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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
2004 WORLD SERIES, GAME #4
The Red Sox reverse the curse and
are the World Champions
(Can you believe it?)
October 27, 2004 ... Avengers of 86 years of raw yearning, Terry Francona's raggedy renegades last night liberated generations of
Sox fans from the purgatory of their unrequited dreams when they buried the Cardinals, 3-0, before 52,037 under a canopy of clouds beneath a Blood Red Moon at Busch Stadium to win their first World Series since 1918.
In the finale, a game played on the date of Boston's Game 7 loss in the excruciating 1986 World Series, Johnny Damon led off with a home run and the Sox were never threatened. Trot Nixon added a pair of runs with a bases-loaded double in the third. Lowe mowed down the Cardinals for seven
innings, then let relievers Bronson Arroyo, Alan Embree, and Foulke finish the job.
It ended at 11:40 p.m. EDT when Edgar Renteria went out on an easy grounder to Foulke. Foulke ran toward first and underhanded the ball to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. A half hour later, the historic ball was locked in the grasp of Mientkiewicz's right hand.
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DEREK LOWE |
Lowe gave up a leadoff single in the first, then retired the next 13 Cardinals in order. St. Louis sluggers took a lot of ugly swings. The Cardinals did not put up much of a fight. After just three innings, it felt like it was already over. The affable sinkerballer became the first pitcher
in history to win the clinchers of three postseason series in the same year. With Lowe gone, Bronson Arroyo got the first out in the eighth inning before he walked pinch hitter Reggie Sanders. Francona summoned Alan Embree, who caught pinch hitter Hector Luna swinging at a
94-mile-per-hour heater and retired Larry Walker on a weak pop to short. Foulke, the most valuable addition to the team this year other than Schilling, did the rest, finishing off the Cardinals for the fourth time in as many games.
The historic triumph touched off a delirious celebration from the infield in St. Louis to the far reaches of New England. While the Sox jumped all over each other in joy, great-grandparents who were old enough to remember Babe Ruth helping the Sox win their last World Series and star-struck
school children whose memories run little deeper than the Manny Era reveled back home.
One of the elder statesmen, Johnny Pesky, joined in the clubhouse celebration. After celebrating on the field and in the visitors clubhouse, the World Champion Red Sox went back to their hotel, packed, and bused to the airport for a charter back to Boston.
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