And it still took a shocking and then-unprecedented meltdown by the greatest closer of all time to drive the stake into their intangibled heart.
But Ruth, Gehrig, and Belle did it in short seasons - 154 games for Gehrig and Ruth, 144 for Belle.
One overlooked bit of Red Sox history (by me, anyway) that this season has highlighted is how anomalously dominant that 1946 team was. I mean, I think people knew they were great, but how many of us were aware that they were 20 games over .500 better than any other Sox team in the 100-year period between 1918 and now?
Throw in the fact that the playoffs that year were just a few weeks after 9-11, and that has to be one of the more surreal World Series ever. And I agree, if ever there was evidence that the champ isn't pre-ordained, that was it. I actually tried pretty hard to root MFY that series ... and failed miserably. I remember watching Game 7 at my friend's apartment in NYC and being simultaneously elated and feeling like a complete shitheel.
Is it really that weird? I mean, we all needed a ray of happiness at that time, but New Yorkers needed it most of all.
It's funny but I'm not even sure that this would be a good thing for the Sox. If somehow both Seattle and Oakland passed Houston or MFY then yeah, that would be great. But a Houston/MFY wc game just means that the Sox are basically guaranteed to face one of those teams in the division series. The more expected outcome would lead to at least a possibility of the Sox being able to avoid both teams. If the MFY burned their #1 (probably Severino, assuming he gets back to normal) and actually beat Houston in the wc game then I'd definitely like the Sox in that matchup. Houson in the division series would be tossup though, and I think the likeliest path to the Sox having a short post season.
My biggest 'fear' at this point if I was a Boston fan (besides of course injuries) would be OAK throwing a righty in the wild card game against NY like Jackson or Cahill (because NY kills lefties) and OAK winning the game and having Manaea lined up for both Sale games plus a long plane trip for both teams mid-series, to Oakland and possibly back.
Nor did I root for the Yankees after 9-11. In fact, I expressly wanted them to lose because I was convinced them winning in 2001 would be chalked up to some awful divine intervention because “God loves the Yankees.” So when they lost in the most excruciating fashion possible—with a PED guy hitting the dinkiest piece of shit pop up in postseason history off their HOF closer—I was positively elated.Not me, sorry.
Honestly a bit disappointed in any Boston fans who did, that's not how this is supposed to work, especially pre-2004 as you say.Nor did I root for the Yankees after 9-11. In fact, I expressly wanted them to lose because I was convinced them winning in 2001 would be chalked up to some awful divine intervention because “God loves the Yankees.” So when they lost in the most excruciating fashion possible—with a PED guy hitting the dinkiest piece of shit pop up in postseason history off their HOF closer—I was positively elated.
I know it would have been great for New Yorkers and it probably had something to do with it being pre-2004. But I ... I ... just couldn’t do it. Sorry.
2004 Red Sox beat a 92 win Angel team, a 101 win MFY team, and a 105 win Cardinal team. I remember there being a discussion at the time whether that was the highest number of opposing team wins by any WS champion, but I can't remember the outcome and I can't find anything quickly on the interweb.
Haha, well, okay, then. I feel marginally less guilty about cheering like a madman when Luis Gonzalez fisted that bullshit base hit. ;-PNot me, sorry.
And let the terrorists win?
Have you guys been to New York? I know Mets fans in NYC who weren't rooting for the Yankees in 2001.
Right, on man.Honestly a bit disappointed in any Boston fans who did, that's not how this is supposed to work, especially pre-2004 as you say.
There you go--we're all here to help, right? And like @jon abbey said--we're not letting them take that away from us!
Yeah, I was a senior in at Umass in 2001. First three years, all Yankees WS wins. Was an inning away from having the Yankees sweep all 4 years. Knew plenty of Yankees fans who would have let me know that repeatedly. Thank you, Mark Grace, Tony Womack, and Luis Gonzalez (and Schilling and Johnson, too). And Scott Brosius/BK Kim still owe me a lawn chair or 3 that got smashed to pieces.
2011 Cardinals beat 96 win Rangers, 96 win Brewers, 102 win Phillies for 294. That's the closest since the changes in 1995.
Agreed although Marlins in 2003 came pretty close since I was still quite bitter about the ALCS.
Pretending we need that guy really keeps the board together.
My favorite Yankee losses of all time:
Recency bias alert, but after 8/5/18, I thought that might be one of the all-time great MFY non-playoff losses.
Let's just keep our fingers crossed that no one comes down with dysentery.
Does that make a difference though, since we're comparing two quantities that are both affected by the difference in season length? I suppose it would make a difference at the extremes--it would obviously be a lot easier to have more HR than losses in a one-game season. But I wouldn't expect the difference between 144 and 162 games to make it significantly more or less likely.
Games 3/4 against Detroit in the 2006 ALDS are up there for me. Game 3 was the Kenny Rogers game and that was the loaded Yankee offense that had ARod batting seventh or whatever it was at the end of that series.
One of my sons, who's gone over to the green and gold side (family he married into, where he lives. No excuse still) tells me Manaea's just been pretty good most of the year, and not as good in the second half. It is true that Boston has more trouble with the LHPs though with a slash of .263 .335 .419 vs. lefties and .272 .341 .479 vs. righties. It's not Mookie, who is all over lefties even more than righties. JD is a culprit, if you want to say that, being a full .200 worse against lefties than righties. I didn't know that. Still a .916 OPS vs. lefties. Not bad. It is the lefties in the lineup that have a rough split, Benintendi (who is "up" to .715 vs LHP. He's .945 vs. R. Moreland at .709 and .826. Bogaerts is .877 vs. RHP. .793 vs. left. Nunez is a little worse against lefties than righties.
Yeah this was my thought too. 2006 sucked after the Sox got decimated with injuries and suffered that 5 game sweep or whatever it was, but it was awesome watching Kenny Rogers destroy them and A-Rod hit 8th.
Easily the worst one in my lifetime for me, because they hadn’t won anything yet. 2001 and 2003 and 2004 were tough to get upset about after 4 titles between 1996-2000.
MFY fans that I know weren't rooting for the Sox in 13 and 9/11 didn't give me any reason to cheer for the MFY.
Oh, like you weren't breaking things in your apartment after 2004, Jon. (It's ok, bc pretty much all my enjoyment prior to 2004 was wrapped around when the Yankees didn't win -- and 2003 put me in a funk it took my father to get me out of).
That Cardinal team... hard to believe they won 105 games. But then again, they had some serious bats:
@Dahabenzapple2 can testify that I was totally calm as he called me right after it ended. Winning four times in five seasons really makes it hard to get upset about anything baseball-related for the next 15 or 20 years after that, at least if you are a somewhat rational fan (contradiction in terms, I know). (Some) Patriots fans can maybe understand this at this point, although I'm not holding myself up as typical in any way.
Fair -- I wasn't really that upset with the Pats losing this past Super Bowl.
We’re not gonna stop until @Sam Ray Not repents for wasting the emotion of guilt on the Mother Fucking Yankees.
