride and singer-songwriterAmy Grant respectively. During the game, a sign for fast food restaurantTaco Bell reading \"Free Taco Here!\", was hung over the bullpen, with the promise that, if hit, Taco Bell would give everyone in the United States a free \"Crunchy Beef Taco\".[37][38] \n
Once again the Red Sox took the lead in the first inning with a home run by Manny Ram\u00edrez off former Red Sox pitcher Jeff Suppan. The starting pitcher for the Red Sox was Pedro Mart\u00ednez and in the bottom of the first inning he allowed the Cardinals to load the bases with one out. Edmonds then hit fly ball towards Ramirez in left field who caught it on the run and then threw to home plate where catcher Jason Varitek tagged out Larry Walker attempting to score from third, and ending the inning as a result.[39] \n
In the bottom of the third inning the Cardinals had two runners on base with no one out. Walker hit a ground ball towards first base and Cardinals third base coachJos\u00e9 Oquendo signalled to Suppan on third, to run towards home plate. However Suppan suddenly stopped halfway towards home. Edgar Renter\u00eda, who had been running from second base towards third, was forced to return to second when he saw Suppan had stopped. Ortiz, at first base, began moving toward Suppan who turned back toward third where he was tagged out by the third baseman Mueller.[39]\n
Trot Nixon extended the Red Sox lead to two in the top of the forth, hitting a single to right field that scored Mueller, who had started the rally with a two-out double to left center. Johnny Damon then led off the Red Sox's fifth inning with a double to right and singles by Orlando Cabrera and Ram\u00edrez singled to right and left respectively, scored Damon to make it three to nothing. With two out, Mueller then singled sharply alone the first base line, enableling Cabrera to score the Red Sox's fourth run. Suppan was then replaced by Al Reyes, which meant none of Cardinals three starting pitcher had finished five innings during the series.[39]\n
Martinez was pinch hit for in the top of the eighth inning by Mike Timlin. He finished with six strikeouts, three hits allowed and retired the last 14 batters he faced. The Cardinals avoided the shut out when Walker hit a home run to center field off Foulke in the ninth inning, but Foulke retired the other three batters he faced in the inning to win the game for the Red Sox four to one.[39]\n
Gretchen Wilson, a countrysinger (and avid Cardinals fan), performed \"The Star-Spangled Banner\", which was followed by a fly-over by a squadron of 2 F/A-18fighter planes from Fighter Squadron Composite 12, which is based at Naval Air Station Oceana.\n
Skies were partly cloudy, and the game time temperature was 61 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius). Perhaps foreshadowing the game's outcome, a total lunar eclipse was visible from the stadium starting around 8:14 p.m. local time, the first time a lunar eclipse has occurred during a post-season game. The first pitch, from the Cardinals' starting pitcher, Jason Marquis, came at 7:26 p.m. local time.\n
Against the Cardinals' starting pitcher, Jason Marquis, Manny Ram\u00edrez singled with one out in the 3rd inning to equal the postseason hitting streak record of 17 games (tied with Hank Bauer and Derek Jeter). David Ortiz followed with a double down the right-field line. Jason Varitek hit a ground ball to first which Albert Pujols fielded, firing home to Yadier Molina, who tagged Ramirez for the inning's second out. But Marquis then walked Bill Mueller and gave up a double to Trot Nixon off the wall in right-center field, scoring Ortiz and Varitek, and missing a grand slam by a mere 2 feet. Nixon actually got his signs messed up, thinking he had a green light to swing on a 3 ball, no strike count, a rarity in baseball since it forces the opposing pitcher to throw a strike.\n
Scott Stapp, a Grammy Award-winning vocalist formerly with the group Creed, performed \"God Bless America\" during the seventh-inning stretch.\n
In the top of the eighth, Mueller led off with a single to right-center off reliever Danny Haren, and Nixon followed with his third double of the night, down the right-field line. Gabe Kapler pinch-ran for Nixon, and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa countered by calling on Jason Isringhausen to try to shut the door. It was Isringhausen's first appearance of the series, as the Cards generally use him as their closer. Isringhausen promptly walked Mark Bellhorn, loading the bases, but he got out of the inning with two strikeouts and another outstanding fielding play by Pujols. With the infield in, he snagged a Damon grounder and threw home, forcing out Mueller.\n
Lowe's night on the mound ended when he was pinch-hit for in the eighth inning. He finished with four strikeouts, one walk, and three hits allowed in his seven shutout innings, making three consecutive no-earned-run games for Boston starting pitchers (20 innings total). He became the winning pitcher in the deciding game of all three postseason series.\n
Bronson Arroyo came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth, and he walked Reggie Sanders with one out before yielding to reliever Alan Embree, who struck out pinch-hitter Hector Luna and got Larry Walker to pop up, ending the inning.\n
Keith Foulke, the Red Sox closer, came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. Pujols started the inning by lacing a single through Foulke's legs. Scott Rolen flied to Kapler in right for the first out. Foulke then struck out Jim Edmonds and got Edgar Renter\u00eda to bounce back to the mound, ending the game and the Series with a 4-0 Red Sox victory. In a somewhat fitting coincidence, their World Series victory came 18 years to the day (October 27) after their loss to the New York Mets in the 1986 World Series, and on the night of a lunar eclipse. As well, Edgar Renter\u00eda, who would make the last out, wore number 3 for the Cardinals, the same number made famous (or infamous) by Babe Ruth when he played for the Yankees. This combination of coincidences convinced many that the \"Curse of the Bambino\" had finally been vanquished. Also, outfielders Johnny Damon (whose player number was 18 at that time) and Gabe Kapler (whose number was 19) ran to jump into each other's arms, and then ran next to each other to jump into the victory pile, in which some fans claim was \"1918\" fading away. Manny Ram\u00edrez was named MVP.\n
This would be the second time in a row that the home team (in this case St. Louis) did not win the deciding game of a World Series. Notably, and displaying admirable class and a keen sense of history, the Busch Stadium staff re-opened the building's main gates to allow several hundred Red Sox fans who had been milling outside without tickets into the stadium to see the Red Sox' final victory.\n
After the end of Game 4, fans in Boston were understandably ecstatic. There was less rioting and damage downtown than there had been after the League Championship Series the preceding week, but there were perhaps twice as many people in the streets. This caused some problems when an ambulance tried to drive through the crowd to get to an injured woman. Although the crowd did get out of the way as the ambulance moved, they then reformed and even followed the ambulance. Most of the crowd was mostly peaceful and calm, some forming mosh pits and others dancing. Some did try to scale lampposts and ledges and most succeeding in doing so with no police intervention.\n
Many roads were closed off, including Yawkey Way, and a police perimeter was formed around Fenway Park to keep fans from trespassing into the field and stadium. Another two police lines were formed by police in full riot gear, along Commonwealth Ave., and Beacon Street, preventing anyone from leaving Kenmore Square. Most bars shut down during the hour after the end of the game. Small caches of fireworks were set off around the city, and many news programs showed several hours of footage of the streets in Boston and Cambridge interspersed with footage and interviews from inside Busch Stadium, beginning about 10 seconds after the final out was recorded.\n
Around midnight, the police line along the entrance to Kenmore Square began to move in on the celebrators, pushing them down Commonwealth Avenue towards Boston University.\n
In some places such as Lynn, screams and cheers of joy were heard, fireworks were set off and people were banging pots and pans. There were 35 arrests, mostly for minor offenses (e.g. drunk and disorderly conduct), 22 injuries resulting in hospitalization (one of which was a police officer hit in the face with a beer bottle), and some minor property damage (2 reported property vandalizations, several damaged trees).\n
Compared to the riots following the ALCS Game 7 victory one week prior, which caused damage to a McDonald's and a Sovereign Bank in Kenmore Square as well as the death of Victoria Snelgrove, a 21 year old college student, the reported property damage was minor. The next morning, most of the Boston radio stations' morning shows were also celebrating and rush hour traffic was very light on the usually congested Route 128 and Interstate 93. There were also reports of fans visiting the graves of family members across New England and laying Red Sox memorabilia and copies of the Boston Globe at their headstones.\n
\n
Series statistical trivia[]
\n
The Red Sox' eight consecutive wins constitute the longest post season winning streak since the Cincinnati Reds accomplished it in 1975-1976. The White Sox matched the feat the following season. *Although the New York Yankees accomplished this feat in 1998-1999, winning 12 in a row, they did so in separate postseasons (from 1998 ALCS Game 4 through 1999 ALCS Game 2.)
\n
For the third year in a row, a Wild Card team won the World Series, the longest such streak.
\n
Boston pitcher Derek Lowe became the first pitcher in history to be the winning pitcher in the series-clinching game in three postseason series and the first to win both the LCS and WS clinchers since Randy Johnson in 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
\n
By winning his start in Game 2, Curt Schilling became the first pitcher to win World Series games with three different teams. He won Game 5 with Philadelphia in 1993 and Game 1 with Arizona in 2001.
\n
Renteria is the second player in MLB history to end a World Series both by making a hit and by making an out. He won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins with a single. Goose Goslin was the other player.
\n
For the first time since the 1928 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals got swept in a postseason series.
\n
This was the first World Series since 1999 that featured no expansion teams (and only the second since 1997), the longest such streak in MLB history. It was the first meeting of unmoved \"original\" teams from 1901 since the Red Sox and Reds faced off in 1975.
\n
References in popular culture[]
\n
In an Olympia Sports Commercial filmed in 2004, Manny Ram\u00edrez was shown daydreaming about being the World Series MVP. A few months later, the Red Sox break the 86-year curse and win the World Series, with Manny Ram\u00edrez announced the World Series MVP.
\n
In an episode of Lost, footage of the final out of Game 4 was used to convince plane crash survivor Jack that the island inhabitants known as The Others know of events in the outside world. This was also a throwback to Season 1 of the show, in which Jack's father, Christian, claimed the Red Sox would never win the Series, a sentiment echoed by Jack as they believed they were cursed.
\n
In an episode of Boston Legal aired in early 2005, William Shatner's character Denny Crane says, \"Life is so different now that the Sox have won.\" The victory has also been referred to in subsequent episodes by Crane, Alan Shore and Shirley Schmidt.
\n
The 2005 movie Fever Pitch (or Perfect Match) starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon is set around the entire 2004 Red Sox season. Originally the script had called for the Red Sox to once again end in a loss short playoff success and most notably at the hands of the Yankees. Down 3-0 in the ALCS this seemed certain but the team won that series against astronomical odds which sent the production staff scrambling to secure World Series tickets and filming rights for games 4 through 7. What was supposed to be another heart-breaking season for the Red Sox, which was popular at the time given recent collapses and the popularization of the Curse of the Bambino, turned into a great victory and caused a near full re-write of the ending of the movie. The ending scene with both the lead actor and actress was filmed on the field at the same time the actual event occurred. Camera shots of the team celebrating in jubilation was mixed with Hollywood acting. Fox Sports went under criticism for showing the scene being filmed during the Red Sox' on-field celebration of Game 4. The movie was produced by 20th Century Fox (a sister company to the Fox network).
\n
In the 2006 movie The Departed, a full page of the Boston Globe, designed by Grant Staublin, can be briefly seen on the wall of Sargent Colin Sullivan's (Matt Damon) office. The page features a large picture of Keith Foulke celebrating the final out of the series.
\n
Series quotes[]
\n
\n
Down the right field line, into the corner it is...fair! And a three-run home run, Ortiz has done it again!\n
\n
—Joe Buck, Fox Sports, calling the 5th home run of the postseason by David Ortiz.
\n
\n
Back to Foulke, Red Sox fans have longed to hear it\u2026the Boston Red Sox are World Champions!\n
\n
—Joe Buck, Fox Sports, calling the final out of game 4.
\n
\n
Foulke to the set, the 1-0 pitch, here it is...swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it?\n
\n
—Joe Castiglione, 850 AM WEEI
\n
\n
I don't believe in curses, I believe you make your own destination.\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n",
+ "page_last_modified": " Sun, 10 Mar 2024 06:11:37 GMT"
+ },
+ {
+ "page_name": "Red Sox win first championship since 1918 | October 27, 2004 | HISTORY",
+ "page_url": "https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/red-sox-win-first-championship-since-1918",
+ "page_snippet": "On October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1918, finally vanquishing the so-called \u201cCurse of the Bambino\u201d that had plagued them for 86 years. \u201cThis is for anyone who has ever rooted for the Red Sox,\u201d Boston general manager Theo Epstein tells ...But in 2004, the team\u2019s luck changed. \u00b7 The Yanks were three games up in the AL Championship Series, but Boston made a miraculous comeback and swept the last four. Boston's opponent in the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, had the best regular-season record in the majors. But in the World Series, their pitching was weak and their batting was worse. The Red Sox won the first three games handily. On October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1918, finally vanquishing the so-called \u201cCurse of the Bambino\u201d that had plagued them for 86 years. \u201cThis is for anyone who has ever rooted for the Red Sox,\u201d Boston general manager Theo Epstein tells reporters. Ever since team owner Harry Frazee sold the great Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920, the Red Sox had been unable to win the World Series. Some believed the team was cursed. Before 1920, the Red Sox had won five championships, the Yankees none. After the Babe left, Boston\u2019s well ran dry. The Yankees, meanwhile, won a record 26 World Series after 1920. Boston had its chances to snap the streak. Boston lost the World Series in 1967 and 1975, too. ... Three years later, in a one-game playoff for the AL pennant, the Red Sox lost when light-hitting Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent cranked a three-run home run over the Green Monster. (The Yankees won the game and went on to win their 22nd World Series.)",
+ "page_result": "Red Sox win first championship since 1918 | October 27, 2004 | HISTORY
On October 27, 2004, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1918, finally vanquishing the so-called \u201cCurse of the Bambino\u201d that had plagued them for 86 years. \u201cThis is for anyone who has ever rooted for the Red Sox,\u201d Boston general manager Theo Epstein tells reporters. \u201cThis is for all of Red Sox Nation, past and present.\u201d
Ever since team owner Harry Frazee sold the great Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920, the Red Sox had been unable to win the World Series. Some believed the team was cursed. Before 1920, the Red Sox had won five championships, the Yankees none. After the Babe left, Boston\u2019s well ran dry. The Yankees, meanwhile, won a record 26 World Series after 1920.
Boston had its chances to snap the streak.
In the 1946 World Series against St. Louis, the Red Sox were winning Game 7 with two outs in the eighth\u2014until shortstop Johnny Pesky held onto a relay throw just long enough for Enos Slaughter to score the winning run from first base. Boston lost the World Series in 1967 and 1975, too.
1915 Babe Ruth Baseball Card
Three years later, in a one-game playoff for the AL pennant, the Red Sox lost when light-hitting Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent cranked a three-run home run over the Green Monster. (The Yankees won the game and went on to win their 22nd World Series.) In the 10th inning of Game 6 in the 1986 World Series against the Mets, an error by Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner plated the winning run. The Mets beat the Red Sox in Game 7 for the title.
But in 2004, the team\u2019s luck changed.
The Yanks were three games up in the AL Championship Series, but Boston made a miraculous comeback and swept the last four. Boston's opponent in the World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals, had the best regular-season record in the majors. But in the World Series, their pitching was weak and their batting was worse. The Red Sox won the first three games handily.
In Game 4 in St. Louis, Johnny Damon led off with a homer, and Trot Nixon\u2019s bases-loaded double in the third scored two more. Pitcher Derek Lowe gave up just three hits in seven innings as Boston won, 3-0.
\u201cThis,\u201d wrote a columnist for the Boston Globe, \u201cis what it must have felt like in 1918.\u201d
In the 2007 World Series, the Sox did it again\u2014they swept the Rockies for another easy victory. They won the World Series again in 2013 and 2018.
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