Part One: The Team
There are times in each of our lives when the happiness we feel cannot be described. But in this case the thing is in most cases what makes that kind of happiness so indescribably memorable is the negativity and horror that preceded it. Not a single person in Massachusetts escaped last April without bearing the newly opened scars solicited by the brutality of the Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15th 2013.
What happened that day killed 3 people and mutilated the bodies and minds of hundreds and even millions across this city and nation. You didn't have to be there in Copley Square, we all felt it, we all panicked and sat glued to our TV screens as Boston was shut down and the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics cancelled all their games for the week.
"They killed an 8 year old, my son is 8 years old." David Ortiz was reported as saying in the dugout prior to his now famed "This if our f*****g city" speech.
But while the days separating us and that dreadful day turned into weeks and then months we never forgot but we did move forward turning instead to focus on a team that symbolized the spirit of this town. You can knock the Red Sox down but you will never take them out.
They were the only team in baseball without a losing streak longer than 3 games and never went almost 3 months without losing back to back home games. They came back in 27 games. They nabbed 13 walk-offs and above all lost just 65 games. When you look back, so many facets of this, longest season in Red Sox history made it memorable.
You had the beards which were spearheaded by a Mike Napoli who, despite his struggled clocked 23 home runs in 2013. You cheered as David Ortiz recorded his 7th career 30 home run season and you watched with glee as he began his near 10 game playoff tear following his Game Two ALCS grand slam. We watched Johnny Gomes who spent all year magically making something out of nothing en route to a spectacular 5 pinch hit home runs. His Red Sox were 8-1 in games he started in this playoff run.
And then there was the defense.
Boston sported 2 gold glove award winners in 2013 as Dustin Pedroia played what seemed to be a career year in the field committing just 5 errors in 160 games played. That translates out to about to just .031 errors per game. But in a similar fashion to David Ortiz, Peady lead by more than just example. He was a driving force in the clubhouse and knew from day one the potential that the Red Sox had cultivated in the offseason.
"He had faith in the team even in spring training. In mid-March, Pedroia went to dinner with his agents, Cherington and the team’s owners. They were discussing his eventual contract extension, but he made it clear, even then, that he expected the Red Sox to win – and win big." Fox writer, Ken Rosenthal said in an article the day after the Sox victory.
As for Boston's other gold glove winner: Shane Victorino, he was as good if not better than Pedroia. But in in a different way.
Shane notched 122 starts in 2013 and batted just 6 points shy of 300. He belted 61 RBI's in 2013 providing quite a security policy for leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. As for the defense that got him recognized in the postseason gold glove voting, he made a name for himself by plying right field the same way one would play center. That more often than not translated into running headlong into walls as if the simply were not there.
Yet the Flyin Hawaiian always came up smiling. Apparently, he likes the feeling of broken ribs. He committed just 3 errors while being responsible for 264 of the near 1,700 that the Red Sox recorded in 2013. That is approximately 15% of team outs all recorded by a man who played just 110 games and spent that time in the outfield.
He represented his city as well joining the ranks of supporting Bostonians with his post-game comments following Game Six.
"We are affected in the tragedy, Boston strong" Shane Victorino screamed extending his fist high into the air thereby saluting his town. "That's all I'm gonna say!"
Yet while all the additions that the Red Sox made in preparation for what would be their 3rd Championship run in the past 10 years it was the subtractions that may have went the farthest towards bettering this team for the long run. Fact is, most Sox fans expected the run we saw this year...2 years before it happened. Between Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzolez and the expected excellence of the entire Sox pitching staff, the Red Sox were the overwhelming favorites to win it all in 2011. But as we know things did not work out that way. The 2011 Red Sox surrendered a 9 game September lead in the wildcard to miss the playoffs all together. As Bobby Valentine guided the Sox to a 69 win season in 2012, Kevin Youkolis was dished away to Chicago and nearly 200 million dollars’ worth of contracts were unloaded on LA via the famed Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzolez and Carl Crawford trade.
Beckett and Gozolez in particular were the polar opposite of the surprisingly compatible clubhouse that existed this season. Fact is they would have scoffed in disgust if you asked them to grow a beard and as they did in 2011 they might have even killed the healthy team building themes that brought this 2013 club together.
By completely erasing the bad names assembled on that so called 2011 "dream team" it made room for the actual dream team of 2013. Sure there were the additions: Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, David Ross and even Mike Carp but as you look at the numbers it would be safe to say that what made this team so great was the resurgence of the talent they had already cultivated.
That fact is highlighted best when you look at the gleaming numbers of the Red Sox starting pitching.
The only difference in starting pitching personnel between 2011 and 2013 was the presence of Josh Beckett. Lester played in 2011, Buchholz and Lackey too. They all were there yet in 2013, those 3 Sox went a combined 33 and 24 through 73 starts in 2011 while flipping it all around 2 years later with 37 wins and just 22 losses. Not only were the 2013 Red Sox putting up wins but they were doing it in every single sort of situation that was put before them. They never quit and when they needed to any Boston starter could realistically be asked to play 8 innings and they would do just that. Much like the framework that guided the LA Dodgers to their spectacular mid-season turnaround over in the NL, the Red Sox relied on the relentless work of a whole host of aces to bring home the wins.
The 2013 Red Sox season was just 15 days old when the bombs went off but even then, even with just over 2 weeks of real game action under their belt, the Red Sox knew one another like family and were ready to take their city on their shoulders and do whatever was necessary to give their fans something to cheer for.
They hit 178 home runs, came to bat 5651 times and won a total of 108 games over 7 months of near game per day action.
Yet when future generations look back on this, the greatest statistical, team turnaround in the history of American sports, it will be that last win those last 6 runs and that Koji Uehara strikeout that is remembered.
The Boston Red Sox are the World Champions but for the hundreds of human beings throughout this organization that has now won 3 titles in 10 years it cannot be stressed how much more occurred this year than could be summed up by those few words.
Part Two: The Fans
Prior to 2013, there had been 2 championship parades in Red Sox history.
In 2004 the entire city of Boston was gripped with delirious excitement as despite the violent riots that occurred following their championship just days earlier, millions took to the streets to celebrate the breaking of one of the most depressing curses in sports history.
3 years later we were back again cramming ourselves into the streets of Boston for yet another (abridged) rolling rally parade. But in 2013, the feel was different. Unlike in 04' and 07' no one expected the 2013 Red Sox to win in the fashion that they did this year and for that reason, the excitement felt throughout Boston was almost concrete.
I was there, feeling the atmosphere and forgoing the pain of waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday all in hopes of simply being there. I was and throughout my years of living I have never been in a situation quite like this. From the first minute you even made a move towards the city of Boston the presence of Red and White pride was firmly personified. As one marched through the train stations of greater Boston you could not see the floor as from above all that was visible was a sea of humans clad in jerseys all breathing a sense of relief, satisfaction and pure joy almost 2 hours before the parade even started.
People came from far and wide to see today's celebration but for many, it meant so much more. As tough as Bostonians are what happened on April 15 was a moment of true terror in which the very worst and the very best of human nature was showcased. Our leaders flocked to Boston to heal our frayed nerves and remember our murdered friends but despite the words of Barrak Obama and regardless of the comedic sympathy expressed by nearly every TV host nationwide it was shown following the attacks the true unifying prowess that the insanely competitive joy of sports can bring to any city.
When you look back on this year it is the "One day closer to the parade!" phrase repeated time and time again by this Sox team, it was the "This is our F*****G city battle cry made by David Ortiz and then the screams of joy we witnessed as the dugouts emptied time and time again throughout the 2013 season. Amidst all the sadness, the action, the wins and the commitment to the game on the part of the Red Sox provided relent to the pain of those involved with the tragedy. And that was the greatest gift this team made to its city.
“There is nothing better than to be Boston Strong,” 29 year old parade attendee Liz Perkins aid. “We said it all season.”
Pedroia backed up that mentality earlier on when during the pre-parade rally he took to the podium and delivered as much a speech as his miniature frame could muster.
“We played for the whole city, what the city went through. Hopefully, we put a smile on ... everybody’s face. It was special. We wanted to do this and make it right for everybody.” He said.
Once Pedroia and his teammates took to the streets, they were rapidly assaulted with a defining barrage of cheers and fists raised to the air as one. We saw Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli showing their happy blend of childish nature and obscene immaturity as they pumped up the crowd and we felt Jacoby Ellsbury feeling of the awkward situation while fans near the Prudential Building screamed "STAY! STAY! STAY!".
But the celebration was interrupted for a necessary acknowledgement of sorrow as the first of the 25 duck boats crossed the Marathon Finish line.
The boats came to a complete stop before any did cross the, still painted, yellow and blue finish line. Through the crowd it could be seen that the World Series Trophy had been taken from its home on the boat with Jacoby Ellsbury and as it was, Johnny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamaccia unceremoniously took to the street and came to a halt before the finish line.
With the trophy in one hand and the famed 617 Jersey that had hung in every Boston dugout since the attack in the other, the two items were placed on top of one another and after some adjustments of the jersey, Gomes stood back and put an arm around Saltlamaccia as the near 6,000 in that portion of the route sang an assisted version of God Bless America. Tears were plentiful.
But alas the parade soon resumed as in congruent action with that, so did the cheers, the high fives and the constant ringing of "BOSTON STRONG"
There were people hanging from windows, people piling into tiny balconies and a human behind every window with a view of the parade route. I Phones dotted ones view of the road and it was seen how nearly every one of the 2 million attendees of this parade were politely jockeying to be right as the edge of every inch of the near 4 miles of barricades assembled along the route. You could see through the confetti and hear through the musical yells of the Dropkick Murphys that these Boston Red Sox were genuinely thrilled to be a part of this city wide celebration. As for the fans, the indescribable roar of delight that echoed from Fenway to Copley Square, from Boston to Cambridge and from the parade route into the living rooms of the millions more watching from home described it all.
We are the champions. No matter how tough we may be, this win more than any other involves more than the 25 men in the Red Sox locker room. Just as the Marathon Bombing changed the lives of anyone who calls New England home, this Championship belonged to us all. And that is a fact.
0 comments:
Post a Comment