2004 Postseason Walk Offs

10/8 - It does not get much more dramatic than a homerun that ends a game and a Playoff Series at the same time, but David Ortiz did just that to beat the Anaheim Angels in a sweep of the 2004 ALDS. The Red Sox had earlier relinquished a 6-2 lead in this game when Vladimir Guerrero blasted a Grand Slam off Mike Timlin in the 7th inning to tie it where it would stay until the 10th. But Ortiz came to the rescue as he shot a Jarrod Washburn offering over the Green Monster to send Boston back to the ALCS where history was about to be re-written.

Ortiz keeps the Sox alive in Game 4

10/17 - Kicking off one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of sports, Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts, Bill Mueller, and eventually David Ortiz gave Red Sox Nation their first glimmer of hope in a League Championship Series for the ages. After Millar drew a walk from Mariano Rivera to lead off the 9th, pinch runner Dave Roberts swiped second base and was promptly driven in by Mueller to send the game into extras. Alan Embree and Curtis Leskanic worked three innings of scoreless relief to set up Big Papi's 12th inning bomb off Paul Quantrill to give the Sox their first of eight victories in a row, and started a sequence of remarkable events that you would most commonly find in a Hollywood Screenplay.

10/18 - After staving off elimination the night before, Papi and the Red Sox continued their never-say-die ways in the longest Playoff game in baseball history. After battling back just to send the game into extra innings, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Myers, Alan Embree, and Tim Wakefield pitched five scoreless innings of relief to allow the Sox the opportunity to end this marathon game in the 14th. Johnny Damon walked with one out in the 14th inning, with Manny Ramirez pushing him to 2nd base on a two-out walk. Ortiz followed that with what can be looked back on as the hit might have sealed the Yankees' fate. Big Papi's two out single off Esteban Loaiza plated Damon with the game-winning run, propelling the Bo Sox into New York with about as much momentum as a team can have in baseball. There is little doubt among Red Sox Nation that we may still be looking for that 6th World Title if it weren't for David Ortiz and his simply unbelievable 2004 Postseason.