Let's enjoy memories of the Red Sox of the past 20 years! What were your favorites (team/player/moment/etc)?

[Lose Remerswaal]

There have been too many shitty seasons recently, but the past 20 years, from 2004 thru 2023, have had more then their expected share of High Points. Titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018 were unprecedented in any of our lifetimes.

We've done tons of analysis over why the team has sucked recently, and we are all mourning the loss of Tim Wakefield, so I thought this thread might lend some catharsis and lighten our load a bit.

So which title was your favorite? Who is your favorite Sox player of the past 20 years? You can include anyone you want to as long as they played for the Sox at some point from 2004 thru 2023, so if you want to pick Nomar, then Nomar is your pick. What was your favorite moment? It could be related to your favorite title or player or both or neither.

There are no wrong answers.

For me my favorite title was 2004, because I really thought it would never happen in our lifetime. Not because of some bullshit curse, but because only one team can win each year and with 30 teams the odds are just so damn small. And after getting kicked in my teeth in 1967 and 1975 and 1986 and especially 2003, it just didn't look like it would happen.

My favorite player from that time frame has to be David Ortiz. I've had plenty of binkies over the 2 decades, but Ortiz was the Difference Maker so often and did it with such joy that I couldn't help but be caught up with his play.

My favorite moment was the 2013 title, when the Sox won the World Series at Fenway Park and I was there. I had seen more than my share of Big Game Victories, and had seen other teams celebrate on the Fenway Grass, starting with the Cardinals in 1967, but of course had never seen the Sox win it all in person until that night. Just pure joy celebrating with friends, neighbors, ushers, security, and everyone else within eyesight

Edited title to confirm this is a Red Sox memories thread

 

[BaseballJones]

Just the Sox, right? Because there's been a helluva lot of winning in Boston from 2001 til now.

Favorite team: 2004, for all the right and obvious reasons. Pedro being on that team was the capper for me.

Most impressive team: 2018, who ran roughshod over the AL and then stomped three outstanding teams in the playoffs. Never seemed to even break a sweat.

Favorite player: Pedro. The answer now, tomorrow, and for all time.

Most electric moment: Ortiz' grand slam off Detroit in the 8th inning of game 2 when it looked like they were about to get swept out of that series.

Most satisfying moment: When Foulke tossed it to first to clinch the WS for the first time in 86 years. Though looking at the downcast Yankees and Yankee fans in game 7 was absolutely glorious in every way. It's just that the job hadn't been completed yet. It was like the USA beating the USSR in 1980 - seemed like, and felt like, that was for the gold, but it wasn't. They still had to beat Finland or the victory over the USSR would have meant nothing, really.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

The year ended horribly, but this was the loudest I ever heard Fenway.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62o_jXvJd0o


From 03-04, I went to some classic games. Back then (having no responsibilities) my friends and I slept out for tickets a lot. Saw the Varitek A-Rod fight from the Monster seats. Saw the Pedro and Zimmer game (I was so far back int he bleachers that I thought it was David Wells!). Went to opening day in 2005. It was so crowded that we got pushed up the aisle. A sweet old lady said her son and husband were going to be a while so we took their two seats, ten rows behind the dugout for the ceremony. 2 moments stand out there. Mo Rivera getting a standing O and tipping his hat. There was also a moment of silence for Dick Radtz. After 15 seconds of silence, someone SCREAMED out A-ROD YOU SUCK!!!!!, just as the announcer was saying, "Thank you." Perfect timing.

Manny and Pedro were my favorites. Such a joy to watch both.

 

[AB in DC]

Most impressive team: 2018, who ran roughshod over the AL and then stomped three outstanding teams in the playoffs. Never seemed to even break a sweat.

I know this is a positivity thread, but how quickly we forget Craig Kimbrel.

 

[Coachster]

I just loved this guy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9BLMdRRZ-s

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Ortiz's grand slam in 2013 is already mentioned (and now Nava too). I wanted to add some other significant grand slams hit en route to World championships.

Johnny Damon, Game 7 2004 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAgMBIu6iVk


JD Drew, Game 6 2007 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B8RfS5Uhmg


Shane Victorino, Game 6 2013 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8S4cgV0Rzg


Jackie Bradley Jr, Game 3 2018 ALCS
View: https://youtu.be/c9Ngt8DNUJU?si=nAChRAR-jUxkVeOD&t=200

 

[Daniel_Son]

2013 for me.

I was just a little too young to fully appreciate '04 - even though Dad let me stay up and watch that crazy final stretch - but 2013 was absolutely out-of-nowhere, lightning-in-a-bottle magic. That team grinded their way to the end.

 

[BaseballJones]

I know this is a positivity thread, but how quickly we forget Craig Kimbrel.

LOL true.

 

[Bergs]

Title: 2004. Always and forever.

Player: 2-way tie between Pedroia and Papi

Moment: Manny walking off the Angels.

 

[Ramon AC]

The 2015 Red Sox were not a great team and finished last for the second year in a row. But they finished strong, 10 games over .500 in Aug/Sep (before losing four in a row in October to end the season). There was a lot of excitement around Mookie, Jackie, ERod, and Swihart. Lots of hype for Owens, Cecchini, Devers, Chavis, Margot, and others on the farm. That season ended on a high note.

I haven’t been able to get back to Fenway since this game, Friday, September 25. Papi went 3-4 with three doubles all of which were deep bombs. Xander went 3-4 and was hitting .325 at the end of the day. Rich Hill threw a 116 pitch shutout and was absolutely unhittable until there were two outs in the ninth and a man on second when Chris Davis, who was still alive then and OPSing over .900, hit a ball into the bullpen that Mookie brought back.

They went on to win three division titles in a row and in 2018 became the best Red Sox team I will probably ever see.

I think of that game, and that season, as examples of how even last place seasons can inspire hope and good will. Unlike teams that go 6-18 down the stretch.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Title: 2004. Always and forever.

Player: 2-way tie between Pedroia and Papi

Moment: Manny walking off the Angels.

I love home runs into the night, into the black, into the abyss. Manny's was all of that. First one for me was one Jim Rice hit In Anaheim before they put in all that rock pile. Not a walkoff, but the game winner.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Mookie Betts' grand slam against JA Happ in 2018 was so awesome.


As was Brandon Phillips' bomb from the same year.


I knew this team was on a magical run after those two dingers. Man, I loved that squad.

 

[Max Power]

I love home runs into the night, into the black, into the abyss. Manny's was all of that. First one for me was one Jim Rice hit In Anaheim before they put in all that rock pile. Not a walkoff, but the game winner.

That's my all time favorite homer. I remember watching it disappear over the wall and then looking back at Manny, who still hadn't started running.

 

[pedro1918]

A very personal favorite moment for me was Mike Napoli's home run off Verlander for the only run of Game 3 of the 2013 ALCS. When they threw up Napoli's stats on the TV screen in the 7th, my wife who isn't a big fan, had noticed his poor batting average and asked something like "Why are they batting someone who is so bad?" I responded "Because he could hit a home run at any BOOM!"

 

[Heating up in the bullpen]

Mookie Betts' grand slam against JA Happ in 2018 was so awesome.

That Mookie at-bat was EPIC!!! Was listening to that game in the car — had to pull over and put on the video about 10 pitches in.

So many incredible moments over these years — WS wins, walk-offs, Yankee-slaying, etc… But THIS play will always be at the top of the list for me. The pure joy of baseball!
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Md8j_Sq5Nbs&pp=ygUcTWFubnkgcmFtaXJleiBoaWdoIGZpdmVzIGZhbg%3D%3D

 

[chrisfont9]

Ortiz's grand slam in 2013 is already mentioned (and now Nava too). I wanted to add some other significant grand slams hit en route to World championships.

Johnny Damon, Game 7 2004 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAgMBIu6iVk

I was passing a rest area on I-5 north in central Washington when this happened (listening on the radio obvs) and I ALWAYS think of this when I pass by there.

 

[chrisfont9]

There have been too many shitty seasons recently, but the past 20 years, from 2004 thru 2023, have had more then their expected share of High Points. Titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018 were unprecedented in any of our lifetimes.

We've done tons of analysis over why the team has sucked recently, and we are all mourning the loss of Tim Wakefield, so I thought this thread might lend some catharsis and lighten our load a bit.

So which title was your favorite? Who is your favorite Sox player of the past 20 years? You can include anyone you want to as long as they played for the Sox at some point from 2004 thru 2023, so if you want to pick Nomar, then Nomar is your pick. What was your favorite moment? It could be related to your favorite title or player or both or neither.

There are no wrong answers.

For me my favorite title was 2004, because I really thought it would never happen in our lifetime. Not because of some bullshit curse, but because only one team can win each year and with 30 teams the odds are just so damn small. And after getting kicked in my teeth in 1967 and 1975 and 1986 and especially 2003, it just didn't look like it would happen.

My favorite player from that time frame has to be David Ortiz. I've had plenty of binkies over the 2 decades, but Ortiz was the Difference Maker so often and did it with such joy that I couldn't help but be caught up with his play.

My favorite moment was the 2013 title, when the Sox won the World Series at Fenway Park and I was there. I had seen more than my share of Big Game Victories, and had seen other teams celebrate on the Fenway Grass, starting with the Cardinals in 1967, but of course had never seen the Sox win it all in person until that night. Just pure joy celebrating with friends, neighbors, ushers, security, and everyone else within eyesight

Edited title to confirm this is a Red Sox memories thread

2004 is my answer, just on another plane that can never be reached again. Hard to single out a favorite player but I have a Manny jersey, so there's one. Favorite moment was that I bought a plane ticket to Boston (from Seattle) for what turned out to be the parade, rather than game 6, in 2004, because I've been moving around for decades but swore I would be in Boston when they finally won. In hindsight I *should* have flown to St. Louis, but that was hard to know ahead of time. Anyway, I took a red-eye Friday, landed at maybe 9:30, and popped up out of Park St Station into the most beautiful human scene I've ever seen.

Two random but (for me) rare moments out here were Raffy's MLB debut -- two walks, and I was bugging everyone in my section that this was important -- and seeing Adrian Beltre hit one out and end up down on one knee.

 

[Nator]

Mookie Betts' grand slam against JA Happ in 2018 was so awesome.


As was Brandon Phillips' bomb from the same year.


I knew this team was on a magical run after those two dingers. Man, I loved that squad.

I was just about to post that Brandon Phillips homer. They were losing that game badly at one point and just looked like the Sox wanted to get home from Atlanta. It cracks my ass up that the outfielder doesn't even turn around to take a look at that.

 

[simplicio]

The 2004 ALCS sparked my return to baseball fandom and the beginning of my relationship with the Sox, but the 2013 and 2018 postseasons were the most memorable for me as a whole. 2018 made me feel lucky to watch a team that good, but the pure vibe of 2013 was simply unmatched. The joy of the Papi/Koji old guy tandem on that team is my favorite part of watching sports in my lifetime.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

A very personal favorite moment for me was Mike Napoli's home run off Verlander for the only run of Game 3 of the 2013 ALCS. When they threw up Napoli's stats on the TV screen in the 7th, my wife who isn't a big fan, had noticed his poor batting average and asked something like "Why are they batting someone who is so bad?" I responded "Because he could hit a home run at any BOOM!"

I will always remember that HR, we were having dinner at The Metropolitan (or whatever that chain was called, there was one in Natick, too) in the Dedham Legacy Place with a friend, and I got back from the bathroom just as Napoli came to the plate and BANG.

 

[bg1025]

So many great moments already posted but this one gets me every time. Felt like Kimbrel couldn't get get a toddler out at the time. I just had such a feeling of impending doom but Benintendi made the catch!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsAZhmoKiVM

 

[Bergs]

This one is another of my favorites, though it wasn't that meaningful.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3taBEMQUqnk

 

[trs]

2004, and it's really not that close for me.

In August of 2003 I moved out of the States (from a real cushy door-to-door sales, err, I mean advertising job, in Boston) to Milan. I got settled the best I could and was working basically as a teaching intern while living in a concrete block apartment complex so close to the school that if I stuck my school-issued Dell laptop right at the ledge of one the windows, I could get the wireless signal from the science room at school. Also as an early adopter of mlb.tv, I was able to watch, stutteringly, games. One of those games in 2003 was on October 17 (in Italy). I had gone to the local Eurospin discount grocery store and bought a wonderful selection of bonarda vivace and Meminger beer (yeah...). The game started at 2am, and it started pretty fucking well as we all remember. I was 23 years old and the others that I coaxed into drinking in AM before Friday classes also trended young. As we also all remember, pre-pitch clock Red Sox Yankees games were also pretty long. Anyway, I remember being slightly buzzed at about 3:30 am, up a few runs and down a few companions. Citing "work" and "responsibilities" and "you bought shitty drinks," most everyone had left by about 4. I still had a clamshelly Dell perched on an old ottoman by the window, connected to two different surge protectors in order to reach the no-more-than-two-total-outlets-allowable in Italian apartment buildings (not really a thing, but still). The internet would intermittently cut when the wind shifted, but up 4-1, there was this grating sense of optimism growing in my heart that, maybe this was a bit different. I called my parents and hung up before they answered in order to not accrue some sort of 5 euro charge, and then they called back using 10-10-220 plus my number and we chatted. My dad told me to enjoy it second by second, nothing more. He was born in 1931.

Anyway, I don't have to go further, but it all sucked horribly, and I went more or less directly to work (across the street...) and sat in library avoiding contact. The school guidance counselor came by once, maybe twice.

Fast forward a year and I wasn't fired. I had a slightly more responsibility-laden position at the same school. I now lived about a 10 minute bus ride from school (read: beyond b/g wireless range). I did not have internet at my apartment. Yes, this is 2004, but it was also still Italy. Sometimes I could find a wireless signal named "default," but that was rare. In any case, during the process of going down 0-3, this was more of a benefit than anything else.

A friend had given me a red sox replica tee-shirt that summer of a name and number that will not be mentioned. Part of my job that year was helping to maintain our 1-1 student laptop program, so I spent the time I wasn't teaching at the "help desk." I thought it funny to hang the tee-shirt up beside the table/desk when the Sox made the playoffs. As game 1 got to game 4, it became more of a target for gentle ridicule and warnings to others about my demeanor.

I remember coming in to work after Game 4 and being told by my "boss" at the help desk that the Sox won. He lived close enough to the school to get the wireless.

Game 7, I was at his house. My girlfriend and I babysat his two kids on a Wednesday night and after he and his wife returned, we had some wine (not bonarda vivace) and they sent us up in the guest room with a laptop. I watched game 7. I called my dad at about 5:30am Milan time. We laughed and I was probably overly sentimental, especially given he was born in 1931 and not me. I had consumed 8 hours of wine.

Fast forward a week and I'm back in the same room. A bit less wine this time, because there's no fucking way, right?

I called my dad at about 5:30am Milan time. We laughed and I was definitely overly sentimental.

He would get two more. Thanks for taking me to that first game in '86, dad, thanks for figuring out how to use a 10-10-whatever number to call your son in Italy.

Whatever, I probably wasn't sentimental enough.

 

[Ale Xander]

Obviously the day in July 2017 when they finally released Panda

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

2004 was my favorite title.

But I'm going to dig deeper and give my favorite moment. Third pitch of the top of the 8th inning in game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

Pedro had just given us some anxiety before sacking up. There was still energy in the stadium. Five run lead was comfortable -- but I was frazzled. It was four very long and difficult days. I didn't think it was going to be Lucy and football, but I wasn't sure, you know? With a resounding clang, Mark Belhorn ended all doubt. Not just that we were winning the series, but that the Red Sox were going to win the championship. We didn't know whether it would be Astros or the Cardinals yet. It didn't matter. I knew the World Series would be an after-thought -- the NL team had about as much of a chance as the Red Sox had to win game 7 of the 1986 world series. It was over. I never am positive, but I knew it. Maybe that's revisionist history. Maybe it wasn't until back to Foulke, but in my memory, that was the single greatest hit in Red Sox history for me.

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

I think Koji was my favorite player if I could only pick one. Played with such joy and was so dominant.

 

[kfoss99]

This is such a small moment. But, I love Julian Tavarez rolling the ball to first.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Obviously the day in July 2017 when they finally released Panda

Panda's belt exploding when he took a swing was magnificent. I can't believe that he played FIVE more seasons after that.

 

[trekfan55]

Dave Robert's steal. I still rewatch it (the entire sequence) and think the umpire may give an "out" signal.
But more than that, Dave Roberts 8th inning, Game 5 vs Tom Gordon. He got in his head (McCarver saying all that was missing was the starter's blocks was funny I have to admit). It was a psychological masterpiece that led to Nixon getting that hit, Roberts to 3rd and Varitek SF to tie the game (vs Mariano Rivera again). Oh, and Kevin Millar drawing those 2 walks in both games.

Keith Foulke vs Tony Clark. I still remember the way my heart pounded, they way I was close to breaking stuff in my house, but the sheer joy after he struck him out was glorious.

Random moments: JBJ bringing back a would be Judge HR (I will look for the clip later). Latin ESPN Ernesto Jerez was in the middle of his trademark call ("a lo profundo y...Jackie Bradley Jr en serio???")

One more, Game 3 2004 ALDS. After the Angels tied the game after being 4 runs down, Sciossia brings in Percival to face Papi with a runner on bottom 9th. Chis Berman on the call. Papi blasts one that completes the sweep. Seems forgotten with the ALCS that came after.

 

[ookami7m]

 

[BaseballJones]

The Forgotten Game - game 5 of the 2004 ALCS.

One of the best games of all time.

 

[Seels]

Another one for the Manny dinger. I don't know that there's a single home run in history that I knew was gone quicker.

For an unmentioned one - game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. They were down 3-1, down 7-0, and basically out of it. They came back to win that one 8-7, and would force a game 7.

I'm convinced they win it all if David Price doesn't get a strike zone a foot off the plate in games 2 and 7.

 

[8slim]

This is a game that is oft forgotten. I’m sure because we ended up losing the series.

Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. Down 7-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th. And we miraculously came back to win.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200810160.shtml

So close to landing in back to back World Series.

 

[8slim]

Another one for the Manny dinger. I don't know that there's a single home run in history that I knew was gone quicker.

For an unmentioned one - game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. They were down 3-1, down 7-0, and basically out of it. They came back to win that one 8-7, and would force a game 7.

I'm convinced they win it all if David Price doesn't get a strike zone a foot off the plate in games 2 and 7.

Darn it I was too slow!

 

[Al Zarilla]

Another big, long Napoli home run.:

View: https://youtu.be/inpePQwmYzw?si=hjrRrvYojletE3IM

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Two really memorable Papi home runs.

2004 game 3 of the ALDS. It was as much of a no-doubter as an oppo blast can be. Red Sox were cruising in the series and in game 3, until LAA scored 5 in the 7th, capped by a Vlad granny.

2004 game 5 of the ALCS. Down 2 with only six outs left and Rivera lurking if Gordon could get a couple of outs. I think most people remember Millar getting on base, the will-he-do-it-again cat and mouse game with Dave Roberts as a pinch runner, and then ultimately the sac fly against Rivera that tied the game. But it was the home run that led off the inning that got it all started, when it was really feeling like the Sox were ready to go with a whimper.

 

[Flynn4ever]

Thank you for starting this thread! I have to share two memories, the first was the Tokyo Dome Series in 2008, I got to meet a lot of SOSH and although I'm fairly shy by nature, I enjoyed watching our team win one and commiserate with some of you as we lost the second. I also got down to field level to see Manny hit that incredibly obvious home run in game one. Seeing our old friend Foulke on the mound again was great as well.
The second was in 2010, my first (and last as I live thousands of miles away from Boston) time in Fenway since we became champions. Seeing the 2004 and 2007 banners made me, well, dusty. That game was started by Tim Wakefield, won by Papelbon and walked off by Pedroia. It also featured a Manny bomb as a Dodger which most of you didn't like, but I was so grateful to his contributions to our finally winning that I applauded him.

 

[AlNipper49]

Ortiz's grand slam in 2013 is already mentioned (and now Nava too). I wanted to add some other significant grand slams hit en route to World championships.

Johnny Damon, Game 7 2004 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAgMBIu6iVk


JD Drew, Game 6 2007 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B8RfS5Uhmg


Shane Victorino, Game 6 2013 ALCS
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8S4cgV0Rzg


Jackie Bradley Jr, Game 3 2018 ALCS
View: https://youtu.be/c9Ngt8DNUJU?si=nAChRAR-jUxkVeOD&t=200

That Victorino Game 6 one was my favorite. 2004 was so fucking stressful and 2007 happened in a flash. There are obviously so many good moments before, between and during those years. 2013 was the first time that I felt like I was playing with house money. I was home alone at the time and had lmost a bottle of bourbon and a few boxes of Cheez Its in me when that happened. It was so fucking happy. 2018 was great too, but that feels, in retrospect, a lifetime showcase for Ortiz.

 

[deythur]

It feels like all of 2004 could be the top moments and even thinking about that year give me a special feeling.

Some of the ewer mentioned but here are mine;

• 2004 WS - I was basically by myself for the final out but I was in tears in the street talking to my mom after.
• Buch's No Hitter - I was watching at a bar with my darts teams. I said "give him the hook" and he did
• Lesters No Hitter - Seeing him and Tito after was such a great moment. I still love watching their embrace
• Pedroia's "F- yea" - great play by favorite player
• Mookies Slam "its time to party!" - the emotion from him and Eck was amazing
• Meeting Wake last year, one of my all time favorites. So thankful I had that experience
• Overall there have been so many good times with friends watching the Sox. Sunny days on the decks in Portsmouth, SRO at Fenway, late nights at bars and counties text messages.

It has kept me close to friends and brought new ones into my life. Even if we don't win for a while the last 20 years have been amazing. Not just the Sox but all Boston sports and Ill be happy even if I don't see another title.

 

[simplicio]

 

[MJM2344]

This thread has me going down a Youtube rabbit hole.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJyxzaLNlNw&t=25s&ab_channel=MLB


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQnHJwIabBU&ab_channel=MLB


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5X2Vhz1Kn4&ab_channel=MLB


Victorino emptying the bases in G6 against St. Louis

 

[simplicio]

Better than the official highlight cause the walk up music was so important.
View: https://youtu.be/MF0GLfd1Hqk?si=wHm2IR-6V6iZAfTW

 

[SLC Sox]

This thread is great, a lot of moments I had forgotten are rushing back. It's been mentioned a couple times but Ortiz's 2013 GS against the Tigers sticks out for me. It was the first time my son was old enough to watch games with me and I'll never forget yelling and jumping around with my boy and damn it's all of the sudden dusty in here.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Dave Robert's steal. I still rewatch it (the entire sequence) and think the umpire may give an "out" signal.
But more than that, Dave Roberts 8th inning, Game 5 vs Tom Gordon. He got in his head (McCarver saying all that was missing was the starter's blocks was funny I have to admit). It was a psychological masterpiece that led to Nixon getting that hit, Roberts to 3rd and Varitek SF to tie the game (vs Mariano Rivera again). Oh, and Kevin Millar drawing those 2 walks in both games.

Keith Foulke vs Tony Clark. I still remember the way my heart pounded, they way I was close to breaking stuff in my house, but the sheer joy after he struck him out was glorious.

Random moments: JBJ bringing back a would be Judge HR (I will look for the clip later). Latin ESPN Ernesto Jerez was in the middle of his trademark call ("a lo profundo y...Jackie Bradley Jr en serio???")

One more, Game 3 2004 ALDS. After the Angels tied the game after being 4 runs down, Sciossia brings in Percival to face Papi with a runner on bottom 9th. Chis Berman on the call. Papi blasts one that completes the sweep. Seems forgotten with the ALCS that came after.

I will never not expect Roberts to be called out. I have to have seen that steal 1000 times and I still expect the next time there’ll be an out signal.

Also: I still expect Tony Clark to do something with Foulke’s exhausted 88 MPH fastball at end of game 6. They’ve both been retired 15 years and I absolutely expect the outcome to change.

 

[Bergs]

I will never not expect Roberts to be called out. I have to have seen that steal 1000 times and I still expect the next time there’ll be an out signal.

Also: I still expect Tony Clark to do something with Foulke’s exhausted 88 MPH fastball at end of game 6. They’ve both been retired 15 years and I absolutely expect the outcome to change.

+1. Also expect Joe West to NOT overturn Slappy McBluelips and the Bellhorn HR.

 

[4 6 3 DP]

So I'm going to take a little different approach to this and start by saying that this place is a significant part of many of the memories I have of 2003-2004, which to me was the pinnacle of everything I could ever want as a fan of anything anywhere anytime.

• When Derek Lowe struck out Terrence Long on that backdoor 2-seamer and then crotch chopped the entire stadium, I immediately logged onto the game thread here (still dial up at the time).
• This site was the only place who understood exactly what I felt when Grady threw it all away. My friends and family, while disappointed, could not exactly understand why I was so enraged. It took me months to recover from that loss.
• That offseason, I (now with newly purchased ethernet connectvity) checked into the A-Rod trade thread probably 25 times a day. Before that I had made the insane error of going to sleep one night over Thanksgiving and missing out on a new member named gehrig38 checking in (yes, 20 years later that feels less special but at the time it was mind blowing)
• The gamethread on July 24 was magical both after Tek punched ARod in the mouth, and then after Billy Mueller went yard for the win.
• I remember at the July 31 deadline nothing basically happening to the deadline, the site being annoyed at just getting a pinch runner, and then what felt like an hour later learning that Nomar was gone. History has treated that deal well but the site wasn't that happy at that moment.
• Every single game of that postseason, this place was the only outlet that understood the true depths of insanity that were pouring through me on a daily basis. I've never felt like it before or since.

As for one moment, I'll answer with two because 20 years later I've never been able to choose. First was Foulke striking out Tony Clark with 2 on and 2 out in the ninth of game 6. It had to be Tony Clark - who we'd acquired in 2002 and was just awful, and of course had joined the Yankees - and with one swing could have taken away everything that at that point was seeming more possible. I have never been more physically ill watching a sporting event in my life than a completely gassed Keith Foulke throwing an 87MPH fastball past Clark to send us to game 7. I guess I may have felt close to that in a couple Patriot Super Bowls in the 4th quarter, but not that.

The other moment happened the next night. A year earlier the Red Sox had chased Clemens from Game 7, top 4 up 4-0, men on 1st and 3rd with no outs, and waiting for the knockout blow. Mussina relieves him, Tek whiffs, and then Damon hit into a DP. It was the knockout we never got until Grady delivered it himself several innings later. A year later, Sox up 2-0 in the second of game 7, chase the starter, bases loaded, 1 out, the knockout one swing away, and this time Johnny Damon delivers the biggest hit of his life and we knock out the Yankees finally. There were many tears that night for me, and then a week later, but that Damon home run was the moment I finally believed my heart wouldn't be broken. I had the opportunity not too long ago to meet him, and as a 40 something man got the chance to say thank you for that HR.

Thanks for the forum to remember just how damn wonderful the Red Sox can be.

 

[NJ_Sox_Fan]

The year ended horribly, but this was the loudest I ever heard Fenway.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62o_jXvJd0o


From 03-04, I went to some classic games. Back then (having no responsibilities) my friends and I slept out for tickets a lot. Saw the Varitek A-Rod fight from the Monster seats. Saw the Pedro and Zimmer game (I was so far back int he bleachers that I thought it was David Wells!). Went to opening day in 2005. It was so crowded that we got pushed up the aisle. A sweet old lady said her son and husband were going to be a while so we took their two seats, ten rows behind the dugout for the ceremony. 2 moments stand out there. Mo Rivera getting a standing O and tipping his hat. There was also a moment of silence for Dick Radtz. After 15 seconds of silence, someone SCREAMED out A-ROD YOU SUCK!!!!!, just as the announcer was saying, "Thank you." Perfect timing.

Manny and Pedro were my favorites. Such a joy to watch both.

Thanks for posting this. I was at this game. And the next days walk off as well. I miss the stretch of 2003-2013 games. I went to so many playoff games, and so many of them were classics or had great walk offs (I was at the Ortiz/Angels ALDS walk off HR game, the Manny/Angels walk off HR, the Nixon ALDS walk off, etc). I literally went to I think 10 or 11 of the 14 Sox/Yanks ALCS games in 03/04, including both G7.

I really miss a great October Fenway crowd.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Of course, Mike Napoli was the Angels catcher and he started walking off well before the ball landed.

 

[Bergs]

Not an in-game moment, but this video encapsulates everything I love about baseball:*

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTjCc7Uw_c


* And humanity, for that matter.

 

[tims4wins]

Dave Robert's steal. I still rewatch it (the entire sequence) and think the umpire may give an "out" signal.
But more than that, Dave Roberts 8th inning, Game 5 vs Tom Gordon. He got in his head (McCarver saying all that was missing was the starter's blocks was funny I have to admit). It was a psychological masterpiece that led to Nixon getting that hit, Roberts to 3rd and Varitek SF to tie the game (vs Mariano Rivera again). Oh, and Kevin Millar drawing those 2 walks in both games.

Keith Foulke vs Tony Clark. I still remember the way my heart pounded, they way I was close to breaking stuff in my house, but the sheer joy after he struck him out was glorious.

Random moments: JBJ bringing back a would be Judge HR (I will look for the clip later). Latin ESPN Ernesto Jerez was in the middle of his trademark call ("a lo profundo y...Jackie Bradley Jr en serio???")

One more, Game 3 2004 ALDS. After the Angels tied the game after being 4 runs down, Sciossia brings in Percival to face Papi with a runner on bottom 9th. Chis Berman on the call. Papi blasts one that completes the sweep. Seems forgotten with the ALCS that came after.

Washburn, not Percival.

Game 5 2004 had so many moments, but Wake somehow escaping that jam with Tek behind the plate is an all time favorite moment.

Edit: random honorable mention to the Schwarber GS in game 3 2021. Holy christ Fenway was loud, and cocky in a way I had never experienced. After the multiple grand slams in game 2, the crowd was practically willing it to happen again. It got to 3-0 and you almost knew it was going to happen. When he launched it… just mayhem.