15 Years

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

Red-headed Skrub child
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
8,260
Seacoast NH
The physical and mental anguish caused by those games can't be adequately explained. I was at the three Fenway games and the tension combined with the length of games 4 and 5 was something that would probably kill my now 50 year old heart. I live in the seacoast area of NH but was working in Lowell at the time. In the top of the 12th I was having a serious conversation with my seat neighbors weighing the idea of going directly to work and sleeping in the parking lot especially since I'd be cutting out of work for game 5 since it was the early game. The group around me at game 5 was dragging ass before it started and agreeing that having the early game was perfect because we'd be able to get some sleep. Of course that game then goes on to end after the NLCS game that started three hours after the Sox.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,059
Hingham, MA
The physical and mental anguish caused by those games can't be adequately explained. I was at the three Fenway games and the tension combined with the length of games 4 and 5 was something that would probably kill my now 50 year old heart. I live in the seacoast area of NH but was working in Lowell at the time. In the top of the 12th I was having a serious conversation with my seat neighbors weighing the idea of going directly to work and sleeping in the parking lot especially since I'd be cutting out of work for game 5 since it was the early game. The group around me at game 5 was dragging ass before it started and agreeing that having the early game was perfect because we'd be able to get some sleep. Of course that game then goes on to end after the NLCS game that started three hours after the Sox.
I was living in Houston at the time (came so close in 2003 to getting to see the Sox play in the WS, as Houston also made it to game 7), so game 5 started at 4pm local time. I worked through the first few innings, and didn't even crack a beer until like the 7th inning, but that damn game went on so long I was pretty drunk by the time it was over.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,753
Twin Cities
...Gotta admit, I started to sweat a little bit.
Yeah. Explode to an 8-1 in the 4th, feelings of euphoria tempered with the realization that we have half a game left to go. An eternity. Still 8-1 in the 7th, just wanting quick outs. Let's end this! Then Pedro, and it's clear he's not going to dominate them. Then 8-3... If the aggregate of '46, '49, '67, '75, '78, '86, '03 taught us anything, it was that an ever more agonizing defeat could (likely would?) always happen. History wasn't defeated, until it was.
 

curly2

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 8, 2003
4,887
I've been wrong about roughly a million things in my life, but if, after I die I meet my maker and s/he asks "Did you ever give up on the 2004 Red Sox?" my honest answer will be "No."

God that series was amazing.
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
I took my father to game 3. He is the reason why I'm a fan, and he hadn't been to a Sox playoff game since Game 7 of the 1967 World Series. As we rode the T after that 19-8 drubbing, he told me that it seemed likely that the Sox would never win a title in his lifetime (he was 57 at the time). And he asked me to place a pennant on his grave, *if* they ever won in *my* lifetime. It was the most morbid conversation I've ever had, and yet I suspect there were many similar conversations that occurred that night.

I called him, in tears, from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium after game 7.

That week was the absolute pinnacle of sports fandom.
 

mwonow

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 4, 2005
7,095
I took my father to game 3. He is the reason why I'm a fan, and he hadn't been to a Sox playoff game since Game 7 of the 1967 World Series. As we rode the T after that 19-8 drubbing, he told me that it seemed likely that the Sox would never win a title in his lifetime (he was 57 at the time). And he asked me to place a pennant on his grave, *if* they ever won in *my* lifetime. It was the most morbid conversation I've ever had, and yet I suspect there were many similar conversations that occurred that night.

I called him, in tears, from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium after game 7.

That week was the absolute pinnacle of sports fandom.
The only game I could watch with anyone else was game 7 - with my father who was having spinal surgery that was likely to leave him paraylzed (with 'dead' a distinct possibility). I just about joined him in a bed when Damon hit the grannie...

Dad not only survived the surgery, he eventually could walk, drive and even play the violin. The mojo from finally vanquishing the MFY was strong indeed!
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,431
Harrisburg, Pa.
Each Christmas, my wife gives me a custom calendar featuring Pixel (our cat) photos and important dates, birthdays and anniversaries. This run of October dates brings me unbridled joy.

C2A62599-ECE9-42C2-B422-D6B1D0ABD4CC.jpeg
 

jasvlm

New Member
Nov 28, 2014
177
I've been a Red Sox fan since 1986. I was in Kenmore Square during Game 6 of the World Series that year, and I've never seen quiet descend on an area as I did that night. Reading about the pain of generations of Sox fans the next few days helped to cement my fandom. I was hooked.
My wife was in India during the 2004 madness, and I was home alone caring for my 2 children, ages 5 and 7. When the Sox went down 3-0, we were all despondent. All I asked for was one more game, and David Ortiz provided those games with heroic feats in Games 4 and 5, and ultimately the lead the Sox would never lose in pivotal Game 7. My daughter fell in love with Papi that fall, and another Sox fan joined the ranks. She's been very loyal ever since, and posted pictures of Papi on her Facebook page as he retired, citing him as a sports hero. HIs exploits as a Red Sox fan have bonded our family through summer nights and fall days. We live in MN, and Ortiz has a special following among Twins fans here, but our family roots for the Red Sox, and David Ortiz is a large reason why. I don't know that I can put a value on a single player's contributions to a fan's experience, but I know that Papi brought our family together during stressful times and joyous times, and helped provide common ground to rally around. To me, that's priceless, and I'll always have a spot in my heart for the man.
In April of 2004, I journeyed back to Boston (I am a Boston University grad, and have friends in the city) to support a friend from MN who qualified for the Boston Marathon. During my stay, I caught a game at Fenway on the Saturday before the race, with the Sox beating the Yankees on a beautiful day. On my way out, I purchased my first ever authentic home Red Sox jersey. I told my friend Deirdre that I would only put a number on the back once the Red Sox won the World Series-the number of the biggest hero of the title. I had visions of handing that jersey down to my children once I got too old, so that they could achieve the feat if the Sox hadn't won it all before my demise. Still, seeing that jersey in the closet that summer gave me hope, and a scant 6 months later, the title was achieved. I actually debated about whose number should be on that jersey-29 and 45 got strong consideration-but settled on Ortiz. That jersey now has patches from every World Series win the Sox have accomplished in my lifetime, as well as the 5 they had won before I was born, and it hangs in the den for easy daily viewing. Seeing that jersey, and the memories that it holds, is a source of unfettered joy and reverie, rare commodities in our short lives.
 

TeddyBallgame9

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
599
Ringgold, GA
Got two words for you: Curt Leskanic.
Agree about Game 5. It was excruciatingly tense. My wife scored tickets to see Tears For Fears perform on Jimmy Kimmel that night (her favorite band, and she had to pull a lot of strings to get the tickets) so we went down to a bar at Hollywood and Highland WAY before the taping so we could just walk across the street after the game. As the time to line up drew closer she kept looking at the clock, looking at me, looking at the clock and finally said "you're not going to Jimmy Kimmel with me are you".

When Ortiz finally hit that bloop to win the game I bought the whole bar a round.
 

Dan Murfman

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 21, 2001
4,186
Pawcatuck
My biggest Sox regret. Today is my birthday. So game 7 of 2003 started on 10/16 but finished after midnight so they lost on my birthday. After game 3 I just couldn’t take them losing again to them on my birthday. So as the game started like a big baby I just went to bed. Didn’t know the score until the morning. Total embarrassment.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,059
Hingham, MA
Another memory from game 4: as I was living in Houston at the time, I had to go to the bar most weeks to watch the Pats. Game 4 was on a Sunday, the same day the Pats ran their winning streak to 20 in a row. So I had been drinking from noon local time. By the time the 9th inning rolled around, it was around midnight, and I was lying in bed, ready to go to bed and close the book on the 2004 Sox. I distinctly remember when Roberts stole the base that one of my good buddies immediately texted me “alive”. It’s hard to remember too many details over the ensuing 72 hours but I’ll never forget that text - “alive”.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,447
Honestly. Two 5-hour marathon extra inning elimination games, followed by a game 6 where we're all sitting there praying that our pitcher's foot doesn't fall off.

I mean, I guess Game 7 was a laugher (kinda), so maybe the whole series only gets a 9.97 on the ultimate drama scorecard...
Game 7 is proof that God is a cardiologist
 

bob burda

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,549
Watching Mueller's drive make Mariano Rivera look like Charlie Brown always brings a smile to my face.
I've mentioned this before in threads years ago. In real time that ball is by Mariano like a slap shot a goalie picks up at the last millisecond before it goes by him and into the netting, but if you slow the video down, he comes closer to making the "glove save" (missing, then sprawling) than Jeter does to getting the tag down on Roberts. It's chilling - you'll never see this play the same way if you run it frame by frame - just another moment of "everything going right that had to go right" for them to pull it off.

The thing I like about it (other than the outcome, of course) is the sound of the ball off the bat - that ball is smoked. I wonder if the two hardest hit balls off of Mariano ever were by Mueller: this hit and the July walk off HR.
 

Soxfan in Fla

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2001
7,187
After winning Game 4 I looked at who we had pitching and felt we had a real shot to get to Game 7 where basically anything can happen. Of course I didn’t know then that Schillings ankle was fucking hamburger. Plenty has been said by all of us negatively about Curt over the last few years with all of it deserved. That said he showed a lot of guts going through what he did in those last two starts.

I obviously enjoyed 07, 13 and 18 a lot but none of those wins can really compare to the elation of 2004. I stood in my living room with tears streaming down my face as I opened and downed a full bottle of champagne on my own after we won it all.
 

Archer1979

shazowies
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Jul 18, 2005
7,870
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Been a Sox fan since '75 and if history has taught me anything through the years is that it's not a typical post-season for the Red Sox unless there at least some agony. To me, 2004 was an extraordinary exception up to Game Four of the ALCS as nothing was gut wrenching about Games One through Three. There was nothing gut-wrenching about the way that they had lost those game. After losing by more than a touchdown in Game Three, while I never gave up hope, I certainly was prepared for losing that series. But... without even knowing that Kevin Millar had said before Game Four with "Don't let us win tonight...", I saw the same scenario with Pedro, Schilling, and anything can happen in Game Seven, I certainly wasn't counting on it regardless of its unlikelihood.

My wife was legitimately concerned about me and my staunch denial that it was over. "Why do you do this to yourself?" was pretty much her go-to phrase to shut off the game and get to bed. I was less than a year removed from having to explain to my five year old son, who had gone to bed thinking that the Sox were going to the World Series, that Grady Little should have pulled Pedro, but didn't for reasons a five year old didn't quite understand. I read at some point after the Series from some columnist that they had him and were going after his son next. I understood.

Yet, I stayed up and watched the Ortiz game winner float into the right field alley. No chance I was going to go to bed after Mueller's RBI in the ninth and it paid off. I didn't wash the clothes that I was wearing and kept putting them on before each game until after the Cardinals were swept. At work, we had a fairly expansive project going on. Meant early morning meetings every morning to recap the activity from the day before and go over the deliverables for that day. We were zombies in suits, ties, and questionable caffiene addictions to be fed every morning from then on and started each day with a simple phrase.

"We'll sleep in November..."
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
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Dec 24, 2002
48,207
15 years ago, we got this gift of a post-season.

Like other posters, I also experienced a long-suffering loved-one - in my case my father - swear the team off (for the last time!) after game three.

While that was going on, I wound up watching the remainder of that series with a bunch of crazy strangers at the local Boston sports bar. Some of them no longer post here, some are slinging meat (not a euphemism), others are Brexiting and still others have gone dark. Regardless, I consider those people my brothers until the end of time. We went through that entire four day experience together like the actual team. Mainers expression after the final out of game seven...

Oh yeah, back to my old man. After telling me he was going to skip the rest of the ALCS and watch C's preseason games instead, I found him awake post ~2am ET every night after I got home from the Connecticut Yankee. He picked up the phone on one ring pretty much each time. The best one was after game seven of course.
 

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,957
Saskatoon Canada
This is the greatest baseball accomplishment ever.

The Red Sox and the Red Sox/Yankees are defined by this series.

Also Leskanic? Still can't believe that happened.
 

jaytftwofive

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
Few things stand out watching that 9th-

Always forget Leiter was with Buck and not McCarver.

The size of Roberts’ lead. Massive.

Genius move by Tito to waste one strike by Mueller
showing bunt, to set up an ambush on the next pitch. He got a cookie because Rivera wanted the bunt down, as he likely knew he could deal with Eyechart. Just incredible strategy.
I know McCarver did games 6 and 7. Did he do game 5. I think he did because he questioned Torre having Jeter bunt instead of hit in a key inning. I know he did game 6 because on the replay of Slappy hitting the ball out of Arroyo's hand you can hear him say......No, No that's interference.
 

hoothehoo

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
1,017
Here
I know McCarver did games 6 and 7. Did he do game 5. I think he did because he questioned Torre having Jeter bunt instead of hit in a key inning. I know he did game 6 because on the replay of Slappy hitting the ball out of Arroyo's hand you can hear him say......No, No that's interference.

Didn’t he call the game but go down to the Yankees clubhouse so he’d be there to do the champagne celebration filming and interviews?
 

donutogre

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
3,194
Philadelphia
I didn't get into baseball until I was an adult. One of my best friends is a lifelong Yankees fan who lived in Boston, but one of the "good" ones. Loves baseball, love the history of the game, would hit up Fenway on the regular just to enjoy everything about it, despite obviously having it in for the Sox. He really got me into the sport and the whole rivalry. 2003 was the first season I really followed the game, so I can't say I was waiting forever. But man, those were two wild years to be in Boston and be following the Red Sox.

I watched game 7 in 2003 at my friend's apartment near Symphony Hall and was overjoyed to see Clemens getting his ass kicked and Pedro dominating. Then it all went bad, and eventually I had to leave to get back to Brighton before the T stopped running. I remember a group of people watching the game on TVs in a hardware store on Mass Ave that had been left on for the night. I think the Sox lost while I was underground, and when I surfaced my phone rang. My buddy calling to say the Yanks just won in the 13th, and that he was sorry.

I also watched game 3 with him. It was the two of us and our girlfriends, and he was the only Yankees fan. He didn't gloat, but man it was a miserable night. The way the following four games unfolded is really like nothing else I had seen before or since. I always regret I wasn't more dialed into the Sox in the '90s; I basically missed Pedro's peak. But I am extremely thankful that I got on board when I did.
 

reggiecleveland

sublime
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Mar 5, 2004
27,957
Saskatoon Canada
I know McCarver did games 6 and 7. Did he do game 5. I think he did because he questioned Torre having Jeter bunt instead of hit in a key inning. I know he did game 6 because on the replay of Slappy hitting the ball out of Arroyo's hand you can hear him say......No, No that's interference.
He was there at the end of game 4 for Ortiz' homer too, and who can forget game 5, "He didn't do it again, did he?"
 

jaytftwofive

New Member
Jan 20, 2013
1,182
Drexel Hill Pa.
All three commentators last night. Big Hurt, Slappy and Papi all picked the Yankees to win last night because of Greinke's ineffectiveness. I hope Justin can wrap it up in tonight. I will be rooting for the Nationals in the WS regardless who they play. They're new and they're a nice story. I usually root for the AL but this time I'd like to see someone new. They were 19-31 and then got hot and haven't stopped.
 

StuckOnYouk

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
3,538
CT
Derek Lowe's performance on 2 days rest in game 7 will still go down as one of the most underrated performances in the history of the sport. It's amazing how rarely its discussed by anyone outside of Boston.

6 innings of 1-hit ball. TWO DAYS REST.

Heroic.
 

manny24

New Member
"I don't know what's going to happen tonight, but I've got your Game 1 ticket here if you want to buy a flight." - my dad, to me, on my 29th birthday - October 16, 2003.

That's how it started for me. About an hour before the start of what will always be known as the Grady Little Game. And, I had to think about it for a minute. At that late time, all I could get was a non-refundable ticket to BOS, and I wasn't exactly raking in the cash in those days. But, I did it, thus placing a ~$300 bet on the 2003 Sox. A losing bet, as it were.

And so it went - winter, slowly subsiding anger giving way to the 2004 season. Manny. Papi. Pedro. The Nomar trade. That August run. And now, back to the ALCS. The 19-8 game was my 30th birthday, and the late nights, extra booze, and growing despair manifested itself into actual physical illness. The Red Sox made me sick. I spiked a fever while watching game 4 at home. I went to bed before the end (yes, I know). My wife woke me at 130a to tell me they won. I was delirious. Wasn't sure I heard her right, and had to ask in the morning. I called in sick to work the next day, but gradually felt better as game time approached. Another win! Then the bloody sock game. And another phone call from home:

"I don't know what's going to happen tonight, but I've got your Game 1 ticket here if you want to buy a flight." - my dad, to me - October 20, 2004.

I thought about it for a minute, said "Fuck it", and bought the ticket. The rest, as you know, is history. I went to Game 1 at Fenway with my dad, both of us lifelong Sox fans. We were younger then, and it mattered more. My 45th birthday was earlier this week, and those 15 years (no doubt aided by 4 (!) championships) have mellowed me (and dad, now 72). I still care, but this season didn't KILL me, as seasons in the past have. Heck, I'm still smiling about the 2018 Red Sox.

I live in DC, and went to Game 4 of the NLCS at Nats Park on Tuesday with a Nats-loving buddy. It certainly brought back the memories of that 2003-2004 era, watching him squirm through each Cards (it's always the Cards, isn't it?) threat. And then, victory - unexpected, and hard-won.

Maybe that's why I'm posting this, even thought I never post here. I dunno. Those were special days.
 

ledsox

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 14, 2005
398
I admit it. I gave up. Shot down a Yankee fan friend that said "you still have a chance".
Even missed the first couple innings of game 4 jamming with friends in my basement. I had to detach just a bit.
I'm amazed that there were fans who did not feel resigned to disappointment. I lived through '72, '74, '75 and on and on...
We came upstairs from our jam and it was a game. Well, let's see how this one goes. That Yankee fan friend left muttering after the 9th inning and as the saying goes..."just when I thought I was out..."

I was getting into Pet Sounds at the time. I started a pregame ritual playing "You Still Believe In Me" "I know perfectly well I'm not where I should be..."
After the unreal events of game 4 and game 5, I did believe again, you had to. Nothing will ever approach those days of hope and wonder and the slow realization that the impossible was happening.
 

Martin and Woods

New Member
Dec 8, 2017
81
Games 4 and 5 were absolutely incredible and kept us from giving up hope. Then in the 4th inning of Game 6, Bellhorn hit the flyball to left that was ruled a double, though the replay clearly showed that the ball had cleared the fence and bounced off a fan back onto the field. Alas, here was yet another example of a "questionable" call that always seemed to go against the Sox or for the Yankees at crucial times: Armbrister non-interference in '75, Brett's pine-tar incident in '83 (McClelland should have just removed the bat from the game, but instead he disallowed Brett's HR, the Royals protested the game and won the protest), Jeffery F-ing Maier in '96, Knoblauch's phantom tag in '99, to name a few. This time, however, the umpires got together and changed the ruling to a HR. While the fan in me was screaming "Yes!" at the TV, part of me was thinking, "Huh, interesting." Then in the 8th, of course, Slappy was correctly called out for interference, erasing Jeter's run and sending him back to first base. "Wow, the umps got TWO controversial calls correct and NOT in the Yanks' favor. In the playoffs. In Yankee Stadium." The whole vibe of the series and the rivalry changed a bit for me. This is different. Not that I knew they were going to win, but this is different from before.

With that as backdrop to Game 7, Ortiz got us off to a great start with the two-run HR in the 1st. Then Kevin Brown loaded the bases and Torre brought in Javier Vazquez to face Damon. When Johnny blasted the first pitch he saw over that ridiculously short porch in right, I turned to my new bride (we were married on the beach and spent the afternoon of our wedding day in a bar watching the first playoff game against the Angels - god I love her!) and said, "They're going to win this fucking series. They're going to beat the Yankees in the playoffs. From being down three games to none!" I KNEW it at that point. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop. Confidence, in that situation, was a completely new and wonderful experience. And everything has been different since.

Our kids are Sox fans, even though we live in PA, and have enjoyed several World Series championships (how I love typing that). They have no idea.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,243
After winning Game 4 I looked at who we had pitching and felt we had a real shot to get to Game 7 where basically anything can happen. about
I remember thinking this as well. In hindsight, rainout after game 2 was critical. I thought Sox would have an advantage going on what would be 5 days in a row.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,059
Hingham, MA
Don't think so. It's been a while since I watched a replay, but didn't the 6 umps just huddle together for a few minutes each time and then come out with the decisions (without any electronic or other input)?
There were no ear pieces, but how the LF ump (Joyce) missed the Bellhorn homer and others had it... I dunno.

Edit: I'm sure I've written this before on SoSH, but double fuck Joe Torre for sticking his finger in the ump's face after the A-Rod slap play. That is truly embarrassing and pathetic.
 
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LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
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May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
After ALCS Game 4, I tried to figure out what I'd done differently. I had the same t-shirt, same empty water bottle stuffed in the sofa cushion, same old hat, etc., etc... I realized I hadn't shaved that day, something back then I always did every day.

"That must be it!" I said to myself, "therefore it makes perfect sense to not shave again until they lose."

Little did I know.

I hated that beard. I had to wear it until 2-3 games into 2005 Spring Training. Got a picture with the WS trophy in January with it though. So it worked out.
 

fiskful of dollars

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
2,874
Charlottesville, VA
That series.

I was a young intern working overnight shifts in the ICU during Games 1-3. Sick and dying patients every night. I was running scared. Interns in the ICU are terrified. I tried to check in occasionally but really couldn't follow the games at all.

Game 4 - I was post call, so, sleep deprived and cranky. Still, I turned on the game and stayed there, barely moving for the duration. I was happy but really too tired to celebrate Ortiz's game winner.

My young son and I had developed a tradition late that season. He would go to bed with the game still on but I would write him a note about what happened and leave it for him while he ate breakfast before school the following morning. I was usually in the hospital long before he would get up - so these notes were our way of discussing the game. I left him a note after Game 4 explaining about Millar's walk, Dave Robert's steal, Mueller's drive and how the Sox had come back against Mo. Ortiz was the hero.

Game 5...back on call in the ICU. About midway through the game an elderly man was admitted to our service. He had a Yankees shirt on. He was admitted for heart failure. We, of course, began talking baseball and the series. He was a huge baseball fan and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the history of baseball. He was a consummate gentleman and we bonded instantly. My shift ended about the 7th inning with the Sox down 4-2. I said goodnight to my patient and he wished me the same stating, "Those Sox will win someday. Hang in there." I drove home and turned on the game...I remember the disconsolate walk to my car as the fall chill settled all around me. I didn't even turn on the radio - I was too sad. When I got home and turned the game on I heard the crowd roaring before the picture came on and I knew something good had happened. Ortiz (of course) hit a HR to tighten things up. I sank into my chair (fatigue be damned) and endured ( I think that's really the right word) the most excruciating 2 hours of my sporting (fandom) life. 14th inning. Ortiz again. Sox walk off again. Writing down the night's recap for my boy was amazing. No celebrating on our field!

Game 6. The weirdest game I have ever seen. Still can't believe all those (correct) calls went our way. My elderly patient had the game on in his room. He asked if I would watch with him. I chuckled and said, "I think I'm gonna be a little busy tonight, but I'll check in from time to time." He said he hoped I would get some down-time and thanked me for taking good care of him. I told you he was a gentleman. I checked in after evening rounds about the 2nd inning. He bade me pull up a chair and watch for a while. He said I looked tired (this octogenarian in florid heart failure thought I needed a rest!) and told me to take a "half-inning off". I did. This may be unfamiliar to folks who haven't worked in an intensive care unit but the work is endless. Critically ill patients everywhere you look. More coming in, crashing, dying. It's an intense 36 hour shift and there is usually no time to eat, pee, or (hah!)sleep. I swear this is true: I sat there and watched the ENTIRE game without a single call, page, admission, alarming monitor, abnormal lab value, crashing patient....nothing for 3+ hours. Unheard of. When the game was over, I left quietly. My patient had nodded off in the later innings. Note tucked into lunchbox that day...Game 7 was coming and it was anybody's series now.

Game 7: Off. Watching with my wife and son...cheering the early inning heroics and sweating out Pedro's inning. REDEMPTION!! FINALLY!! Went to check on my patient...but got a bad feeling when his room was cleaned out - generally an ominous sign in the ICU. Well, it was a season for miracles. He had improved and been discharged out of the ICU and was getting ready to go home.

A brief coda: A few weeks later, I received a package at the hospital. My patient's son was a student at Harvard. He had asked him to buy me a World Series Championship T-shirt as a thank you. He wrote me a wonderful note. I'll keep that to myself - but I still have it.

A few days ago on the 15th anniversary, my son- now grown - sent me a text with screenshots of my postgame notes to him. Pretty cool.
 

Earthbound64

Member
SoSH Member
Edit: I'm sure I've written this before on SoSH, but double fuck Joe Torre for sticking his finger in the ump's face after the A-Rod slap play. That is truly embarrassing and pathetic.
That, and Yankee fans throwing trash on the field until Bob Sheppard had to (unsuccessfully) beg them to stop, and the field had to be surrounded by riot police - I can't believe anyone ever took any of them seriously after that.
 

HriniakPosterChild

Member
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Jul 6, 2006
14,841
500 feet above Lake Sammammish
Coincidentally, Dave O'Brien -- who was still a few years from doing Sox games -- was doing ESPN radio (maybe international?) that often shows up behind videos.
He and Rick Sutcliffe did the commentary for the international TV feed. I remember buying a DRM'd copy of one of these games from MLB (maybe via iTunes?) and was surprised it didn't have the FOX audio.

I wish there was an HD feed of these games.
Fox did broadcast the ALCS and World Series in 720p that year. HD was in its infancy and BluRay players did not yet exist, so the only video sold was the DVD box set (in 4:3 and in Low Def). It bugs me that when highlights are shown now, the Low Def video is what they use. Sometimes the DVD watermark is visible, on a FOX or ESPN broadcast, no less!

The fact that FOX HD cameras were present made it possible for the movie Fever Pitch to use footage of the actors on the field in Busch Stadium after the Red Sox won the series.

Derek Lowe's performance on 2 days rest in game 7 will still go down as one of the most underrated performances in the history of the sport. It's amazing how rarely its discussed by anyone outside of Boston.

6 innings of 1-hit ball. TWO DAYS REST.

Heroic.
David Laurilla did a great interview with Derek Lowe where exactly that issue came up.

DL: Did pitching on two days of rest help your sinker?

Lowe: I don’t believe in that. I would much rather pitch at full strength. You still need your legs under you, and you still need your arm in the right arm slot. If you get too tired, your ball doesn’t move anymore. I promise you. They should do that on the show Myth Busters, because it’s not true.
 

bosockboy

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
19,863
St. Louis, MO
Derek Lowe's performance on 2 days rest in game 7 will still go down as one of the most underrated performances in the history of the sport. It's amazing how rarely its discussed by anyone outside of Boston.

6 innings of 1-hit ball. TWO DAYS REST.

Heroic.
Absolutely. Him and Mickey Lolich are the two examples. That’s about it.
 

lexrageorge

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
18,099
What's still amazing is that Lowe had a horrible season and there was speculation as to whether he would make the post-season roster.

I was on a business trip, so I watched Game 6 from a hotel lobby bar in New Jersey, and Game 7 in southern Connecticut. The reactions of the patrons was interesting, to say the least.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2008
1,899
Lunenburg, MA
I was on a business trip, so I watched Game 6 from a hotel lobby bar in New Jersey, and Game 7 in southern Connecticut. The reactions of the patrons was interesting, to say the least.
I moved from NH to Jersey City in Aug 2004 and watched Games 6 and 7 at The Riv in NYC. Taking the PATH home and slowly realizing the train was full of MFY fans staggering back from the Toilet was among the most satisfying feelings of my life. There was nary a sound in that car, everyone was staring straight down, not making eye contact with anyone, let alone me with my Sox cap and feet not touching the floor. I was scared for a few moments that there might be trouble, but there was no life in any of them. They were zombies.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,207
That series.

I was a young intern working overnight shifts in the ICU during Games 1-3. Sick and dying patients every night. I was running scared. Interns in the ICU are terrified. I tried to check in occasionally but really couldn't follow the games at all.

Game 4 - I was post call, so, sleep deprived and cranky. Still, I turned on the game and stayed there, barely moving for the duration. I was happy but really too tired to celebrate Ortiz's game winner.

My young son and I had developed a tradition late that season. He would go to bed with the game still on but I would write him a note about what happened and leave it for him while he ate breakfast before school the following morning. I was usually in the hospital long before he would get up - so these notes were our way of discussing the game. I left him a note after Game 4 explaining about Millar's walk, Dave Robert's steal, Mueller's drive and how the Sox had come back against Mo. Ortiz was the hero.

Game 5...back on call in the ICU. About midway through the game an elderly man was admitted to our service. He had a Yankees shirt on. He was admitted for heart failure. We, of course, began talking baseball and the series. He was a huge baseball fan and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the history of baseball. He was a consummate gentleman and we bonded instantly. My shift ended about the 7th inning with the Sox down 4-2. I said goodnight to my patient and he wished me the same stating, "Those Sox will win someday. Hang in there." I drove home and turned on the game...I remember the disconsolate walk to my car as the fall chill settled all around me. I didn't even turn on the radio - I was too sad. When I got home and turned the game on I heard the crowd roaring before the picture came on and I knew something good had happened. Ortiz (of course) hit a HR to tighten things up. I sank into my chair (fatigue be damned) and endured ( I think that's really the right word) the most excruciating 2 hours of my sporting (fandom) life. 14th inning. Ortiz again. Sox walk off again. Writing down the night's recap for my boy was amazing. No celebrating on our field!

Game 6. The weirdest game I have ever seen. Still can't believe all those (correct) calls went our way. My elderly patient had the game on in his room. He asked if I would watch with him. I chuckled and said, "I think I'm gonna be a little busy tonight, but I'll check in from time to time." He said he hoped I would get some down-time and thanked me for taking good care of him. I told you he was a gentleman. I checked in after evening rounds about the 2nd inning. He bade me pull up a chair and watch for a while. He said I looked tired (this octogenarian in florid heart failure thought I needed a rest!) and told me to take a "half-inning off". I did. This may be unfamiliar to folks who haven't worked in an intensive care unit but the work is endless. Critically ill patients everywhere you look. More coming in, crashing, dying. It's an intense 36 hour shift and there is usually no time to eat, pee, or (hah!)sleep. I swear this is true: I sat there and watched the ENTIRE game without a single call, page, admission, alarming monitor, abnormal lab value, crashing patient....nothing for 3+ hours. Unheard of. When the game was over, I left quietly. My patient had nodded off in the later innings. Note tucked into lunchbox that day...Game 7 was coming and it was anybody's series now.

Game 7: Off. Watching with my wife and son...cheering the early inning heroics and sweating out Pedro's inning. REDEMPTION!! FINALLY!! Went to check on my patient...but got a bad feeling when his room was cleaned out - generally an ominous sign in the ICU. Well, it was a season for miracles. He had improved and been discharged out of the ICU and was getting ready to go home.

A brief coda: A few weeks later, I received a package at the hospital. My patient's son was a student at Harvard. He had asked him to buy me a World Series Championship T-shirt as a thank you. He wrote me a wonderful note. I'll keep that to myself - but I still have it.

A few days ago on the 15th anniversary, my son- now grown - sent me a text with screenshots of my postgame notes to him. Pretty cool.
This is an awesome story - thank you for sharing. I love the notes - your son will never, ever forget that. Amazing.
 

Bleedred

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 21, 2001
9,964
Boston, MA
That series.

I was a young intern working overnight shifts in the ICU during Games 1-3. Sick and dying patients every night. I was running scared. Interns in the ICU are terrified. I tried to check in occasionally but really couldn't follow the games at all.

Game 4 - I was post call, so, sleep deprived and cranky. Still, I turned on the game and stayed there, barely moving for the duration. I was happy but really too tired to celebrate Ortiz's game winner.

My young son and I had developed a tradition late that season. He would go to bed with the game still on but I would write him a note about what happened and leave it for him while he ate breakfast before school the following morning. I was usually in the hospital long before he would get up - so these notes were our way of discussing the game. I left him a note after Game 4 explaining about Millar's walk, Dave Robert's steal, Mueller's drive and how the Sox had come back against Mo. Ortiz was the hero.

Game 5...back on call in the ICU. About midway through the game an elderly man was admitted to our service. He had a Yankees shirt on. He was admitted for heart failure. We, of course, began talking baseball and the series. He was a huge baseball fan and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the history of baseball. He was a consummate gentleman and we bonded instantly. My shift ended about the 7th inning with the Sox down 4-2. I said goodnight to my patient and he wished me the same stating, "Those Sox will win someday. Hang in there." I drove home and turned on the game...I remember the disconsolate walk to my car as the fall chill settled all around me. I didn't even turn on the radio - I was too sad. When I got home and turned the game on I heard the crowd roaring before the picture came on and I knew something good had happened. Ortiz (of course) hit a HR to tighten things up. I sank into my chair (fatigue be damned) and endured ( I think that's really the right word) the most excruciating 2 hours of my sporting (fandom) life. 14th inning. Ortiz again. Sox walk off again. Writing down the night's recap for my boy was amazing. No celebrating on our field!

Game 6. The weirdest game I have ever seen. Still can't believe all those (correct) calls went our way. My elderly patient had the game on in his room. He asked if I would watch with him. I chuckled and said, "I think I'm gonna be a little busy tonight, but I'll check in from time to time." He said he hoped I would get some down-time and thanked me for taking good care of him. I told you he was a gentleman. I checked in after evening rounds about the 2nd inning. He bade me pull up a chair and watch for a while. He said I looked tired (this octogenarian in florid heart failure thought I needed a rest!) and told me to take a "half-inning off". I did. This may be unfamiliar to folks who haven't worked in an intensive care unit but the work is endless. Critically ill patients everywhere you look. More coming in, crashing, dying. It's an intense 36 hour shift and there is usually no time to eat, pee, or (hah!)sleep. I swear this is true: I sat there and watched the ENTIRE game without a single call, page, admission, alarming monitor, abnormal lab value, crashing patient....nothing for 3+ hours. Unheard of. When the game was over, I left quietly. My patient had nodded off in the later innings. Note tucked into lunchbox that day...Game 7 was coming and it was anybody's series now.

Game 7: Off. Watching with my wife and son...cheering the early inning heroics and sweating out Pedro's inning. REDEMPTION!! FINALLY!! Went to check on my patient...but got a bad feeling when his room was cleaned out - generally an ominous sign in the ICU. Well, it was a season for miracles. He had improved and been discharged out of the ICU and was getting ready to go home.

A brief coda: A few weeks later, I received a package at the hospital. My patient's son was a student at Harvard. He had asked him to buy me a World Series Championship T-shirt as a thank you. He wrote me a wonderful note. I'll keep that to myself - but I still have it.

A few days ago on the 15th anniversary, my son- now grown - sent me a text with screenshots of my postgame notes to him. Pretty cool.
Unbelievably cool post. Thanks for sharing
 

brandonchristensen

Loves Aaron Judge
SoSH Member
Feb 4, 2012
38,144
That series.

I was a young intern working overnight shifts in the ICU during Games 1-3. Sick and dying patients every night. I was running scared. Interns in the ICU are terrified. I tried to check in occasionally but really couldn't follow the games at all.

Game 4 - I was post call, so, sleep deprived and cranky. Still, I turned on the game and stayed there, barely moving for the duration. I was happy but really too tired to celebrate Ortiz's game winner.

My young son and I had developed a tradition late that season. He would go to bed with the game still on but I would write him a note about what happened and leave it for him while he ate breakfast before school the following morning. I was usually in the hospital long before he would get up - so these notes were our way of discussing the game. I left him a note after Game 4 explaining about Millar's walk, Dave Robert's steal, Mueller's drive and how the Sox had come back against Mo. Ortiz was the hero.

Game 5...back on call in the ICU. About midway through the game an elderly man was admitted to our service. He had a Yankees shirt on. He was admitted for heart failure. We, of course, began talking baseball and the series. He was a huge baseball fan and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the history of baseball. He was a consummate gentleman and we bonded instantly. My shift ended about the 7th inning with the Sox down 4-2. I said goodnight to my patient and he wished me the same stating, "Those Sox will win someday. Hang in there." I drove home and turned on the game...I remember the disconsolate walk to my car as the fall chill settled all around me. I didn't even turn on the radio - I was too sad. When I got home and turned the game on I heard the crowd roaring before the picture came on and I knew something good had happened. Ortiz (of course) hit a HR to tighten things up. I sank into my chair (fatigue be damned) and endured ( I think that's really the right word) the most excruciating 2 hours of my sporting (fandom) life. 14th inning. Ortiz again. Sox walk off again. Writing down the night's recap for my boy was amazing. No celebrating on our field!

Game 6. The weirdest game I have ever seen. Still can't believe all those (correct) calls went our way. My elderly patient had the game on in his room. He asked if I would watch with him. I chuckled and said, "I think I'm gonna be a little busy tonight, but I'll check in from time to time." He said he hoped I would get some down-time and thanked me for taking good care of him. I told you he was a gentleman. I checked in after evening rounds about the 2nd inning. He bade me pull up a chair and watch for a while. He said I looked tired (this octogenarian in florid heart failure thought I needed a rest!) and told me to take a "half-inning off". I did. This may be unfamiliar to folks who haven't worked in an intensive care unit but the work is endless. Critically ill patients everywhere you look. More coming in, crashing, dying. It's an intense 36 hour shift and there is usually no time to eat, pee, or (hah!)sleep. I swear this is true: I sat there and watched the ENTIRE game without a single call, page, admission, alarming monitor, abnormal lab value, crashing patient....nothing for 3+ hours. Unheard of. When the game was over, I left quietly. My patient had nodded off in the later innings. Note tucked into lunchbox that day...Game 7 was coming and it was anybody's series now.

Game 7: Off. Watching with my wife and son...cheering the early inning heroics and sweating out Pedro's inning. REDEMPTION!! FINALLY!! Went to check on my patient...but got a bad feeling when his room was cleaned out - generally an ominous sign in the ICU. Well, it was a season for miracles. He had improved and been discharged out of the ICU and was getting ready to go home.

A brief coda: A few weeks later, I received a package at the hospital. My patient's son was a student at Harvard. He had asked him to buy me a World Series Championship T-shirt as a thank you. He wrote me a wonderful note. I'll keep that to myself - but I still have it.

A few days ago on the 15th anniversary, my son- now grown - sent me a text with screenshots of my postgame notes to him. Pretty cool.
I love the story about your son and the notes. That’s amazing stuff.