RINGING IN THE NEW CHAMPS
Sox schedule ring ceremony in front of Yanks




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 24, 2005

The ceremony has been eighty-six years in the making. It has been in dress rehearsal for almost the entire 20th century. On April 11, 2005 the Boston Red Sox make it official. The players will receive the first World Series Championship rings issued to the franchise since 1918. The final nail will be hammered into the coffin of “the Curse.”

It is the right of every champion to receive their recognition on the Opening Day of their stadium in front of their fans. However, it is of no small coincidence the Sox opponent on that day is the New York Yankees. The Yankees are either loved or hated and in the State of Massachusetts the latter is practiced with a religious fervor. Nowhere on the planet are the Yankees more loathed than in the City of Boston. Major League Baseball not needing to be hit over the head in seeing the drama of all of this scheduled the Yankees to be in Boston for the Sox’ home opener.

Many would say this situation is just desserts for the franchise that has been a thorn in the side of the Red Sox for almost a century. From 1918 through 2003 the New York Yankees have bested the Sox at everything. In the span of those eighty-six years the Yankees have collected 26 rings, while the Sox grabbed none. This is not to say they haven’t had their chances. After last winning the Series in 1918 Boston played in the Fall Classic four times (1946, 1967, 1975, 1986) only to go down in defeat in seven games in each of those series.

Even individual accomplishments by Sox players were overshadowed by Yankee players. Remember Ted Williams? He is one of the greatest pure hitters the game has ever seen. The Splendid Splinter treated a bat like a religious icon. He ate, slept and breathed hitting. In 1941 Williams became the last man to reach the .400 mark by posting a batting average of .406 In that same year he hit 37 home runs, knocked in 120 RBI and only struck out 27 times. He had an OPS of 1.288. Williams was a one-man wrecking ball to opposing pitching. In any other year that kind of performance would have earned anyone an MVP trophy. Unfortunately for Ted a guy by the name of Joe DiMaggio spoiled it.

In that same year Joe, who was a lifetime Yankee, set a record that will, in all probability, never be broken. DiMaggio went on a 56-game hitting streak, shattering the previous record set by “Wee” Willie Keeler in 1897 (44 games).
DiMaggio also hit .340, blasted 30 home runs, drove in 125 RBI and had an OPS of 1.083. He only struck out an incredible 13 times. Joe beat out Teddy Baseball by 37 votes that year.

Need more proof? Look no further than the 2003 American League Championship. With the series tied three games apiece and Boston leading 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning then manager Grady Little made a monumental error in leaving in his ace pitcher Pedro Martinez after Martinez had told Little he was good to go. Martinez imploded giving up consecutive hits to Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada before Little could find his hook. Martinez gave up three runs and the lead. Both teams managed to throw up zeros in the 9th, 10th and top of the 11th innings before ineffective third baseman Aaron Boone strode to the plate in the bottom of the 11th to face Tim Wakefield. Wakefield had twice beaten the Yankees during the ALCS and was poised to hold the line again. But, as had always been the case Wakefield threw up a fat knuckleball that didn’t move and Boone crushed it over the left field wall. Once again, Boston succumbed to the “Curse of the Bambino.”

However, over the winter something happened. The Red Sox acquired the services of pitcher Curt Schilling and with that one trade the fortunes of the Boston Red Sox was changed. Schilling proved to be the most important acquisition of the 2004 season. The Yankees and Red Sox finished the 2004 season as they had the year before. The Yankees won the division and the Sox entered the playoffs as the wildcard. Both teams handled their first round opponents with ease, setting up another meeting in the ALCS championship.

As the series progressed nothing seemed to change for the Sox. They lost with Schilling. They lost with Pedro and in Game 3 they got pounded by the most lopsided score in ALCS history. The Sox were down three games to none and the only thing left for them to do was to ask for a blindfold and a cigarette. They never asked and the Yankees didn’t win another game. In what has been described as both the greatest comeback and greatest collapse in professional sports history the Red Sox roared back to win the next four games to finally beat the Yankees in the playoffs. Suddenly, the names of Ruth, Dent and Boone were distant memories as stunned Yankee fans watched the unimaginable unfold before their eyes. The Boston Red Sox celebrated the ALCS Championship at Yankee Stadium. The Curse was dead.

The Sox put an exclamation mark on that statement by going to the World Series and sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals four games to none. After eighty-six years the Sox were once again the champions of the baseball world. The “bunch of idiots” avenged all the heartbreak for every Sox fan who ever lived not to mention guys named Fisk, Yastremski, Pesky, Williams, Rice and yes, Buckner.

Over the winter and going into Spring Training several of the Sox players have gotten a serious case of the yaps. Curt Schilling and Trot Nixon in particular have targeted Yankees’ third baseman with their not too kind remarks. Curiously, the Yankees have remained mum regarding the comments made by the pair concerning Rodriguez. Even the Boss, George Steinbrenner, has refused criticism on the subject. He has politely said his team will play their game on the field.

For the first time in almost a century the New York Yankees are the chasers rather than the chased. They are looking up instead of looking down. In what seems like forever the Yankees have the same view as the second dog in the sled line. They’re looking at the leaders’ posterior. Now it is Yankee fans that thirst for revenge. They are the ones who want and need redemption. On April 11th they and the Yankees’ players will have to suffer one more indignation as they watch members of the Red Sox receive their 2004 World Series Championship rings. They will watch as the championship flag is hoisted high over Fenway Park.

Publicly the Yankees are saying words like “they deserve it” or “no big deal.” Underneath it all you can sense the utter disappointment of last year’s breakdown, which is allowing these festivities to take place. The New York Yankees were handed a huge blow to their legacy by their fiercest rivals. All eyes will be on seeing how this team responds to last year’s collapse. The 2005 Yankees’ squad has a lot to make up for. Nothing less than a 27th World Series title can erase some of the sting of the 2004 season. Only one team stands in their way and the Bombers know who that team is. Let’s hope they can respond the same way the Sox did after Boone’s heroics. Let the season begin.


PLAY BALL!



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