This is almost as big as a World Series win. Almost, but not quite.
What we have here is the greatest comeback in sports history as well as the greatest collapse. The vaunted Yankees could not measure up and the weight of 27 championships could not carry them. But it was more than the collapse of the Yankees; it’s about the grit and digging deep of this Red Sox team.
When everyone else was counting them out (and I’ll admit that after Game 3 last Saturday, I was among them), these guys dug and wouldn’t say die. They ground out inning after inning, scrapping for hits and runs, pitchers shutting down the most explosive offense in the league to force a final and decisive Game 7 that was never close.
My brother-in-law Pete called Damon’s grand slam. He said, “He’s going to hit a home run here,” and then Damon did it. I said before the game that the Sox bats would come alive, that they couldn’t be kept silent for so long.
But I wasn’t comfortable or complacent the whole game. I had faith in them, but after all the times things went wrong at the last minute, I couldn’t let myself go until the last out. Wow, it’s beautiful.
I’ll be curious to see how Terry Francona explains putting Pedro on the mound in the seventh, because it was enough to scare us silly.
Still, I’m keeping the faith. I believe in this team. They can do it. I can’t wait for Saturday.
Image Credit
- 2004alcsgame7.jpg: Unknown | Copyright by owner. Used under Fair Use doctrine