January 5, 1920: one of the most important dates in baseball history. One might even say that this day had a profound effect on American history. It was then that Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee forever plunged his franchise into mediocrity by selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Ruth, as is well known by Boston fans in particular, went on to win seven pennants and four world championships with the Yanks. Harry Frazee's Sox are still waiting for their first championship since 1918.
As a fan of the New York Rangers, who won their first Stanley Cup in fifty-four years back in 1994, I have a deep sympathy for Red Sox fans. Of course there is no way that I can possibly feel the torture that they have gone through. It would be easy if the Sox had been lousy for eighty years; none of the Boston fans would expect much from year to year. Dozens of times, though, the Red Sox have come so close to achieving greatness, only to see it vanish, year after year.
Most recently, Game Six of the 1986 World Series serves as a reminder. The Red Sox held a 3-2 lead in their series with the Mets, and were leading the game by a score of 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 10th inning. The Mets were down to their final out when Red Sox pitcher Bob Stanley proceeded to give up three straight singles, enabling the Mets to close the score to 5-4. Then, the at-bat forever burned into Red Sox fans' minds. Facing the Mets' Mookie Wilson, Stanley threw a wild pitch, and the Mets tied the game at five. Facing his tenth pitch of the at-bat, Wilson hit a grounder through the legs of Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, driving in the winning run. The Mets went on to take the series in seven games.
In one of the greatest games ever played, Game Six of the 1975 World Series, Sox fans were once again given momentary false hope. In the game's twelfth inning, Red Sox great Carlton Fisk smacked a home run that barely stayed fair to win the game. The celebration in New England was tremendous that night, but of course, it only lasted a short wile, as the Reds again reminded the city of Boston of "the curse" in game seven.
Somehow, Red Sox fans keep coming back for more. Fenway Park, although it has the smallest seating capacity in the league, is consistently full. Fans are all too familiar with the phrase "Wait till next year," and amazingly they can't stay away. I don't want to offend any Sox fans, but the Red Sox have an excellent team this year, with excellent potential, and if they finally get a few balls to bounce in their direction, 2001 might very well be the end of an eighty-three year period of frustration.
When one looks at the Red Sox this year and sees them near the top of their division, thoughts immediately turn to pitching ace Pedro Martinez. And rightfully so. His record currently stands at is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.80. Of course, as good as Pedro is, he pitches just once every five days, so the Sox need some help in between. From a pitching standpoint, Hideo Nomo has to be the biggest surprise to the Sox. In addition to pitching his second career no-hitter earlier in the season, ha has a record of 3-1 and an ERA of 2.40.
The Red Sox lineup is simply fantastic. Even without all-star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who remains injured, the hitting is still there. Most notably, we need look no further than DH Manny Ramirez, who came to Boston via free agency last off-season. Ramirez is batting .408 with nine home runs and 31 RBI's. The young Red Sox third baseman, Shea Hillenbrand has also been a strong performer, hitting .343, with an on base percentage of .356.
Former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee once remarked that the only way the Red Sox would rid themselves of "the curse" would be by apologizing to the great Babe Ruth. He actually proposed digging up the Bambino's body, bringing it to Fenway Park and publicly ask forgiveness for trading the Babe to the Yankees. Hopefully the Sox can do it the old fashioned way, by fielding a good team. Perhaps the baseball ghosts will finally give all the fans a break, allowing Sox fans to live in peace.