The 2004 World Series: Ten Years Later
- Thread starter The Talented Allen Ripley
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It's really absolutely perfect that he hit it off of crazy Julian.
I still feel like I should have been able to put all of the people who booed Bellhorn in 2005 into the vats at Deer Island.
I still feel like I should have been able to put all of the people who booed Bellhorn in 2005 into the vats at Deer Island.
I was fortunate enough to see Game 1 thanks to a great seats comped by my B-I-L.
I was in NJ and got a call about 8PM the night before to see if I wanted to go.
Road trip!
thank you David.
I was in NJ and got a call about 8PM the night before to see if I wanted to go.
Road trip!
thank you David.
Somewhat off topic...10 years, no, 11, no even more than that that Joe Buck has been announcing the World Series. For a trip down memory lane, all the WS announcers below. We used to have it so much better. Look at those names from the past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Series_broadcasters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Series_broadcasters
M
MentalDisabldLst
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PseuFighter got two tickets to this game, as a result of his family's season tickets. He could have asked anyone to go with him. He asked me.
Still one of the most awesome things anyone's ever done for me, and that includes girls choosing to get naked in my presence.
From the grandstands behind 3B, we watched Wake have a spectacular first few innings and then fall to absolute pieces. We couldn't see, from our angle, what happened with Manny in LF. A popup was hit over there below the grandstand wall, and... the crowd groaned and the Cardinals batters kept running. Had no idea that a sprinkler head was involved, but after the previous week, nothing was going to harsh our buzz. Bellhorn's homer had everyone going berserk, but there was no real doubt around us as to whether we were going to pull it out. We had Foulke, and they had... Julian "batshit" Tavarez.
Still one of the most awesome things anyone's ever done for me, and that includes girls choosing to get naked in my presence.
From the grandstands behind 3B, we watched Wake have a spectacular first few innings and then fall to absolute pieces. We couldn't see, from our angle, what happened with Manny in LF. A popup was hit over there below the grandstand wall, and... the crowd groaned and the Cardinals batters kept running. Had no idea that a sprinkler head was involved, but after the previous week, nothing was going to harsh our buzz. Bellhorn's homer had everyone going berserk, but there was no real doubt around us as to whether we were going to pull it out. We had Foulke, and they had... Julian "batshit" Tavarez.
That Belhorn home run was so massive. Really set the tone. After everything that happened in the ALCS, losing after blowing a 5-run lead and then a 2-run lead would have been soul crushing. If the Sox don't score in the 8th, I think the Cardinals are in somewhat better position for that game, even on the road. Embree, Arroyo and Timlin were already used, and Foulke was in the game, while the Cardinals had Isringhausen in the bullpen still. An easily forgotten part of that game is the top of the 8th. The Cardinals score two and tie it, in part thanks to two Manny errors, but they also had second and third with one out, and Foulke got out of it after the IBB to Pujols. Got Rolen to pop out on one pitch and then threw strikes to Edmonds. They had used a lot of pitchers, and I'm not that familiar with their bullpen, but if they take the lead there, I don't know if Tavarez is the guy in the bottom of the inning.
The thing that I found surreal, especially after the ALCS, was the the Cardinals never led in the series. Not for one inning. In every game the Sox scored in the first inning and held onto the lead, except for once when the Cardinals tied it at 9 in the 8th inning of game one (Bellhorn homers in the bottom of the inning.)
Thinking back on it, the game one victory was crucial - Schilling and Pedro and Lowe look much tougher when you're down 0-1 rather than up 1-0. (If you win one of those you split at 2-2, and there's always the questions as to Schilling's ankle and Pedro's arm/stamina for the 7th game.)
Thinking back on it, the game one victory was crucial - Schilling and Pedro and Lowe look much tougher when you're down 0-1 rather than up 1-0. (If you win one of those you split at 2-2, and there's always the questions as to Schilling's ankle and Pedro's arm/stamina for the 7th game.)
It speaks to how anticlimactic the Series was that this thread -- which celebrates the ending of an 86 year drought that most of us thought we'd never see -- has but a handful a posts, whereas the ALCS thread is a 9-page opus.
You rarely hear anyone talk about USA-Finland, either.
You rarely hear anyone talk about USA-Finland, either.
But it just never felt like that was going to happen. After they pulled out Game 1, they might as well have awarded the trophy to the Red Sox right there. After all they'd been through, you could not find a less likely team to screw up that World Series.
There was little left to say at this point.
I had a high school friend in Seattle visiting, which was an odd coincidence. So I got to pop champagne with someone who understood. Called my dad right away. All was good.
I had bought a plane ticket to Boston for the weekend -- IIRC the series ended on a Wednesday? Had there been a game 6, I was planning to hang around and try to insinuate myself into the scene somehow. I always vowed I'd be in Boston when they won… but they won too quickly. In hindsight I could have easily bought a ticket to St. Louis and gone to the game -- Cardinal fans were giving away their seats for game 4 to Boston fans. Or selling them at a reasonable price anyway.
Instead I landed at Logan at like 10am, hopped on the T, got off at Government Center and walked up the stairs right into the middle of the Duckboat Parade, with like 10 minutes to spare. I don't know if that was perfect but it was close enough.
I had a high school friend in Seattle visiting, which was an odd coincidence. So I got to pop champagne with someone who understood. Called my dad right away. All was good.
I had bought a plane ticket to Boston for the weekend -- IIRC the series ended on a Wednesday? Had there been a game 6, I was planning to hang around and try to insinuate myself into the scene somehow. I always vowed I'd be in Boston when they won… but they won too quickly. In hindsight I could have easily bought a ticket to St. Louis and gone to the game -- Cardinal fans were giving away their seats for game 4 to Boston fans. Or selling them at a reasonable price anyway.
Instead I landed at Logan at like 10am, hopped on the T, got off at Government Center and walked up the stairs right into the middle of the Duckboat Parade, with like 10 minutes to spare. I don't know if that was perfect but it was close enough.
Maybe the more years you lived and mostly died with this team, the longer it took to stop worrying about whether or not they'd win it all. The morning of October 27, I went into the bank for a business deposit. A guy that knew me said "your Red Sox have it made now." I said well, Derek Lowe has been great but who knows if he may revert to what he was like during the regular season. If they lose tonight, it's Wakefield next, and he's not really dependable. Look at game 1. And by then, St. Louis could be on a big roll. And, a very good team just blew a 3 - 0 lead. They kind of looked at me...I stopped. People in California have no idea what Red Sox fans have gone through and put themselves through. Renteria to Foulke to Mientkiewicz finally changed everything though. 2007 and 2013 and I'm probably down in the low 90s percentile of worrywarts. :unsure2:
Verducci: “On its most basic level, sport satisfies man's urge to challenge his physical being. And sometimes, if performed well enough, it inspires others in their own pursuits. And then, very rarely, it changes the social and cultural history of America; it changes lives. The 2004 Boston Red Sox are such a perfect storm. The Red Sox are SI's Sportsmen of the Year, an honor they may have won even if the magnitude of their unprecedented athletic achievement was all that had been considered. Three outs from being swept in the ALCS, they won eight consecutive games, the last six without ever trailing. Their place in the sporting pantheon is fixed; the St. Jude of sports, patron saint of lost athletic causes, their spirit will be summoned at the bleakest of moments.”
And now I need to go and have a good cry. It changed everything.
And now I need to go and have a good cry. It changed everything.
You forgot what it felt like when St. Louis had Pedro on the ropes, then. We were a couple of base running mistakes away from an interesting series.Spacemans Bong said:
HriniakPosterChild said:
Yep. At that point a home team hadn't lost yet and Pedro looked vulnerable. For those that don't recall - 3rd inning, 2nd and 3rd, no out, Walker/Pujols/Rolen due (and each had reached against him in the first). We didn't know that He would get the next 15 outs without allowing another baserunner.
I've been blessed with many happy moments in my life, but I can honestly say that in terms of sheer joy 11:40 PM on the night of Ocotber 27, 2004 was the happiest moment in my life. I finally got to see something that I never that I would, the Boston Red Sox winning a World Series.
I'll add, the WS win changed almost everything, but a sliver of credit (for me) has to go to the 2001-2 Patriots. That was so out of nowhere, so satisfying and shocking. Also instructive, it made me look at my team and think wow, maybe they are just better than everyone. That can happen. Prior to that I wasn't sure it could.
smastroyin said:
Don't forget the bases-loaded, 1 out situation in the first, in which a "sac fly" turned into an DP on a LF-assist. Some people have forgotten that by 2004, Pedro wasn't "1999 Pedro" anymore.
I'm wearing my Game 4 ticket/lanyard at work right now. After they beat the Yanks, a buddy and I decided to hit a game in St. Louis as it was way cheaper. Knowing there'd be a game 4 and if it was a sweep in either direction, we'd see the victory. Luckily for us, it happened to be the Sox. I'll never see a more important game in my life. From beginning to end, 2004 was incredibly special and will always be #1 in my heart. I've never had as much during a baseball season as I did in 2013, but nothing will ever reach the heights of 2004.
Pulled out the 04 champions hat and wore it to work today. Few coworkers came over and reminisced with me. Awesome to discuss once again where people were and how it meant so much.
Game 4 is on ESPN Classic at 5pm, by the way.
Game 4 is on ESPN Classic at 5pm, by the way.
chrisfont9 said:
We paid $600 per ticket ($125 face) for upper level just past third base. Way cheaper than anything we could find at Fenway for games 1 and 2.
Watch the Roberts' Steal- hold my breath, ten years later i still think he's gonna be call out.
Watch the 10th coverage, anchors ask-has the Red Sox Fan experience LOST SOMETHING!(you know since the Sox won)-Hey, whatever was lost I don't want back again, Red Sox Post Seasons were called "The Pain" for a reason.
Pull out and watch the 2004 DVD- Think about your people not with us then and think about those, there then, not with us now.
Win 10 Lombardis- won't be worth that night ten years ago.
Watch the 10th coverage, anchors ask-has the Red Sox Fan experience LOST SOMETHING!(you know since the Sox won)-Hey, whatever was lost I don't want back again, Red Sox Post Seasons were called "The Pain" for a reason.
Pull out and watch the 2004 DVD- Think about your people not with us then and think about those, there then, not with us now.
Win 10 Lombardis- won't be worth that night ten years ago.
Papo The Snow Tiger said:
Exactly. The ALCS was great because it was the vanquishing of the ultimate enemy but even after the champagne stained their carpet, I still couldn't conceive of actually winning the World Series. 10/27/04 was the ultimate. The magnitude of it all didn't even hit me until I got the DVDs a month later and proceeded to have the happiest nervous breakdown imaginable for the next four months.
Someday I hope I'm eventually over '04 enough to truly appreciate the other two, but ten years on... I'm not even close.
Happy anniversary, everybody.
Does anybody remember what time Game 4 ended? It lasted 3:14, and started some time after 8:00. Fox had all this Red Sox history stuff, so first pitch had to be at 8:15 or later. I'm guessing the exact ten-year anniversary moment will be a little after 11:30 tonight.
10 years. We've won more since then, but there really is nothing like (my) first.
Thanks to Tito, Curt, Pedro, Bronson, Derek, Tim, Jason, Doug, David, Doug, Kevin, Mark, Pokey, Orlando, Bill, Trot, Manny, Johnny, Gabe, Keith, Mike, Alan, Mike, Curtis, Kevin, Dave and several more.
Thanks to Tito, Curt, Pedro, Bronson, Derek, Tim, Jason, Doug, David, Doug, Kevin, Mark, Pokey, Orlando, Bill, Trot, Manny, Johnny, Gabe, Keith, Mike, Alan, Mike, Curtis, Kevin, Dave and several more.
The Allented Mr Ripley said:
This was another bonus. Sky and Telescope magazine is based in Cambridge. When I got my issue the next month, there were tons of pix of the eclipse with folks writing with a flashlight or a laser pointer on their scope or in the air "GO SOX". Such a blast. 2004 is the gift that keeps on giving.
TEN YEARS
I was still reasonably scared going into the series. The Cards had won 105 games, the most since...1986, when the Mets won 108. Unlike the Mets, though, the Cards were fried and the sox had much better pitching (and hitting) this time around. Watched every inning of the WS but was still a bit nervous, even until the end.
One thing that i have looked for but haven't been able to track down was the montage FOX played when they signed off that night. Photo montage of Red Sox history set to Etta James singing "At Last", the last photo was the from the opening credits of "Cheers" with the guy holding up the sign that says "We Win"LostinNJ said:
That song never gave me chills prior but now i get choked up when i even think of it because of that montage
Oh I have that same sensation about Pokey's throw to end Game 7. Pokey, of all people. I think his throw has a little hump on it though and each time I just see it sailing instead of dying perfectly into Mientkiewicz's glove.
JohntheBaptist said:
Eyechart would have stretched himself an extra five feet feet to corral a bad throw. The guy could play defense.
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