For the third time in less than 10 years, the Boston Red Sox have ended their season with champagne, tears, a trophy, and of course, duck boats. Going from the circus act that was Bobby V and fried chicken, to a group of gritty guys who play until the very last out, this championship team is something to be proud of.
Ben Cherington came in to replace the coveted Theo Epstein and once given full control, showed that he was the rightful man for the job. Brilliant offseason acquisitions of Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Shane Victorino, and countless others brought a sense of comradery to the team.
No signing could have been as big as the one that brought manager John Farrell back to the home dugout at Fenway Park. Farrell set the tone early in spring training and put this team on the track to succeed.
Right from the get go you could feel this group of guys gel perfectly. There was a good mix of veterans, youngsters, and key role players who all seemed to work as magically as the seems of a baseball do.
As the season progressed, so did the strength of this team, along with its facial hair. Each month passed and every time you looked towards the top of the standings in the AL East, the Sox were there.
At the All-Star break, Boston was a comfortable four games up on the Tampa Bay Rays for tops in the East, while the struggling New York Yankees were a dismal fourth.
As a Sox fan, you would know that Boston does usually have a strong first half of the season, but seem do decline as baseball goes deeper and deeper into the summer. No need to reference the embarrassing collapse of the beer drinking multimillionaires from last season’s club.
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This year was a much different story. Jon Lester turned into the ace we all knew he could be, while John Lackey, Felix Dubront, and newly acquired vet Jake Peavy all turned in respectable outings time after time. Lester and Lackey put the pitching rotation on their backs while a 9-0 Clay Buchholz was on the DL for an extended amount of time.
Unfortunately for the other team, once you got through the starters, the bullpen was no piece of cake either. Composed of closer and ALCS MVP Koji Uehara, set-up men Junichi Tazawa, and Craig Breslow, made for a strong 7-8-9 combo.
While the pitchers were dominating on the mound, all the Red Sox offense was doing was scoring the most runs in all of the Major Leagues. The exact number of runs they scored throughout the season was 853; 57 more runs then the second place Detroit Tigers. They were second in baseball in total hits, No.1 in doubles, No. 6 in home runs, No. 1 in RBI, and No. 2 in average. Oh, and they also led all of the Majors in slugging and on base percentage.
David Ortiz continued to be the greatest designated hitter who has ever played this game by leading the team in average (.309), home runs (30), RBI (103), and OBP (.395). Other contributors include Jacoby Ellsbury who swiped an impressive 52 bases and hit .298, Dustin Pedroia led the team in hits with 193 while he hit .301 with 84 RBI. Daniel Nava hit over .300, and Mike Napoli belted 23 moon shots that I’m not quite sure have even landed yet. This team was so well rounded top to bottom in the batting order.
Once the tragedies of the Boston Marathon rocked this city, the Sox became instant inspiration and a symbol of hope. Beginning the infamous “ Boston Strong” slogan, this team was putting the city in their dugout whether at home or on the road. The Red Sox owned Boston, as David Ortiz put so elegantly.
With 617 hanging from every dugout the Red Sox stepped foot in from then on out, they had an inspiration that doesn’t come along every season, and them embraced it. The product they put out on the field was a never say die style that was clearly a staple of their game from walkoff home runs multiple times a week to late inning grand slams and solo home runs that could only make you feel that we were destined to win.
When the playoffs were underway, this team made sure that it would be able to play on its home grass as much as possible by capturing home field advantage.
Each playoff series was a dog fight that this team was built to win. A group of guys who loved nothing more than coming to the ballpark every day looking forward to seeing each other and to play the game that they and all of us fell in love with at a young age.
When the World Series came to Boston, electricity filled the air and the city was ready for another title. This six game series was filled with unimaginable endings including an obstruction call along with a first time pick-off to end the game.
After all was said and done, the Red Sox celebrated on the Fenway grounds for the first time since 1918. A party of unimaginable proportions ensued while beards were being put on ducks.
David Ortiz solidified his rightful spot in history with his incredible postseason performance, especially in the World Series in which he received MVP honors.
A new dynasty has been born in Boston and its an uplifting feeling that we are never going to forget.
